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Glossary Abandoned Call

Glossary Abandonment Rate

Glossary Activity Codes

Glossary Adherence To Schedule

Glossary Advanced 800 Services

Glossary Agent Group

Glossary Agent Out Call

Glossary Agent Turnover

Glossary All Trunks Busy

Glossary Announcement

Glossary Application Based Routing

Glossary Architecture

Glossary Area Code

Glossary Area Code Overlay

Glossary Auto Available

Glossary Auto Greeting

Glossary Automated Attendant

Glossary Automatic Call Distributor

Glossary Automatic Number Identification

Glossary Auto Wrap Up

Glossary Auxiliary Work State

Glossary Average Handle Time

Glossary Average Holding Time on Trunks

Glossary Average Percent Occupancy Factor

Glossary Average Sale Value Per Sale

Glossary Average Speed of Answer

Glossary Average Time in Queue

Glossary Base Staff

Glossary Benchmark

Glossary Blocked Call

Glossary Busy Hour

Glossary Callback Messaging

Glossary Call Blending

Glossary Call Center

Glossary Call Detail Recording

Glossary Caller ID

Glossary Call Forcing

Glossary Calls In Queue

Glossary Central Office

Glossary Common Causes

Glossary Computer Telephony Integration

Glossary Cost Per Call

Glossary Cross Sell

Glossary Customer Value Segment

Glossary Database Call Handling

Glossary Data Directed Call Routing

Glossary Day Of Week Routing

Glossary Delay Announcement

Glossary Delay Or Queue Time

Glossary Delivery Method

Glossary Dialer

Glossary Dual Tone Multifrequency

Glossary Envelope Strategy

Glossary Erlang B

Glossary Erlang C

Glossary Frequency

Glossary Grade of Service

Glossary Handled Call

Glossary Handling Time

Glossary Help Desk

Glossary Help Desk

Glossary Historical Reports

Glossary Home Agent

Glossary Immutable Law

Glossary Interflow

Glossary Internal Metrics

Glossary Make Busy

Glossary Manned Over Paid

Glossary Multiline Telephone

Glossary Multilingual Agent

Glossary Multiplexing

Glossary Next Available Agent

Glossary Noise Canceling Headset

Glossary Occupancy Rate

Glossary Outsourcing

Glossary Pacing Algorithm

Glossary Peer Group

Glossary Percent Abandoned

Glossary Personal Communications

Glossary Queue Time

Glossary Real Time Adherence

Glossary Recorded Announcement

Glossary Remote Agent

Glossary Satellite Communications

Glossary Script

Glossary Speech Recognition

Glossary Talk Time

Glossary Voice Logging

Glossary Voicemail

Glossary of Telecommunications Terms

A

An abandoned call is a call that is disconnected by the caller...

Abandonment Rate

By dividing NCA by NCO, abandonment rate is the percentage of callers...

ACD (Automatic Call Distributor)

A device used to route calls to the appropriate location...

ACS (Automatic Call Sequencer)

Used to manage incoming calls...

A calculation that determines the percentage of agents who left during a given year...

The code an agent enters to indicate the type of contact...

Adherence to Schedule

Refers to how well agents stick to their schedules...

Advanced 800 Services

Originally named by AT&T, advanced 800 services include long distance calls...

An agent is an individual that answers inbound calls...

A group of agents that operate within a particular skill set...

When an agent makes an outbound call...

All Trunks Busy

If all trunks in a specified trunk group are busy...

A recorded verbal message played to a caller...

Answering Machine

An answering machine, also known as an answer machine...

Application Based Routing and Reporting

The capability of the ACD to route and track calls...

Phone area codes are used in the North American telephone system...

Area Code Overlay

Used when an existing area code is near depletion...

Area Code Split

When an area code is divided into two or more separate regions...

How the system is designed...

A feature that automatically puts agents in an available state...

Allows an agent to record an automatically played greeting...

A feature of ACD that puts agents automatically into after-call work...

Automated Attendant

An automated phone attendant that answers calls with a recorded message...

