JP2004248158A - Call sorting destination determination method and call sorter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a call sorting destination determination method capable of selecting the optimum call terminating destination which satisfies requests of a caller and an action addressee. <P>SOLUTION: The call sorting destination determination method has a receiving step for acquiring a caller request skill consisting of skills which the caller requests to the action addressee corresponding to a terminal for call termination and a caller responsive skill consisting of skills which the caller can respond via a network and an action addressee election step for selecting the action addressee who satisfies the caller request skill and the caller responsive skill by referring to an action addressee request skill consisting of skills which the action addressee requests to the caller and an action addressee responsive skill consisting of skills which the action addressee responds to. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a distribution technique for connecting communications such as voice (including VoIP), e-mail (E-mail), facsimile, text message, streaming distribution, Internet service request, etc. to an agent or a server.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a call center system that accepts outgoing calls from customers and users via a communication network, an operator (agent) is arranged at an agent terminal such as a personal computer in order to efficiently and appropriately respond to outgoing calls. I have. In this call center system, outgoing calls are distributed by PBX, CTI (Computer Telephony Integration), or the like, taking into account various skills possessed by the operator (compatible with product A, compatible with product B, etc.).
[0003]
In this case, in a general system, a group is provided for each skill required by the caller. Further, a queue (queue) is provided for each group, and the sender is specified. For example, assuming that there are three types of inquiries of the sender, such as product A, product B, and product C, three receiving groups and queues are provided for each product, and the sender sends In response to the request, the queue is assigned to one of the created queues (for example, Patent Document 1).
[0004]
Such a case can be said to be effective when the number of requests from the caller can be reduced to one, but it is also necessary to make detailed requests such as when there are many types of inquiries, or to connect multiple requests together. If you make a request, you will have to create a large number of groups. For example, when the caller requests N connection types such as product A,... Z, English, Japanese, and qualification A as the connection request type, for example, an operator having product A & English & qualification A When connecting, many groups are required as connection groups.
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-92213
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the conventional call center system has the following problems.
That is, in the conventional call center system, a queue is provided for each request included in an outgoing call of the caller, and the outgoing call is stored in these queues. A queue had to be created, and management was complicated.
Further, in the above-described call center system, connection can be made based on skills that the operator can handle, but it has been difficult to connect to a caller that the operator wants to handle.
[0007]
Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems and problems of the related art, and an object of the present invention is to connect a caller and a callee with a request of the caller and the callee. An object of the present invention is to provide a distribution destination determination method capable of selecting an optimum destination that is satisfied.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a call destination determining method according to the present invention is a call destination determining method for distributing an outgoing call from a caller received via a network to one of a plurality of receiving terminals. A receiving step of acquiring, via a network, a caller requesting skill consisting of a skill that the caller requests from the callee corresponding to the receiving terminal, and a caller responding skill consisting of a skill that the caller can handle through the network. Refers to the callee request skills consisting of the skills that the caller requests from the caller and the callee support skills consisting of the skills that the caller can handle, and selects the callees who satisfy the caller request skills and the caller support skills. Selecting a called party to be selected.
In this way, the outgoing call from the caller is selected based on the caller's requester skill and caller available skill of the caller and the callee request skill and caller available skill of the callee.
The method may further include an outgoing call assigning step of assigning an outgoing call from the caller to the callee selected in the callee selecting step.
[0009]
Further, the callee selection step includes, based on a result of a logical operation of the identification code corresponding to the caller available skill and the caller request skill and the identification code corresponding to the callee request skill and the callee request skill, the callee May be selected.
In this way, the called party is searched and connected based on the identification-encoded skills required by the called party.
[0010]
Further, the call distributing apparatus according to the present invention is a call distributing apparatus for distributing an outgoing call from a caller received via a network to one of a plurality of receiving terminals. A storage unit that stores, for each called party, a called party requesting skill that is a skill that the caller requests from the calling party and a called party responding skill that is a skill that the called party can handle, and the caller requests the called party. Refers to the receiving unit that acquires, via the network, the caller-requested skills consisting of the skills and the caller-speakable skills consisting of the skills that the caller can respond to, and the caller-requested skills and the caller-responsible skills, and makes the call Selects a callee who satisfies the caller request skills consisting of the skills that the caller requests from the callee and the caller support skills consisting of the skills that the caller can handle, and determines whether the selected callee is the caller. It is obtained by so and a distribution unit for assigning an outgoing call.
