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WO2024112297A1 - A customer representative planning system - Google Patents

A customer representative planning system Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2024112297A1
WO2024112297A1 PCT/TR2023/051334 TR2023051334W WO2024112297A1 WO 2024112297 A1 WO2024112297 A1 WO 2024112297A1 TR 2023051334 W TR2023051334 W TR 2023051334W WO 2024112297 A1 WO2024112297 A1 WO 2024112297A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
server
call
call center
application
data
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
PCT/TR2023/051334
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Muhammet Ali KADIOGLU
Furkan GUL
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Dogus Bilgi İslem ve Teknoloji Hizmetleri AS
Original Assignee
Dogus Bilgi İslem ve Teknoloji Hizmetleri AS
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from TR2022/017669 external-priority patent/TR2022017669A2/en
Application filed by Dogus Bilgi İslem ve Teknoloji Hizmetleri AS filed Critical Dogus Bilgi İslem ve Teknoloji Hizmetleri AS
Publication of WO2024112297A1 publication Critical patent/WO2024112297A1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
    • H04M3/42—Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
    • H04M3/50—Centralised arrangements for answering calls; Centralised arrangements for recording messages for absent or busy subscribers ; Centralised arrangements for recording messages
    • H04M3/51—Centralised call answering arrangements requiring operator intervention, e.g. call or contact centers for telemarketing
    • H04M3/5175—Call or contact centers supervision arrangements
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/06—Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
    • G06Q10/063—Operations research, analysis or management
    • G06Q10/0631—Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
    • G06Q10/06311—Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
    • G06Q30/01—Customer relationship services
    • G06Q30/015—Providing customer assistance, e.g. assisting a customer within a business location or via helpdesk
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
    • G06Q30/01—Customer relationship services
    • G06Q30/015—Providing customer assistance, e.g. assisting a customer within a business location or via helpdesk
    • G06Q30/016—After-sales
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M2203/00—Aspects of automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
    • H04M2203/40—Aspects of automatic or semi-automatic exchanges related to call centers
    • H04M2203/402—Agent or workforce management
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
    • H04M3/42—Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
    • H04M3/50—Centralised arrangements for answering calls; Centralised arrangements for recording messages for absent or busy subscribers ; Centralised arrangements for recording messages
    • H04M3/51—Centralised call answering arrangements requiring operator intervention, e.g. call or contact centers for telemarketing
    • H04M3/523—Centralised call answering arrangements requiring operator intervention, e.g. call or contact centers for telemarketing with call distribution or queueing
    • H04M3/5238—Centralised call answering arrangements requiring operator intervention, e.g. call or contact centers for telemarketing with call distribution or queueing with waiting time or load prediction arrangements

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a system for estimating the total workload volume and the required human resources (call center employee/customer representative) in future periods by analyzing incoming and outgoing calls to call centers within a certain period of time, in accordance with certain criteria and for carrying out a customer representative planning automatically.
  • call centers Today, customers who purchase or use any service are contacted via call centers.
  • customers can both call call centers about any issue related to the services they use, and companies or institutions can get in contact with their customers.
  • Call centers where sales operations of products and services take place are units with high strategic importance for enterprises due to the visibility they provide. All improvements and developments to be made in these important units where direct communication is provided with customers who are the source of income of enterprises, are of critical importance. Therefore, enterprises carry out studies to improve workforce management so as to develop call centers and provide value to their customers via phone lines.
  • Calls are made by call centers for requests received from various channels and calls received from customers are answered.
  • Customer representative planning is carried out on a weekly basis in order to determine the personnel who will carry out these communications.
  • Workforce management is defined as allocating the optimum resource to pre-defined shifts in such a way that requirements of personnel need and service level are always met.
  • a shift consists of fixed time periods, for example hours and although personnel level is constant in a shift, average customer arrival rates may vary between these periods.
  • the purpose of workforce planning is to allocate the minimum number of workforce that will meet the requirements of minimum service level, for example in each hourly period. In applications whereby workforce is determined, a decision variable can be shown as determination of the number of personnel to be allocated to a shift from each skill group.