Automatic Call Distributor

An Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) is a programmable phone system...

Automatic Number Identification (ANI)

The number of the phone the caller is using is passed to the call center...

Auxiliary Work State

Occurs when an operator is doing work other than handling calls...

Average Attendance Percent

A calculation of the number of absences that have been approved...

Average Handle Time

Average handle time is the total time it takes to a manage a call...

Average Holding Time on Trunks

The average time inbound transaction occupy the trunks...

Average Percent Occupancy Factor

Used to determine how much time an agent is ready to take calls...

Average Sale Value per Sale

The average value of each sale agents take when handling orders...

Average Speed of Answer

The duration of time that calls wait to be answered...

Average Time in Queue

Based on the length of time a caller waits before an agent is found ...

B

The minimum amount of workers required to provide service during a given period...

Benchmarking involves testing devices against each other...

Bit rate is used to define digital signals by the number of bits per second...

Caused by either a lack of circuits available when the call arrives...

BOC (Bell-operating Company)

Caused by either a lack of circuits available when the call arrives...

An apparatus used on a split block to join a phone line from one connection to another...

The average of a one hour period that carries the most traffic...

C

Callback Messaging

Used when a caller prefers to be called back rather than being put on hold...

Using a single group of operators to take both inbound and outbound calls...

A call center is a location where inbound and outbound calls are handled...

Call Detail Recording

Data stored by the ACD that details each call...

A feature of ACD that finds agents who are available to take calls...

Call Forward - Don't Answer

Call forward don't answer can be used as an alternative to regular call forwarding...

Call Forwarding

Call forwarding is a method of directing one telephone number to another one...

A local phone network feature that passes information...

Calls in queue are calls that enter the call center...

Centi Call Seconds (CCS)

CCS measures the intensity of calls during a given timeframe through a facility...

CENTRal EXchange (Centrex)

Centrex is a switching service used by businesses for facilitating station-to-station dialing...

Central Office (CO)

Refers to a telephone switching center or a type of switch used there...

CLEC (Competitive Local Exchanged Carrier)

A CLEC is a new and completive local carrier that opposes the traditional carrier...

Deviations that occur to a particular procedure over a period of time...

Computer Telephony Integration

The practice of integrating telephony functions with computers...

An equation of the sum of costs for operating a call center...

Customer Value Segment

Attribute customers to a particular segment based on their financial value...

A broad term that encompasses the entire range of enhancing customer interactions...

When an operator sells a product to a customer that is in a different product line...

CSMA is a protocol that makes communication devices listen to the network...

D

Database Call Handling

Uses computer telephony integration in sync with automatic call routing...

Data Directed Call Routing

The ability of an ACD to use a separate database to route a call...

Data Service Units (DSU)

Data Service Units are CSIs and DSUs that are needed to connect...

Day of Week Routing

Used to route calls to a different destination on different days of the week...

Delay Announcement

A recording that asks callers to wait for the next available operator...

Delay or Queue Time

How much time a caller has to wait for the next agent to be free ...

Delivery Method

Delivery methods are the means by which messages can be relayed...

The Dialer is the primary mechanism of the modern outbound telemarketer...

DID (Direct-Inward-Dial)

This is a service from the phone company that allows more than one phone number to serve the same line...

Dual-Tone Multifrequency (DTM)

Another term for Touchtone...

Automatically changes the amount of rings in the ACD...

E

E&M Leads Signaling

E&M leads signaling is an interface that can be used to connect switches...

Envelope Strategy

To use agents for more than just taking calls...

One of two traffic models developed by A.K. Erlang...

One of two traffic models developed by A.K. Erlang...

An exception explains why an operator is not answering phones...

F

Fax / Fax on Demand

A transmission process where a document is scanned...

A frame is a series of time slots, repeated at regular intervals...

A frequency is made up of acoustic or electrical signals that represent a single tone...

G

Grade of Service

The probability of encountering a busy signal in a trunk...

H

A handled call is a call that has come into the call center that an operator...