[0011]
Further, the storage unit stores the callee request skill and the callee supportable skill coded and stored, and the distribution unit processes the coded caller request skill and the callee supportable skill. You may do so.
In this way, many skills are set as the callee request skill and the callee-capable skill.
[0012]
Further, the distribution unit identifies the callee based on the result of a logical operation of the identification code corresponding to the caller-skill that can be handled and the caller-requested skill and the identification code corresponding to the callee-requested skill and the callee-requested skill. You may make it select.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In all the drawings for describing the embodiments, parts having the same functions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description will be omitted.
[0014]
Hereinafter, a call center system will be described as an example of a communication system for distributing an outgoing call from a caller to a callee corresponding to a terminating terminal.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The communication system according to the embodiment includes a call distribution device 2, an agent terminal device A3, and an agent terminal device B4, which are connected by a transmission medium 6. The call distribution device 2, the agent terminal device A3, and the agent terminal device B4 are connected to the terminal device 5 via the communication network 1 and can communicate with the terminal device 5. As the communication network 1, a data communication network, a telephone network, or the like can be used.
The call distributing apparatus 2 is capable of receiving various outgoing calls from the terminal device 5 connected via the communication network 1 to a plurality of receiving terminals capable of responding to incoming calls of a predetermined type, that is, agent terminal devices A3, It is a device that is assigned to any of the agent terminal devices B4.
[0015]
Next, the call distributor 2 will be described.
The call distribution device 2 according to the present embodiment includes a group identification unit 2-1, a distribution request analysis unit 2-2, a queue management unit 2-3, a control unit 2-4, and a distribution unit 2 -5, an agent state management unit 2-6, and a storage unit 2-7.
[0016]
The group specifying unit 2-1 acquires, via a network, a caller request skill composed of skills required by the caller from the callee and an incoming call request composed of caller-response skills composed of skills that the caller can handle. Further, when the called party (operator) of the agent terminal device is managed in one or more groups having different skills, based on the acquired calling party requesting skill and the calling party available skill, the calling party Is determined prior to the operator's selection.
[0017]
The distribution request analysis unit 2-2 analyzes and encodes the incoming request. For example, if the incoming call request from the caller includes information indicating that an operator who can speak English and can inquire about the product A and the product B is included, and the caller is a VIP user, the caller is called the caller. The skill desired by the (operator) is to be able to speak English and to be able to inquire about the product A and the product B. If the requesting case is represented by “present” and the non-requesting case is represented by “absent”, the caller request skill is English, VIP user, merchandise A and merchandise B, respectively. Also, in this case, the available skills for the caller are English, VIP user, product A, and product B, respectively.
The coding of the skills that can be handled by the caller is performed, for example, by associating the presence with “1” and the absence with “0”. In this case, the caller request skill is “1011”, and the caller-skill available skill is “1111”.
[0018]
The distribution unit 2-5 is based on the caller request skill and the caller response available skill encoded by the above-described distribution request analysis unit 2-2, and a callee request skill and a callee request skill described later. Then, the connection destination of the outgoing call is selected, and the outgoing call is connected to the selected agent terminal device. For example, connection is made using an agent terminal device number for identifying the selected agent terminal device.
The queue management unit 2-3 manages a queue for the call distributed by the distribution unit 2-5. For example, if a callee having the same incoming call requesting skill and a callee-capable skill is selected, the calls are sorted so that the number of calls waiting is reduced.
The agent state management unit 2-6 manages the states of the agent terminal devices A3 and B4. For example, the queue of each agent terminal device is monitored, and when the queue exceeds a certain threshold, an alarm is generated.
[0019]
The storage unit 2-7 includes a called party request skill database, a called party available skill database, and an agent terminal device number.
The agent terminal device number is an identification code of an agent terminal device to which the call distribution device 2 can distribute a call.
The called party request skill database is a database in which called party requested skills, which are skills required by the called party from the calling party, are stored for each called party (operator). For example, when the callee A (operator A) requests the caller to be able to speak English, not to be a VIP user, and to inquire about goods A and B, as shown in FIG. The VIP user, the product A, and the product B are presence, absence, presence, and presence, respectively. Similarly, when the callee B (operator B) requests the caller not to speak English, not to be a VIP user, and to inquire about the product B, English, the VIP user, the product A, and the product B Are nothing, nothing, nothing, and yes, respectively.