  • JP2012181719A discloses a work shift plan table creation apparatus for individuals who work on shifts in a call center or hospital.
  • a work shift table creation apparatus wherein a predetermined work form is assigned to a lot of employees every day within a predetermined period of time.
  • the work shift plan table creation apparatus comprises a work shift table data acquisition unit for acquiring data on a work shift table created in the past; a shift pattern estimation unit for, from the data on a work shift table obtained in the past that is acquired by the work shift table data acquisition unit, estimating a work form pattern having the highest probability by an algorithm using probability; a constraint condition storage unit for storing a pre-set constraint condition; and a work shift table creation processing unit for, by using a constraint program to satisfy the constraint conditions stored in the constraint condition storage unit and allocating a work form to each employee in a predetermined period, creating a work shift table.
  • the shift pattern estimation unit obtains statistical information from the data of a past work shift table (including a modified work shift table) acquired by the work shift table data acquisition unit and it estimates a work form pattern having the highest probability by an algorithm.
  • the created work shift table can be viewed and stored on an imaging device.
  • the work shift table creation processing unit can allocate a suitable work form for each employee for every weekday by the constraint program satisfying the items of constraint condition.
  • An objective of the present invention is to realize a system which enables to estimate the total workload volume and the required human resources in future periods by analyzing incoming and outgoing calls to call centers within a certain period of time, in accordance with certain criteria and to carry out a customer representative planning automatically.
  • Another objective of the present invention is to realize a system enables to minimize costs of human resource, by assigning the right number of customer representatives to the right hour intervals and to use existing resources more efficiently.
  • Figure l is a schematic view of the inventive system. The components illustrated in the figure are individually numbered, where the numbers refer to the following:
  • the system (1) for estimating the total workload volume and the required human resources (call center employee/customer representative) in future periods by analysing incoming and outgoing calls to call centers within a certain period of time, in accordance with certain criteria and for carrying out a customer representative planning automatically comprises at least one electronic device (2) which is configured to realize data exchange by using any remote communication protocol and to run at least one application itself; at least one application (3) which is run on the electronic device (2) and configured to enable at least authorized users to carry out transactions of customer representative planning by means of interfaces provided; to set the parameters to be used in planning of call center customer representatives and to view analysis and planning results; at least one database (4) which is configured to keep record of data about calls made in a call center and analysis results of customer representative planning in itself; and at least one server (5) which is configured to establish communication with the electronic device (2) by using any remote communication protocol and to realize data exchange with the application (3) that is run on the electronic device (2), over this communication established; to establish communication and to realize data exchange with the call center server (A); to manage the database (4); to receive
  • the electronic device (2) included in the inventive system (1) is a device such as smartphone, tablet computer, desktop computer or portable computer configured to run at least one application (3) on itself.
  • the said electronic device (2) has speakers for providing audio output, at least one camera capable of taking a photo, and an input unit in the form of key or touchscreen.
  • the electronic device (2) is configured to establish connection with the server (5) by using any communication protocol included in the state of art and to ensure that data exchange is realized between the application (3) and the server (5) over this connection established.
  • the electronic device (2) is configured to realize data exchange with the server (5) by using a data bus such as Internet.
  • the application (3) included in the inventive system (1) is run on the electronic device (2) and configured to enable at least authorized users to carry out transactions of customer representative planning by logging in with the login information identified to them.
  • the said application (3) is configured to enable users to input and/or update the parameters to be used in planning of call center customer representative.
  • the application (3) is configured to provide at least one interface adapted such that it will enable users to define a service level parameter indicating what percentage of calls coming to a call center is connected to a customer representative in a time earlier than a target time -that defines a time targeted for a call to wait so as to be connected to a customer representative- in such way that it is a shared value for incoming and outgoing calls.
