Setting Up A Call Center
TELECOM
Call Center Infrastructure
CALL CENTER SOLUTION
CRM
The Call Center entity encompasses much more than just the “Call Center Solution” as the Technological entity and hence setting up a successful Call Center requires more than just the smooth operation of Call Center Equipment. The main elements involved in the Call Center are the Telecom Links, Call Center Infrastructure, Call Center Solution and Customer Relationship Management(CRM) Software. This article explains each of these points briefly and explores the key issues to be considered while setting up a call center. 1 Telecom Links The telecom network is used to connect the caller to the call center agent. The various elements of the network are shown in Diagram 2. A call originates in the US PSTN, is routed over the network to the US LDC which then puts the call through on the IPLC to the Indian LDC. The Modem is used to convert the Analog Voice signals to Digital and Vice Versa. The local loop is used to carry the call from the Indian LDC (i.e. VSNL) to the call center. At the call center the router splits the telephone link and feeds it to the Call center Server, and sends the data to the Ethernet Switch on the LAN. The IPLC is essentially an agreement between the two long distance carriers and the lease rentals are paid to both LDC’s. Each part of the lease rental is thus called Half- Circuit rental. On the IPLC link the options are Satellite or Cable. More than two satellite hops should be avoided as the delay causes poor voice quality. Optical fiber cable is a better option if the call center is located near the coast. For example if a call center is located in Mumbai then Fiber would be a better Option than satellite link. Diagram 2 : Telecom Connectivity
Ethernet Switch
US PSTN
Modem IPLC Modem
Data
Router
LDC C
LDC
Router
Local Loop
C
CC Server
Telecommunications Issue to consider while deciding Call Center location • local and long distance carrier support and availability of current technologies • possible use of existing equipment • potential for redundancy in network (local and long distance) • current telecommunications infrastructures • distance from corporate computing systems. Regulations for Telecom Links The rules concerning termination of telecom links are very muddled. Here are some of the key points to be kept in mind based on DOT(Department of Telecommunications) guidelines. Regulations for International Call Center 1. International Private Leased Line termination on Public Telephone Network at either end is not permitted. 2. Interconnectivity with other network/DTS links at India are not permitted. The PSTN connectivity is permissible only at the foreign end and not at the Indian end. 3. Interconnectivity of the international with domestic call centre is not permitted. 4. Separate Earth Station is not permitted, since VSNL is providing IPLC link. 5. For call centre involved in E-Commerce activities, the foreign equity, cap is 49% and for others, there is no restriction (i.e., foreign equity can be 100%). 6. International Private Leased Line termination on Public Data Network at distance end would attract a Network Termination Annual Fee of Rs.60 lakhs per link for all speeds. This is not applicable to licensed Internet Service Providers. Regulations for domestic call centres: 1. Domestic call centres are permitted to have inbound PSTN traffic with the outgoing banned. 2. The domestic call centres are permitted to be setup, on a separate infrastructure. However, the request for operating call centre on the existing private networks will be evaluated by Department of Telecom Services (DTS) and may be permitted, if found in line with the present regulations. 3. Interconnectivity of two domestic call centres of the same organizations in permissible subject to further approval from Department of Telecom Services. VSNL Tariff Table for Half Circuit Annual Lease Rental Customer Type Media Normal Satellite / Satellite +Cable Cable Satellite / Satellite +Cable Cable Location Europe/Asia/ Africa/Ocenia 11.25 12.95 9 10.35 Rs. Lakhs Location Americas 12.95 14.88 10.4 11.9
Software EOU
For higher speed Digital International Private Leased Line i.e. multiple of 64 K bps, the following multiplication factors are applicable on the tariff of 64 Kbps: Speed Multiplication factor Speed Multiplication factor 64 Kbps 1.0 512 Kbps 4.8 128 Kbps 1.8 768 Kbps 6.4 192 Kbps 2.5 1024 Kbps 8.0
256 Kbps 3.1 384 Kbps 4.0 34 Mbps 149.6
2048 Kbps 11.0 8 Mbps 39.6 155 Mbps 554.4