[0020]
The called party available skill database is a database in which the called party available skills, which are skills that can be handled by the called party, are stored for each called party. For example, if the skill that the callee A (operator A) can handle is an inquiry about a VIP user, a product A, and a product B that can speak English, as shown in FIG. The item B has “Yes”, “Yes”, “Yes”, and “Yes”. Similarly, if the skills that the callee B (operator B) can deal with are English-capable, not a VIP user, and an inquiry for product B, English, VIP user, product A, and product B are available, available, No, it has.
[0021]
The above-mentioned called party request skill database and called party available skill database may be flagged and stored as identification codes. For example, when “Yes” corresponds to “1” and “No” corresponds to “0”, as shown in FIG. 4, the callee request skill of the callee A (operator A) is “1011” and the callee B ( The called party request skill of the operator B) is “0101”, the called party skill of the called party B (operator B) is “1111”, and the called party skill of the called party B (operator B) is “1101”. Become.
The control unit 2-4 includes an interface (IF) device, an arithmetic device, and a storage device. By operating these hardware resources under a call distribution program stored in the storage device, The function of each unit described above is realized. Here, the call distribution program is a program that causes the call distribution device to function as the control unit 2-4. The call distribution program is provided from the communication network 1, for example.
[0022]
Next, the operation of the communication system according to the present exemplary embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process of determining a distribution destination in the distribution unit 2-5 from the caller request skill and the caller correspondence available skill encoded by the distribution request analysis unit 2-2 described above. .
First, the distribution unit 2-5 of the call distribution device 2 extracts a connection request destination by referring to the agent terminal device number stored in the storage unit 2-7 (S101), and extracts the extracted connection. One connection request destination is selected from the list of request destinations (S102). For example, the connection request destination may be extracted and selected based on the waiting time and the priority.
[0023]
Next, matching is performed between the callee request skill of the callee (operator) corresponding to the selected agent terminal device and the caller-response skill (S103). For example, the sign of the caller-skill that can be inverted may be inverted, and a logical operation may be performed between the caller-skill that can be inverted and the callee-requested skill to perform matching. In addition, a logic operation may be performed on the sign of the skill that can respond to the caller and the sign of the skill requested by the callee, and matching may be performed.
[0024]
Next, based on the result calculated in S103, it is determined whether or not the requirements of both the caller and the callee are satisfied (S104). For example, as described above, if the judgment is made based on the logical operation of the caller-requestable skill with the inverted sign and the called person request skill, for example, the logical product, if 0, the condition is satisfied. (S104: Y). In addition, if the determination is made based on a logical operation of the sign of the caller-sponsorable skill and the sign of the called party required skill, for example, a logical product, the condition is satisfied if the calculation result matches the called party requested skill. (S104: Y).
[0025]
As a result of the determination in S104, if the request is not satisfied (S104: N), the process returns to S102, and if the request is satisfied (S104: Y), matching is performed between the callee supportable skill and the caller request skill ( S105). For example, similarly to the processing in S103, the sign of the skill that can be called may be inverted, and a logical operation may be performed between the skill that can be called and the caller's request skill with this sign inverted. Further, a logical operation may be performed on the sign of the skill that can be called and the sign of the skill requested by the caller (S105).
[0026]
Next, based on the result calculated in S105, it is determined whether or not the requirements of both the caller and the callee are satisfied (S106). For example, as described above, when the determination is made based on a logical operation, for example, a logical product of a caller-requestable skill with inverted signs and a caller request skill, if 0, the condition is satisfied ( S106: Y). In addition, if the judgment is made based on a logical operation of the sign of the skill that can be called and the sign of the caller's required skill, for example, based on the logical product, the condition is set when the calculation result matches the called person's requested skill. It will be satisfied (S106: Y).
[0027]
As a result of the determination, if the request is not satisfied (S106: N), the process returns to S102, and if the request is satisfied (S106: Y), the agent terminal device number selected in S102 is temporarily held as a connectable candidate. The process returns to S102 (S107).
In S102, the next agent terminal device number is selected from the extracted connection request destination, and the above-described processing from S103 to S107 is performed on the called party (operator) of the agent terminal device corresponding to the selected agent terminal device number. Is performed.