  • the application (3) is configured to provide at least one interface adapted such that it will enable users to define an occupancy rate parameter indicating the highest density level that they can reach in accordance with the requests received by the call center through the service provided by call center customer representatives, in such way that it is a shared value for incoming and outgoing calls.
  • the said application (3) is configured to provide at least one interface adapted such that it will enable users to define average response time parameters of incoming and outgoing calls in such way that they are two separate parameters on the basis of call type.
  • the application (3) is configured to transmit the parameter values defined by a user to the server (5).
  • the application (3) is configured to enable users to view and manage analysis and planning results.
  • the application (3) is configured to enable users to do analysis studies they will carry out on the total number of calls and the average call durations over historical data, in addition to studies of customer representative shift planning.
  • the said application (3) is configured to provide at least one interface adapted such that it will enable users to view and manage the number of calls and the call durations with daily/weekly/monthly averages between the start and end dates they will determine by selecting the call type on the historical data set.
  • the database (4) included in the inventive system (1) is in communication with the server (5) and configured to be managed by the server (5).
  • the said database (4) is configured to keep record of data about calls made in a call center in such a way that they are associated with a timestamp in itself.
  • the database (4) is configured to keep record of data such as call time indicating the start time of a call related to call center communications, campaign type, connection status indicating whether the customer representative reached the customer or not, call duration and time elapsed for the call to occur in itself.
  • the database (4) is also configured to keep record of results of customer representative planning analysis, in itself.
  • the server (5) included in the inventive system (1) is configured to establish communication with the electronic device (2) by using any remote communication protocol included in the state of the art and to realize data exchange with the application (3) that is run on the electronic device (2), over this communication established.
  • the server (5) is configured to establish communication with the electronic device (2) over a data network such as Internet.
  • the server (5) is configured to access the data in the database (4) and to manage the data in the database (4).
  • the said server (5) is configured to establish communication with the call center server (A) and to receive the data about the incoming and outgoing calls made in a call center over this communication established.
  • the server (5) is configured to process and analyse the call data received from the call center server (A).
  • the server (5) is configured to calculate the numbers and the durations of calls coming to a call center and made for customers from a call center for a certain period of time in the past, in accordance with the call data received from the call center server (A).
  • the said server (5) is configured to determine a workload value for the period when a calculation is made in accordance with the numbers and the durations of calls calculated and to estimate a workload for a future period by analysing the workload value in a determined period with certain parameters.
  • the server (5) which is configured to estimate the number of personnel (customer representative) who can meet the related workload in accordance with the estimated workload.
  • the server (5) is configured to perform workload estimation by using Prophet model that can learn effects of non-linear trends such as annual, weekly and daily seasonality and non-business days, in cases where there is strong seasonal effect and historical time series data can be provided for several seasons.
  • the server (5) is configured to calculate the numbers of total incoming and outgoing calls and the average call periods in the working hours of the call center in the previous period (Seven days a week, between 09:00-22:00) within the call center call data when it estimates the workload value for a future period (week).
  • the server (5) is configured to calculate a contraction parameter providing the ratio of the time when a customer representative is unavailable to answer incoming calls (times when a customer representative is unavailable to answer calls due to reasons such as meal breaks, breaks, planned training, etc.) to the total working hours, in accordance with the data of call center communication received from the call center server (A) and the reports of customer representative productivity obtained from the application (3).
  • the server (5) is configured to receive the total number of calls determined, the service level created by the user over the application (3), the occupancy rate and the parameters of average response time and the parameter of contraction rate and then to determine the number of customer representatives who should be available by considering the number of customer representatives who will meet the workload without contraction and the contraction value, in accordance with the said data and parameters.
  • the server (5) is configured to transmit the determined number of customer representatives to the application (3) so as to be provided to the users and to save them to the database (4).
  • the said server (5) is configured to make a calculation again in the event that users update parameters of contraction rate, service level, occupancy rate and average response time on the application (3) and to determine the number of new customer representatives and to transmit it to the application (3).
  • the server (5) is configured to create a queue structure for workforce planning by providing an estimated workload data to a queue model where s/he can be waited in queue in cases where a service provider is busy in a customer’s request for service.