The total amount of time it takes for an agent to handle a call...

A help desk acts as a place for callers to get assistance...

Historical Reports

Used to track the performance of call center operators...

Home agents are operators that work offsite...

A Hub is equipment that that is used as a wiring concentrator...

I

A fundamental law of nature...

Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)

ISDN defines a telephone transmission standard that is used internationally...

Interflow refers to sending calls to another site outside of the AC...

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

Internal metrics are numbers that refer to statistics generated by internal systems...

Internal Metrics

Internal metrics are numbers that refer to statistics generated by internal systems...

J

K

Key Telephone System (KTS)

A key telephone system is typically the type of system used by most small offices...

Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes (KSA)

KSA defines the entire scope of an employees skills from a "life skills" perspective...

L

The last mile is a term to describe the final part of hooking...

LATA (Local Access and Transport Area)

LATA is the area where local calls are handled by the phone company...

Live is an obvious term used to refer to a call that is handled by a real person...

Longest Delay in Queue (LDQ)

LDQ, or Longest Delay in Queue, represents the worst case hold time for a caller...

M

Make busy is a rather cheap way of handling calls...

Manned Over Paid

Manned Over Paid represents how much time is spent on phones...

Multiline Telephone

A multiline telephone is a phone that is essentially used in a Key Telephone System...

Multilingual Agent

Multilingual agents are representatives that are fluent in more than one language...

Multiplexing is a way of combining multiple channels for communications...

N

Next Available Agent

Next Available Agent (NAA) is the method used for call distribution...

Noise Canceling Headset

Noise canceling headsets are used to help reduce background noise...

Number of Calls Handled (NCH)

Number of Calls Handled is the amount of calls handled by agents...

Number of Calls Offered (NCO)

The absolute total number of all calls that enter into a call center...

Number of Outbound Calls (NOC)

The calls made by agents out of the call center or internally...

O

Occupancy rate measures how much time an agent is on a call...

Optical fibers, quite simply, are used to send infrared and visible light rays...

Outsourcing is when someone contracts with an outside company...

P

Pacing Algorithm

A pacing algorithm governs how many calls an outbound dialer will attempt...

Call centers that have a similar business profile...

Percent Abandoned

Percent abandoned is the amount of calls that callers have disconnected voluntarily...

Personal Communications

Personal communications refer to any device used by an individual...

The photophone was originally invented jointly...

Premises Distribution System (PDS)

PDS is a building network or a network between groups of buildings...

Protocols are the syntax used to define a procedure for maintaining...

Q

A queue is a telephone system where calls wait until the next...

Queue time measure how much time on average caller waits for a TSR...

R

Real-Time Adherence

Real-time adherence is a statistic given by the ACD...

Recorded Announcement

What a caller hears when they are waiting in a queue...

When an agent is working outside the physical traditional call center...

S

Satellite Communications

Satellite communications involve a number of different methods of sending a signal...

Satellite Phone

A satellite telephone, satellite phone, or satphone...

Scripts are call-handling instructions for agents to follow...

Speech Recognition

Scripts are call-handling instructions for agents to follow...

SS7 (Signaling System 7)

SS7 is a method used by phone companies to ring the party being called...

A switchboard (also called a manual branch exchange)...

Switched 800 Service

Switched 800 service is a newer way for phone companies to handle lower volume 800 numbers...

T

T-1 refers to high speed connections used for both telecommunications and internet...

Talk time is the length of time that a call center representative spends...

The telephone or phone is a device which is used to send and receive sound across distance...

Voicemail is a system used for electronic messaging...

TSF (Telephone Service Factor)

Measures how many calls are answered during a given amount of time in seconds...

U

UCD (Uniform Call Distributor)

A less expensive call routing device that send calls among a group more uniformly...

UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply)

UPS is an uninterrupted power supply that uses batteries charged with commercial power...

V

Voice logging is a hardware or software based system used to record calls in a call center...

Voice Response Unit (VRU)

A computer that responds to touch-tone digits entered by a caller...

W

X

Y

Z

Glossary