2 Call Center Hardware Infrastructure The call center Hardware infrastructure essentially consists of the LAN, Agent PC’s and the Agent Headsets. LAN (Local Area Network) The requirements for th e LAN are fairly standard. Fort a small call center upto 16 agents, a 10 MBPS LAN will be enough. For larger call centers 100 MBPS would be required. For very large Centers with over 200 agents, ATM or Gigabit Ethernet would be required, especially if the Voice traffic is also carried on the LAN. The Call Center Solution Vendor will usually provide specifications for the king of LAN required. Agent Desktops Agent desktops typically require P-133 or higher machines with 1 GB hard disk space and 32 MB RAM. Since the agent has to look at the screen for long times, a high quality monitor is recommended, at least a 17” Colour monitor. Agent Headsets The call center sound environment is characterised by two elements : • It is difficult for agents as well as callers to hear in the call center environment. • Agents must wear their headsets for extended periods of time The key factors to keep in mind when choosing headsets for the Call Center are Sound Quality, Noise Cancellation, Comfort and Durability. a)Sound Quality Sound quality is of primary importance in evaluating a headset. A headset should deliver clear, natural sound to the headset user and the customer. If users have trouble hearing customers, they must ask them to repeat themselves, increasing average call and cost per call, and can potentially turn customers away. b)Eliminating Background Noise Headsets must also be evaluated by how well the agent and caller can hear in a noisy work environment. In all call centers—but noisier ones in particular— micro phones with noise -cancelling capabilities are essential. A noise-cancelling (NC) microphone will eliminate ambient room noise and only transmit the voice of the headset user. When the agent wears a headset that nullifies distracting background noise (some microphones can cancel up to 95 percent of ambient room noise), the caller hears only the sound of the agent's voice. c)Comfort Because employees wear headsets for such extended periods of time, comfort is paramount. Light weight is key in headset comfort (headsets as light as one-half of one ounce are available), as is overall ergodynamic design. If the requirements of your call center do not preclude a specific wearing style, you may choose a headset that offers multiple wearing style options (i.e., earloop,
earhook and headband). Earhook/earloops tend to be favoured by people who wear glasses. Headbands should be fully adjustable, with a clickstop feature that ensures the headset does not flop around on the head. d)Durability The wear and tear on your headsets may not be entirely predictable, but remember that employees are wearing and adjusting them for up to eight hours per day. Inevitably, headsets are also getting knocked against the table or desk at which your employees are working. When a headset breaks, the employee—and his or her position—are down. Minutes can lead to hours. Lost time not only equals lost revenue, but can also lead to customer dissatisfaction. To prevent headset breakage, invest in headsets that are durable and built to take everyday wear and tear.
3 Call Center Solution
Key Components Of Call Center Solution A fully functional Call center should have all the key components listed below. An ideal solution would have all these components singly architected on one platform so that integration hassles are minimised. 1. ACD (Automatic Call Distributor) Distribute calls to agents as they are received. The calls may be distributed in various ways like Network Directed Routing, Agent Idleness Based Routing and Agent Skill based routing. 2. Predictive Dialer A predictive dialer automates outbound calling by using complex algorithms that consider a number of factors such as the number of available telephone lines and operators, the probability of getting a busy signal and the length of an average conversation. PD can enable tremendous productivity improvements because no answer, busy signals and other incomplete calls are screened out. 3. CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) CTI integrates telephone and computer operations by linking databases to the telephone connection. A common use of CTI is a "screen pop," in which customer information "pops up" on an agent's screen as a call is received. 4. Web Integration Web integration allows customers to interact with call center agents through web Callback, Web Chat, and Collaborative Browsing allowing companies to provide live contact to online customers. 5. IVR (Interactive Voice Response) / FOD (Fax On Demand) IVR and FOD provides information to a customer by turning the touch tone pad of a telephone into a keyboard. As a result, many standard queries formerly answered by an agent can be handled by an IVR/ FOD, freeing agents for more complex, valueadded work. 6. Voice Logging and Messaging Voice Logging Allows digital recording of conversations for proof of transactions and agent training. Messaging allows callers to leave messages if agents are not available for handling a call.