  • the server (5) is configured to create a queue structure by providing an estimated workload data to a modes in the form of Erlang C, as an input and to transmit it to the application (3) so as to be analysed by users who are call center managers.
  • the inventive system (1) it is ensured to determine the total workload volume of incoming and outgoing calls estimated to occur and the human resource required in hourly periods, so as to be used weekly customer representative planning in a call center. With the system (1), it is possible to determine the number of optimal customer representative who should be kept available in these periods, by estimating the future workload on an hourly basis so as to be used in weekly plans for a call center.

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Abstract

The present invention relates to a system (1) for estimating the total workload volume and the required human resources (call center employee/customer representative) in future periods by analyzing incoming and outgoing calls to call centers within a certain period of time, in accordance with certain criteria and for carrying out a customer representative planning automatically.

Description

A CUSTOMER REPRESENTATIVE PLANNING SYSTEM
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a system for estimating the total workload volume and the required human resources (call center employee/customer representative) in future periods by analyzing incoming and outgoing calls to call centers within a certain period of time, in accordance with certain criteria and for carrying out a customer representative planning automatically.
Background of the Invention
Today, customers who purchase or use any service are contacted via call centers. By means of call centers, customers can both call call centers about any issue related to the services they use, and companies or institutions can get in contact with their customers. Call centers where sales operations of products and services take place are units with high strategic importance for enterprises due to the visibility they provide. All improvements and developments to be made in these important units where direct communication is provided with customers who are the source of income of enterprises, are of critical importance. Therefore, enterprises carry out studies to improve workforce management so as to develop call centers and provide value to their customers via phone lines.
Calls are made by call centers for requests received from various channels and calls received from customers are answered. Customer representative planning is carried out on a weekly basis in order to determine the personnel who will carry out these communications. Workforce management is defined as allocating the optimum resource to pre-defined shifts in such a way that requirements of personnel need and service level are always met. A shift consists of fixed time periods, for example hours and although personnel level is constant in a shift, average customer arrival rates may vary between these periods. The purpose of workforce planning is to allocate the minimum number of workforce that will meet the requirements of minimum service level, for example in each hourly period. In applications whereby workforce is determined, a decision variable can be shown as determination of the number of personnel to be allocated to a shift from each skill group. Workforce management is of critical importance in call centers where calls are made with customers by authorized persons. Carrying out more effective and efficient workforce planning in call centers is one of the important task that must be achieved by enterprises. In call centers where call arrival rates are liable to fluctuate during the day, it is of great importance to carry out a representative planning correctly in order to maintain the level of customer satisfaction.
Therefore, considering the studies and the deficiencies included in the state of art, it is understood that there is need for a system which can be used for calculating the number of customer representative (CR) required for each time period in call canters and enables to estimate the workload to be used in weekly customer representative plannings and to determine the necessary human resources on an hourly basis.
The Japanese patent document no. JP2012181719A, an application included in the state of the art, discloses a work shift plan table creation apparatus for individuals who work on shifts in a call center or hospital. In the apparatus of the said invention, there is provided a work shift table creation apparatus wherein a predetermined work form is assigned to a lot of employees every day within a predetermined period of time. The work shift plan table creation apparatus comprises a work shift table data acquisition unit for acquiring data on a work shift table created in the past; a shift pattern estimation unit for, from the data on a work shift table obtained in the past that is acquired by the work shift table data acquisition unit, estimating a work form pattern having the highest probability by an algorithm using probability; a constraint condition storage unit for storing a pre-set constraint condition; and a work shift table creation processing unit for, by using a constraint program to satisfy the constraint conditions stored in the constraint condition storage unit and allocating a work form to each employee in a predetermined period, creating a work shift table. The shift pattern estimation unit obtains statistical information from the data of a past work shift table (including a modified work shift table) acquired by the work shift table data acquisition unit and it estimates a work form pattern having the highest probability by an algorithm. The created work shift table can be viewed and stored on an imaging device. According to the work shift table creation apparatus, the work shift table creation processing unit can allocate a suitable work form for each employee for every weekday by the constraint program satisfying the items of constraint condition.