[0028]
In S102, the processing from S103 to S107 is completed for all the callees of the extracted agent terminal device of the connection request destination, and if there is no next connection request destination (S102: N), the connection held in S107 is possible. The candidate is confirmed (S108). If no connectable candidate is held (S108: N), the connection request destination is changed to the connection request source, and the connection request destination is stored as a connection request destination list. Alternatively, the connection request source may be used as connection request destination data to wait for connection (S110).
When the connectable candidate is held (S108: Y), the connection destination is determined and connected (S109). For example, the calls may be distributed such that the number of calls on standby is reduced.
[0029]
In the operation of the communication system according to the above-described embodiment, a case has been described where matching is performed for all connection request destinations extracted in S101. However, when it is determined in S106 that the request is satisfied, the process returns to S102. Instead, the connection destination may be determined in S109. By doing so, the processing time for determining the connection destination can be reduced.
Further, in the operation of the communication system according to the above-described embodiment, after matching between the caller request skill and the caller supportable skill is calculated, the matching between the caller request skill and the caller supportable skill is calculated. Although the case has been described, conversely, after calculating the matching between the caller request skill and the callee available skill, the matching between the caller request skill and the caller available skill may be calculated.
[0030]
In the communication system according to the above-described embodiment, a case is described in which a customer and an agent (operator) communicate with each other, taking a call center system as an example. However, the communication center may be applied to communication between customers or between operators. It may be applied to communication. Further, the present invention is not limited to the call center system, and may be applied to general communication in which call distribution is required.
[0031]
【The invention's effect】
According to the communication system of the present invention, a caller can set a plurality of skills required of a callee at the time of call distribution, so that the call can be distributed according to the caller's request.
In addition, since the called party can set skills that can be handled, only the caller that can be handled needs to be handled, and the transfer of calls after the handling can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram for explaining a communication system according to an embodiment for distributing an outgoing call from a caller to each callee.
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a called party request skill database in the call distribution device according to the present embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a skill database that can handle a callee in the call distributing apparatus according to the embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a called party request skill and a called party available skill in the call distribution device according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the communication system according to the exemplary embodiment;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Communication network, 2 ... Call distribution apparatus, 3 ... Agent terminal apparatus A, 4 ... Agent terminal apparatus B, 5 ... Terminal apparatus, 6 ... Transmission medium.

Claims (6)

In a call distribution destination determination method for distributing an outgoing call from a caller received via a network to one of a plurality of receiving terminals,
A receiving step of obtaining, via the network, a caller requesting skill consisting of a skill that the caller requests from a callee corresponding to the receiving terminal and a caller-speakable skill consisting of skills that the caller can handle. When,
The called party refers to a called party requesting skill consisting of skills required of the caller and a called party available skill consisting of skills that the called party can handle, and the caller requested skill and the caller available skill are referred to. A callee selection step of selecting a callee to be satisfied;
A method of determining a call distribution destination, comprising: The method according to claim 1,
Further, there is provided an outgoing call assigning step of assigning an outgoing call from the caller to the callee selected in the callee selecting step. The method according to claim 1,
The callee selection step is based on a result of a logical operation of the identification code corresponding to the caller-sponsorable skill and the caller request skill, and the identification code corresponding to the callee request skill and the callee request skill. A method of determining a call destination, wherein a callee is selected. In a call distribution device for distributing an outgoing call from a caller received via a network to one of a plurality of receiving terminals,
A storage for storing, for each of the called parties, a called party requesting skill composed of skills required by the called party corresponding to the incoming call terminal to the caller and a called party responding skill composed of skills that the called party can handle. Department and
A receiving unit that obtains, via the network, a caller request skill composed of a skill that the caller requests from the callee and a caller-capable skill composed of a skill that the caller can respond to,
With reference to the called party request skill and the called party available skill, a caller requested skill consisting of a skill that the caller requests from the called party and a caller available skill consisting of a skill that the caller can handle, Selecting a recipient that satisfies, and assigning an outgoing call from the caller to the selected recipient,
A call distribution apparatus comprising: The call distributor according to claim 4,
In the storage unit, the called party request skill and the called party available skill are encoded and stored,
The call distributing apparatus, wherein the distributing unit processes the encoded caller request skill and the callee respondable skill. The call distributor according to claim 5,
The distributing unit is configured to perform the incoming call on the basis of a result of a logical operation of the identification code corresponding to the caller supportable skill and the caller request skill and the identification code corresponding to the callee request skill and the callee request skill. A call distributing apparatus characterized by selecting a person.

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