Choosing a Call Center Solution Here are some key questions that can point the way to choosing a Call Center solution: • Will you be using the call center for inbound calls only, or mixed inbound and outbound calls? Generally mixed mode will allow for better capacity utilisation of agents as well as telecom infrastructure by allowing load balancing. • How big is your center, and how large do you expect it to grow? Graceful scaling Up with minimum of additional hardware software and downtime is necessary in planning for future expansion. • How well does the solution integrate with other existing IT solutions of your company? Customer Relationship Management software, ERP systems and Legacy databases need to seamlessly work with the call center. Standard API’s are very important in allowing quick and elegant integration. • Is the solution based on Legacy PBX based Proprietary technology or Server based Open systems technology? Open systems allow greater flexibility in scaling up, adopting of newer technologies like IP telephony, Multimedia handling and at the same time provide lower cost of ownership as the open system approach allows you to pick and choose different components form different vendors which will work together without any integration effort. • What is the vendor's reputation for supporting you after the sale? Will you be entitled to periodic maintenance releases? What is the vendor's history ? No releases, or too many, may signal vendor problems. • Can you count on the vendor to move the product forward? Will the vendor draw on its technical and human resources to meet your unique needs?
4 Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software
A CRM is crucial to retain customers by providing unprecedented levels of satisfaction. The new economy is all about one to one contact with customers without charging them exorbitant prices for the unique services. Hence we are seeing mass customisation of personalization -- the blending of quality and value. The key goals of CRM strategy: • Establish a strategy for segmenting customers and determining the value of different types of customers in your firm; if possible, increase the value of your customers. • Provide direct information that's essential for an agent to know about a customer in any given interaction and integrate different channels of communication within your company. • Involve people who communicate with customers so that they can act on the information they receive from their workflow tools. In the context of CRM, workflow involves more than just allowing agents to look up customers' information or defining how they use this information. A successful CRM system enables call centers to gather knowledge about customers in such a way that they can offer personalised service. Not only do customers benefit, but so does the company, especially if it can use the knowledge it gains from interacting with customers to reorganise its sales approach and even redefine its products or services. There is a variety of CRM software ranging from comprehensive all in one solution like Siebel to CRM packages focused on Sales Force Automation, Customer Service or Telemarketing. The choice of the CRM package should be driven by how well the package allows the workflow of the company.
Glossary Since Telecom and Computer telephony keep inventing Acronyms, here is a brief explanation of some of the common acronyms that have been used in the article. ACD Automatic call distributor A computerised switching system that automatically distributes incoming calls based on some logic. ANI Automatic number identification A telephone service that provides the telephone number of an incoming call. Calling lin e identification (CLID): Method using digital technology that supplies the number of a caller to a call center. Dialled number identification service (DNIS): Enables call centers to determine which number was called when they have a multitude of inbound numbers. Interactive voice response (IVR): Application allowing a caller to interact with a call center system using a touch tone telephone or voice recognition. Local area network (LAN): A communications network that serves users within a confined geographical area. It consists of servers, workstations, a network operating system, and a communications link. E1 line: A 2Mbps Digital carrier channel that can handle 30 voice or data channels at 64 Kbits/sec. The Protocol running on that can be R2MF or ISDN-PRI. PSTN : Public Switched telephone Network. The PSTN connects all the telephones in the public network. The indian PSTN operators are DOT(Countrywide), MTNL(In Metros) LDC : Long Distance Carrier. The Indian carrier is VSNL, for links to USA , the choices are AT&T and SprintMCI. IPLC :International Private Leased Circuit. Circuits are leased in multiples of 64 kbps.The IPLC consists of two Half circuits, each one representing the two long distance carriers(Eg VSNL and AT&T)
Author Parag Patankar Product manager PARSEC Technologies parag.p@parsec.co.in
Diagram 2 : Telecom Connectivity
Ethernet Switch
US PSTN
Modem IPLC Modem
Data
Router
LDC C
LDC
Router
Local Loop
C
CC Server Telephone Link