Summary of the Invention
An objective of the present invention is to realize a system which enables to estimate the total workload volume and the required human resources in future periods by analyzing incoming and outgoing calls to call centers within a certain period of time, in accordance with certain criteria and to carry out a customer representative planning automatically.
Another objective of the present invention is to realize a system enables to minimize costs of human resource, by assigning the right number of customer representatives to the right hour intervals and to use existing resources more efficiently.
Detailed Description of the Invention
The “A Customer Representative Planning System” realized to fulfil the objectives of the present invention is shown in the figure attached, in which:
Figure l is a schematic view of the inventive system. The components illustrated in the figure are individually numbered, where the numbers refer to the following:
1. System
2. Electronic device
3. Application
4. Database
5. Server
A. Call center server
The system (1) for estimating the total workload volume and the required human resources (call center employee/customer representative) in future periods by analysing incoming and outgoing calls to call centers within a certain period of time, in accordance with certain criteria and for carrying out a customer representative planning automatically; comprises at least one electronic device (2) which is configured to realize data exchange by using any remote communication protocol and to run at least one application itself; at least one application (3) which is run on the electronic device (2) and configured to enable at least authorized users to carry out transactions of customer representative planning by means of interfaces provided; to set the parameters to be used in planning of call center customer representatives and to view analysis and planning results; at least one database (4) which is configured to keep record of data about calls made in a call center and analysis results of customer representative planning in itself; and at least one server (5) which is configured to establish communication with the electronic device (2) by using any remote communication protocol and to realize data exchange with the application (3) that is run on the electronic device (2), over this communication established; to establish communication and to realize data exchange with the call center server (A); to manage the database (4); to receive the data about calls, that are made on a call center, from the call center server (A) by being triggered at certain periods and then to analyse them in accordance with the parameters determined over the application (3); to determine the workload encountered in a call center for certain periods in the past by calculating the total numbers of incoming and outgoing calls in accordance with the analyzed call data; to estimate the workload for a future period in accordance with the determined workload data; to determine the number of required customer representatives in accordance with the estimated workload and then to transmit it to the application (3) so as to be presented to the users.
The electronic device (2) included in the inventive system (1) is a device such as smartphone, tablet computer, desktop computer or portable computer configured to run at least one application (3) on itself. The said electronic device (2) has speakers for providing audio output, at least one camera capable of taking a photo, and an input unit in the form of key or touchscreen. The electronic device (2) is configured to establish connection with the server (5) by using any communication protocol included in the state of art and to ensure that data exchange is realized between the application (3) and the server (5) over this connection established. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the electronic device (2) is configured to realize data exchange with the server (5) by using a data bus such as Internet.
The application (3) included in the inventive system (1) is run on the electronic device (2) and configured to enable at least authorized users to carry out transactions of customer representative planning by logging in with the login information identified to them. The said application (3) is configured to enable users to input and/or update the parameters to be used in planning of call center customer representative. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the application (3) is configured to provide at least one interface adapted such that it will enable users to define a service level parameter indicating what percentage of calls coming to a call center is connected to a customer representative in a time earlier than a target time -that defines a time targeted for a call to wait so as to be connected to a customer representative- in such way that it is a shared value for incoming and outgoing calls. The application (3) is configured to provide at least one interface adapted such that it will enable users to define an occupancy rate parameter indicating the highest density level that they can reach in accordance with the requests received by the call center through the service provided by call center customer representatives, in such way that it is a shared value for incoming and outgoing calls. The said application (3) is configured to provide at least one interface adapted such that it will enable users to define average response time parameters of incoming and outgoing calls in such way that they are two separate parameters on the basis of call type. The application (3) is configured to transmit the parameter values defined by a user to the server (5).
