Work Assignment Engine Agent State Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current work assignment engines in contact centers do not consider agents in the AUXILIARY state when making contact routing decisions, leading to inefficiencies and increased costs during high-traffic periods, as they only utilize agents in the AVAILABLE state, neglecting potential resources that could handle contacts.
Innovation Solution
The work assignment engine is enhanced to consider AUX agents, allowing them to be included in the pool of eligible agents during specific conditions, such as high traffic or for high-value customers, and providing incentives for AUX agents to accept contacts, while also considering logged-out agents with anticipated availability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If only agents in the AVAILABLE state are considered during contact routing decisions, then agent availability management is simplified, but contact center efficiency and productivity deteriorate during high-traffic periods
Solution Approach 1:
The work assignment engine dynamically adjusts the pool of eligible agents based on contact center conditions. During normal operations, only AVAILABLE agents are considered. During high-traffic periods or for high-value customers, the system dynamically expands eligibility to include AUX agents, allowing the system to adapt to changing conditions without permanent complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the state parameter consideration from static (only AVAILABLE) to conditional (AVAILABLE, AUX, or logged-out based on conditions). By introducing conditional parameters such as traffic thresholds and customer value metrics, the system resolves the contradiction between simplicity and efficiency
2Productivity
If agents in AUXILIARY state are included in the pool of eligible agents, then contact handling capacity increases, but agent state management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the agent pool into different eligibility categories (AVAILABLE, AUX, logged-out) with distinct routing rules. AUX agents are segmented as a separate eligible group that can be activated under specific conditions, allowing the system to manage complexity through structured segmentation rather than uniform treatment
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies partial action by only considering AUX agents under specific conditions (high traffic, high-value customers) rather than always including them. This conditional inclusion provides the productivity benefit when needed while avoiding the ongoing complexity of managing AUX agent assignments in all scenarios
3Adaptability or versatility
If reserve agents are brought into the pool of available agents during high traffic, then contact routing flexibility improves, but operational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service by allowing AUX agents to voluntarily accept contact interrupts through the interrupt contact feature. Agents can choose to come out of AUX state to handle contacts based on their own availability and incentive structures, eliminating the need for managerial intervention and reducing operational overhead costs
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the cost parameter by introducing incentive mechanisms (AUX credits, bonuses) that make it economically viable to utilize AUX agents. By adjusting the incentive parameters based on contact value and agent participation, the system achieves routing flexibility without incurring the full cost of traditional reserve agent deployment
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, selectively interrupt a contact center agent in an AUXILIARY state. This enables the contact center to accommodate sudden influxes of work items without substantially increasing customer wait time.