3 Call Routing Strategies And When To Use Them
Written by: Nick Arcuri
Call routing is a feature that some phone systems provide, but how can we use them in the most beneficial way for our business? Use this guide to more out of call routing.
If your business operates with a phone system, you may have a feature called call routing.
Often when the phone system is set up initially, a default set of routing rules are setup for us, or our IT company may implement a something simple so we can move on with our day-to-day.
But what happens when your business needs change:
- When your company grows or shrinks
- Staff turnover
- Employee shift changes
If you have specific teams in your call centre, sales teams, or support departments, there may be additional attention needed when setting up or changing your call routing strategy.
How do you know which one will work best for your business?
Today, we’ll help break down three common call routing strategies and sharing their best use cases.
Round Robin
This is a very common routing strategy.
Round-Robin call routing simply directs callers to the available agent that has been idle, or inactive, the longest.
Maximizing your agents' performance is a science. The one key factor when implementing a round robin is figuring our the order which each call will be answered.
Typically, we recommend equally distributing your calls based on the agent with the longest waiting time, so that agents have the ability to hit their targets without worrying about being the first to answer.
Pairing a team that you are confident in handling calls with a round robin call routing system makes for a very productive day while keeping your call centre running like clockwork.
Ring All
This is your classic “first to answer” strategy.
All available agents get the notification on their devices simultaneously - anyone can retrieve the caller in the queue as soon as they please.
Ring All is not intended for every call centre, but this strategy works wonders for medium-to-large teams knowing that a vast number of agents can immediately take the call once it hits their desk, minimizing hold time.
It can also operate well for non-call centre businesses, where anyone in the office can answer the call and give the same level of support.
Proceed with caution, though, if you already witness a pattern of inactivity with regard to agents ignoring calls after hitting their respective daily targets.
Iron out the kinks and a ring all strategy will put your organization top of mind for responsiveness.
Linear Hunt
Linear Hunt can be a great way to give your callers the best customer experience possible.
It routes callers to the available agents in a predefined order.
Set your phone system to direct callers to hit your #1 group of agents, and if the call remains unattended within that team after a set amount of time, the call can be routed to your #2 group of agents, and so on.
If your phone system includes call analytics, you may want to consider studying your average call time and determining your time interval for when they will be switched over to the next set of agents will definitely rectify any lost calls you’ve been experiencing.
If you notice that one specific group of agents can generally take longer to get through a queue than others or manage more advanced issues on a daily basis, this option is for you. Ensure your customers are taken care of by routing them to your next best team of available agents.
These are just a few tips that net2phone Canada can offer your organization when thinking about the future of your ideal business communications solution - for more insights, you can download our step-by-step guide to choosing a business phone solution, absolutely free!
If you're ready to make a switch from your business phone provider, book a demo with one of our net2phone Canada team members today and explore the options we offer when it comes to customizing your business phone systems.
About the Author
Nick Arcuri | Communications & Content Specialist
Nick is a lover of all things advertising, business, sports, social and video. He pretends to know his cocktails in public and gets lost in F1 race strategies every other weekend. For the times he is not visually storytelling, his marcom-focused mind revolves around what user-friendly communication solutions can offer our clients through the cloud, regardless of their industry.