In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the application (3) is configured to enable users to view and manage analysis and planning results. The application (3) is configured to enable users to do analysis studies they will carry out on the total number of calls and the average call durations over historical data, in addition to studies of customer representative shift planning. The said application (3) is configured to provide at least one interface adapted such that it will enable users to view and manage the number of calls and the call durations with daily/weekly/monthly averages between the start and end dates they will determine by selecting the call type on the historical data set.
The database (4) included in the inventive system (1) is in communication with the server (5) and configured to be managed by the server (5). The said database (4) is configured to keep record of data about calls made in a call center in such a way that they are associated with a timestamp in itself. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the database (4) is configured to keep record of data such as call time indicating the start time of a call related to call center communications, campaign type, connection status indicating whether the customer representative reached the customer or not, call duration and time elapsed for the call to occur in itself. The database (4) is also configured to keep record of results of customer representative planning analysis, in itself.
The server (5) included in the inventive system (1) is configured to establish communication with the electronic device (2) by using any remote communication protocol included in the state of the art and to realize data exchange with the application (3) that is run on the electronic device (2), over this communication established. The server (5) is configured to establish communication with the electronic device (2) over a data network such as Internet. The server (5) is configured to access the data in the database (4) and to manage the data in the database (4). The said server (5) is configured to establish communication with the call center server (A) and to receive the data about the incoming and outgoing calls made in a call center over this communication established. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the server (5) is configured to process and analyse the call data received from the call center server (A). The server (5) is configured to calculate the numbers and the durations of calls coming to a call center and made for customers from a call center for a certain period of time in the past, in accordance with the call data received from the call center server (A). The said server (5) is configured to determine a workload value for the period when a calculation is made in accordance with the numbers and the durations of calls calculated and to estimate a workload for a future period by analysing the workload value in a determined period with certain parameters. The server (5) which is configured to estimate the number of personnel (customer representative) who can meet the related workload in accordance with the estimated workload. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the server (5) is configured to perform workload estimation by using Prophet model that can learn effects of non-linear trends such as annual, weekly and daily seasonality and non-business days, in cases where there is strong seasonal effect and historical time series data can be provided for several seasons. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the server (5) is configured to calculate the numbers of total incoming and outgoing calls and the average call periods in the working hours of the call center in the previous period (Seven days a week, between 09:00-22:00) within the call center call data when it estimates the workload value for a future period (week). The server (5) is configured to calculate a contraction parameter providing the ratio of the time when a customer representative is unavailable to answer incoming calls (times when a customer representative is unavailable to answer calls due to reasons such as meal breaks, breaks, planned training, etc.) to the total working hours, in accordance with the data of call center communication received from the call center server (A) and the reports of customer representative productivity obtained from the application (3).
The server (5) is configured to receive the total number of calls determined, the service level created by the user over the application (3), the occupancy rate and the parameters of average response time and the parameter of contraction rate and then to determine the number of customer representatives who should be available by considering the number of customer representatives who will meet the workload without contraction and the contraction value, in accordance with the said data and parameters. The server (5) is configured to transmit the determined number of customer representatives to the application (3) so as to be provided to the users and to save them to the database (4). The said server (5) is configured to make a calculation again in the event that users update parameters of contraction rate, service level, occupancy rate and average response time on the application (3) and to determine the number of new customer representatives and to transmit it to the application (3).
The server (5) is configured to create a queue structure for workforce planning by providing an estimated workload data to a queue model where s/he can be waited in queue in cases where a service provider is busy in a customer’s request for service. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the server (5) is configured to create a queue structure by providing an estimated workload data to a modes in the form of Erlang C, as an input and to transmit it to the application (3) so as to be analysed by users who are call center managers.
Industrial Application of the Invention
In the inventive system (1), it is ensured to determine the total workload volume of incoming and outgoing calls estimated to occur and the human resource required in hourly periods, so as to be used weekly customer representative planning in a call center. With the system (1), it is possible to determine the number of optimal customer representative who should be kept available in these periods, by estimating the future workload on an hourly basis so as to be used in weekly plans for a call center.
