You want your customers to have a great experience when they contact you but have you taken the appropriate steps to make that happen? The easiest way to ensure a happy experience is by installing a contact center solution. And the easiest contact center to install is, by far, cloud-based, or “...as a Service”. Hence, Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS)

“They” used to call it a Call Center. That term still works but now for solutions that only do calls or voice communications. The “contact” in contact center now implies multiple forms of communication to include voice, text, IM/Chat, email, fax, social media, video... just about any form of contact you can think of. This is often referred to as multi-channel (some or many) or omnichannel (all).

What image pops into your head when you hear “Call Center”… perhaps a large room packed with happy twenty-somethings donning headsets smashed together shoulder-to-shoulder in tiny cubicles? That scene may still exist to some degree but is quickly fading. With CCaaS agents can be anywhere and managers can see everything. With the right solution all they need is a broadband connection and a computer!

How do you choose the right solution for your business? There are hundreds of solutions on the market. Some have strict requirements, others are simple and very flexible. Below are some of the most useful and common features available in contact center systems. The best method to determine the right solution for you is to identify features in three categories – Must have, Nice to have, and Unnecessary.

Some basic features can make a big difference when it comes to running a contact center. When reviewing the descriptions below consider the communication channels you'll need now and want in the future. Here are some of the most useful and common features available in contact center systems:

•  Automatic Call Distribution (ACD): Having a system in place that automatically routes callers to relevant individuals cuts down on wasted time and resources. ACD systems distribute calls according to user-specified criteria, such as sending the call to a phone that is idle, or sending calls about billing to the accounting department, etc. Nearly all contact center systems have some form of ACD. They vary from simple push-button virtual operators to those that use caller ID or voice recognition. Some advanced ACDs also have what is called Skills-Based Routing. This allows managers and supervisors to “weigh” an operator or agent based on their skill level, experience, preferences or other criteria. A customer may be calling about a particular problem and you may know that a certain group of operators have more expertise in that area than others. Skills-Based Routing can route that caller directly to that skilled group or operator, rather than having to send them through several layers and transfers to get to the right person. Think “first-call resolution”.

•  Contact Center Monitoring and Analytics: Being able to scrutinize call durations, costs, and other useful metrics can help supervisors and managers make informed decisions on issues such as employee performance, staffing, and training needs. Some of the best systems allow real-time statistics, letting you know what's going on in the contact center second by second. Historical reporting allows you to compile hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and annual statistics for detailed long-term analysis.

•  Call Recording: Useful for training and monitoring, call recording allows supervisors and operators to record and store phone calls as audio files on the server. However, the storage requirements for call recording can be quite large. Third-party hosted systems and cloud-hosted systems are better suited for this function because it's easy to upgrade the size of your storage space without buying new hardware.

•  Contact Management: These systems enable different calls to be tagged and stored with relevant information attached to the call file. This permits better management of customers, as it provides historical records of all calls by an individual account holder.

•  Computer Telephony Integration (CTI): These systems use desktop PCs as telephone systems, often referred to as a softphone. These software packages enable a desktop computer to serve and display all contact center related functions-from providing caller information, routing calls to other workstations, and controlling the phone interface. Most contact center systems utilize some form of CTI. Usually, a simple USB or Bluetooth headset is all that's required to turn a standard PC into a complete contact center workstation. CTI and API-Application Programming Interface can also integrate other functions and software between the phone system, contact center, and other important software used to run your business; for instance, popping up a customer record in your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or other software when that customer makes contact.

•  Workstation Recording: Workstation data recording enables you to make a movie of what's happening on an operator's screen. The recording can be analyzed to learn how operators are using the system, what tricks they know that could help others, and what problems they're having that could be addressed. This is especially helpful for a dispersed workforce and home agents and their managers.

•  Interactive Voice Response (IVR): IVR uses voice-recognition software to allow callers to route themselves to specific departments. IVRs vary in sophistication-from the very basic, which enable simple routing functionality, to systems that allow customers to access their accounts and set appointments. At the high end, IVR empowers customers to serve themselves, reducing the workload on human operators.

•  Live Call Coaching: This allows a third person to interact with an operator without the caller hearing, thereby enabling training and mentoring.

•  Performance Evaluation: By monitoring an operator's performance, you can identify gaps in training and areas where operators need improvement. This type of evaluation can create reports, graphs, and other data while scoring an operator's performance.

•  Predictive Dialer: For contact centers that make a lot of outbound calls, a predictive dialer enables a list of phone numbers to be called simultaneously. Operators are connected only when someone picks up. These systems can save a lot of time and prevent operators from having to wait for a call to be answered. Predictive dialers also monitor the availability of operators to ensure that calls aren't made when there are no operators available to route the call if someone answers.

Contact us at Cloud 9 Advisers. We are impartial, independent, and provider-neutral consultants of Communications, Collaboration, Connectivity, and Cloud technologies. We guide our clients through the morass of options, solutions, and providers. Sign up for our Consulting & Buying Program and get the real story on Contact Center solutions. Find out who the best providers are and who to avoid. Get real-world advice, recommendations, and unbiased solution design.

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