Behavioral Pairing Algorithm for Contact Center Agent Utilization
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Contact center systems face challenges in balancing agent utilization and improving performance beyond traditional First-In, First-Out (FIFO) and Performance-Based Routing (PBR) strategies, which often lead to higher-performing agents being overworked and lower-performing agents being underutilized, resulting in reduced morale, productivity, and training opportunities.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of Behavioral Pairing (BP) strategies, which involve ordering contacts and agents by percentiles and applying a diagonal strategy to balance agent utilization, ensuring that agents and contacts are paired based on their relative performance and availability to maximize overall contact center performance over time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If performance-based routing strategies are used to maximize contact-agent interaction outcomes, then contact center performance is improved, but agent utilization becomes unbalanced with higher-performing agents receiving more contacts
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the assignment parameters by considering both agent performance metrics and utilization metrics dynamically. Instead of solely maximizing contact outcomes, the system adjusts assignment decisions to balance performance optimization with equitable distribution of contacts across all agents, preventing any single agent from being consistently overworked or underutilized.
Solution Approach 2:
The assignment strategy becomes dynamic by continuously monitoring agent performance and utilization levels, then adjusting contact assignments in real-time. The system adapts its routing decisions based on current agent states, allowing it to respond to changing conditions and maintain balance while still optimizing contact outcomes.
2Productivity
If higher-performing agents receive more contacts to maximize outcomes, then contact center performance improves, but lower-performing agents idle longer reducing training opportunities
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms that monitor agent utilization and performance continuously. This feedback loop allows the system to identify when lower-performing agents are idle for extended periods and adjust future contact assignments to ensure they receive adequate work flow, thereby maintaining training opportunities and skill development while still optimizing overall contact outcomes.
3Ease of operation
If traditional FIFO assignment strategy is used, then agent utilization is balanced, but contact center performance does not exceed baseline levels
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the contact center operations into multiple dimensions: agent performance levels, contact priority levels, and utilization thresholds. By segmenting these factors, the system can apply different assignment strategies to different agent-contact pairs, achieving both balanced utilization and enhanced performance through targeted optimization rather than uniform treatment.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Techniques for behavioral pairing in a contact center system are disclosed. In one particular embodiment, the techniques may be realized as a method for pairing in a contact center including ordering one or more contacts, ordering one or more agents, comparing a first difference in ordering between a first contact and a first agent in a first pair with a second difference in ordering between a second contact and a second agent in a second pair, and selecting the first pair or the second pair for connection based on the comparing, wherein the first contact and the second contact are different or the first agent and the second agent are different.