Within these basic concepts; it is possible to develop various embodiments of the inventive “Customer Representative Planning System (1)”, the invention cannot be limited to examples disclosed herein and it is essentially according to claims.

Claims

CLAIMS A system (1) for estimating the total workload volume and the required human resources (call center employee/customer representative) in future periods by analysing incoming and outgoing calls to call centers within a certain period of time, in accordance with certain criteria and for carrying out a customer representative planning automatically; comprising at least one electronic device (2) which is configured to realize data exchange by using any remote communication protocol and to run at least one application itself; at least one application (3) which is run on the electronic device (2) and configured to enable at least authorized users to carry out transactions of customer representative planning by means of interfaces provided; to set the parameters to be used in planning of call center customer representatives and to view analysis and planning results; at least one database (4) which is configured to keep record of data about calls made in a call center and analysis results of customer representative planning in itself; and and characterized by at least one server (5) which is configured to establish communication with the electronic device (2) by using any remote communication protocol and to realize data exchange with the application (3) that is run on the electronic device (2), over this communication established; to establish communication and to realize data exchange with the call center server (A); to manage the database (4); to receive the data about calls, that are made on a call center, from the call center server (A) by being triggered at certain periods and then to analyse them in accordance with the parameters determined over the application (3); to determine the workload encountered in a call center for certain periods in the past by calculating the total numbers of incoming and outgoing calls in accordance with the analyzed call data; to estimate the workload for a future period in accordance with the determined workload data; to determine the number of required customer representatives in accordance with the estimated workload and then to transmit it to the application (3) so as to be presented to the users. A system (1) according to Claim 1; characterized by the electronic device (2) which is a device such as smartphone, tablet computer, desktop computer or portable computer configured to run at least one application (3) on itself. A system (1) according to Claim 1 or 2; characterized by the electronic device (2) which has speakers for providing audio output, at least one camera capable of taking a photo, and an input unit in the form of key or touchscreen. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the electronic device (2) which is configured to establish connection with the server (5) by using any communication protocol and to ensure that data exchange is realized between the application (3) and the server (5) over this connection established. A system (1) according to Claim 4; characterized by the electronic device (2) which is configured to realize data exchange with the server (5) by using a data bus such as Internet. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the application (3) which is run on the electronic device (2) and configured to enable at least authorized users to carry out transactions of customer representative planning by logging in with the login information identified to them. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the application (3) which is configured to enable users to input and/or update the parameters to be used in planning of call center customer representative. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the application (3) which is configured to provide at least one interface adapted such that it will enable users to define a service level parameter indicating what percentage of calls coming to a call center is connected to a customer representative in a time earlier than a target time -that defines a time targeted for a call to wait so as to be connected to a customer representative- in such way that it is a shared value for incoming and outgoing calls. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the application (3) which is configured to provide at least one interface adapted such that it will enable users to define an occupancy rate parameter indicating the highest density level that they can reach in accordance with the requests received by the call center through the service provided by call center customer representatives, in such way that it is a shared value for incoming and outgoing calls. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the application (3) which is configured to provide at least one interface adapted such that it will enable users to define average response time parameters of incoming and outgoing calls in such way that they are two separate parameters on the basis of call type.
11. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the application (3) which is configured to transmit the parameter values defined by a user to the server (5).
12. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the application (3) which is configured to enable users to view and manage analysis and planning results.
13. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the application (3) which is configured to enable users to do analysis studies they will carry out on the total number of calls and the average call durations over historical data, in addition to studies of customer representative shift planning.
14. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the application (3) which is configured to provide at least one interface adapted such that it will enable users to view and manage the number of calls and the call durations with daily/weekly/monthly averages between the start and end dates they will determine by selecting the call type on the historical data set.
15. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the database (4) which is in communication with the server (5) and configured to be managed by the server (5).
16. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the database (4) which is configured to keep record of data about calls made in a call center in such a way that they are associated with a timestamp in itself. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the database (4) which is configured to keep record of data such as call time indicating the start time of a call related to call center communications, campaign type, connection status indicating whether the customer representative reached the customer or not, call duration and time elapsed for the call to occur, in itself. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the database (4) which is configured to keep record of results of customer representative planning analysis, in itself. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the server (5) which is configured to establish communication with the electronic device (2) by using any remote communication protocol and to realize data exchange with the application (3) that is run on the electronic device (2), over this communication established. A system (1) according to Claim 19; characterized by the server (5) which is configured to establish communication with the electronic device (2) over a data network such as Internet. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the server (5) which is configured to access the data in the database (4) and to manage the data in the database (4). A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the server (5) which is configured to establish communication with the call center server (A) and to receive the data about the incoming and outgoing calls made in a call center over this communication established.
23. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the server (5) which is configured to process and analyse the call data received from the call center server (A).
24. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the server (5) which is configured to calculate the numbers and the durations of calls coming to a call center and made for customers from a call center for a certain period of time in the past, in accordance with the call data received from the call center server (A).
25. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the server (5) which is configured to determine a workload value for the period when a calculation is made in accordance with the numbers and the durations of calls calculated and to estimate a workload for a future period by analysing the workload value in a determined period with certain parameters.
26. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the server (5) which is configured to estimate the number of personnel who can meet the related workload in accordance with the estimated workload.
27. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the server (5) which is configured to perform workload estimation by using Prophet model that can learn effects of non-linear trends such as annual, weekly and daily seasonality and non-business days, in cases where there is strong seasonal effect and historical time series data can be provided for several seasons.
28. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the server (5) which is configured to calculate the numbers of total incoming and outgoing calls and the average call periods in the working hours of the call center in the previous period within the call center call data when it estimates the workload value for a future period. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the server (5) which is configured to calculate a contraction parameter providing the ratio of the time when a customer representative is unavailable to answer incoming calls to the total working hours, in accordance with the data of call center communication received from the call center server (A) and the reports of customer representative productivity obtained from the application (3). A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the server (5) which is configured to receive the total number of calls determined, the service level created by the user over the application (3), the occupancy rate and the parameters of average response time and the parameter of contraction rate and then to determine the number of customer representatives who should be available by considering the number of customer representatives who will meet the workload without contraction and the contraction value, in accordance with the said data and parameters. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the server (5) which is configured to transmit the determined number of customer representatives to the application (3) so as to be provided to the users and to save them to the database (4). A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the server (5) which is configured to make a calculation again in the event that users update parameters of contraction rate, service level, occupancy rate and average response time on the application (3) and to determine the number of new customer representatives and to transmit it to the application (3). A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the server (5) which is configured to create a queue structure for workforce planning by providing an estimated workload data to a queue model where s/he can be waited in queue in cases where a service provider is busy in a customer’s request for service. A system (1) according to any of the preceding claims; characterized by the server (5) which is configured to create a queue structure by providing an estimated workload data to a modes in the form of Erlang C, as an input and to transmit it to the application (3) so as to be analysed by users who are call center managers.
PCT/TR2023/051334 2022-11-22 2023-11-15 A customer representative planning system Ceased WO2024112297A1 (en)

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TR2022/017669 TR2022017669A2 (en) 2022-11-22 A CUSTOMER REPRESENTATIVE PLANNING SYSTEM
TR2022017669 2022-11-22

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Patent Citations (4)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20120087486A1 (en) * 2010-10-09 2012-04-12 Jose Luis Beltran Guerrero Call center resource allocation
US20160155080A1 (en) * 2014-11-28 2016-06-02 Xerox Corporation Apparatus And Method For Call Center Service Level Prediction And Action
US20180191906A1 (en) * 2016-12-30 2018-07-05 Avaya Inc. Systems and methods for optimal scheduling of resources in a contact center
US20220027837A1 (en) * 2020-07-24 2022-01-27 Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc. Method and system for scalable contact center agent scheduling utilizing automated ai modeling and multi-objective optimization

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