Interruptible Work Reassignment in Contact Centers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Contact centers often prioritize agent efficiency over customer satisfaction by assigning work items to less-than-optimal agents, failing to reconsider assignments even if a better-suited agent becomes available during processing.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system where work items can be marked as 'interruptible,' allowing re-assignment to a better-suited agent if one becomes available, while considering the benefits and costs of re-assignment, such as involving the originally-assigned agent in the process for training purposes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If work items are assigned to the best agent possible to maximize customer satisfaction, then customer satisfaction is improved, but wait times increase and agent efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making work assignments flexible rather than static. Work items are initially assigned to adequately-matched agents but can be dynamically re-assigned to well-matched agents when they become available. This dynamic re-assignment mechanism allows the system to adapt to changing agent availability while maintaining the goal of optimal customer service.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses preliminary action by pre-identifying and marking work items that could benefit from re-assignment. The system proactively flags work items assigned to adequately-matched agents as candidates for future re-assignment to well-matched agents, preparing the groundwork for optimization before the actual re-assignment occurs.
2Productivity
If work items are assigned to idle agents to minimize wait times, then agent efficiency is improved, but customer satisfaction decreases due to suboptimal agent matching
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by continuously monitoring agent availability and work item status. When a well-matched agent becomes available, the system detects this change and initiates re-assignment of marked work items. This feedback loop ensures that the system responds to changing conditions and optimizes assignments in real-time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the status parameter of work items from 'assigned' to 'interruptible' when re-assignment is desired. This parameter change allows the system to distinguish between work items that can be re-assigned and those that cannot, enabling flexible management of work flow while maintaining optimization opportunities.
3Reliability
If work items are reassigned to optimal agents after initial assignment, then customer satisfaction is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by marking only specific work items as interruptible rather than all work items. This selective approach allows re-assignment functionality to be applied where beneficial while avoiding unnecessary complexity for work items that do not require re-assignment. The local application of the interruptible marker reduces overall system complexity.
4Adaptability or versatility
If work items are marked as interruptible to enable re-assignment, then work assignment flexibility is improved, but loss of time occurs due to re-consideration of assignments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses skipping by allowing work items to proceed with initial assignment to adequately-matched agents without delay. The re-assignment process occurs in the background when well-matched agents become available, rather than pausing the initial assignment process. This approach rushes through the initial assignment quickly while handling optimization asynchronously.
Data Source
AI summary
A contact center is described along with various methods and mechanisms for administering the same. The contact center proposed herein provides the ability to, among other things, mark a work item as interruptible. The work item may receive an interruptible marking when the work item is assigned to an adequately-matched agent rather than a well-matched. Processing of the work item by the adequately-matched agent may be interrupted if the well-matched agent becomes available prior to the work item being completed by the adequately-matched agent.