I. Introduction
A. Brief explanation of CC routes:
CC routes, also known as Call Center routes, are routes or traffic that consist of high volume, short duration calls. These calls are typically sold by aggregators and are different from standard call distribution, which evenly distributes incoming calls to available agents. CC routes are designed to handle a massive number of calls per second (CPS), but the calls themselves are usually very brief in duration. This type of high-intensity traffic requires sufficient capacity and resources to handle the spike in calls.
B. Importance and benefits of effectively managing high-volume CC routes:
Effectively managing high-volume CC routes is crucial for call centers to ensure efficient operations, optimized customer experience, and increased agent productivity. By managing CC routes effectively, call centers can:
1. Handle increased call volume: CC routes allow call centers to handle a large number of calls within a short span of time, enabling them to meet customer demands during peak hours or when dealing with time-sensitive communication such as verification messages or Wholesale voice
2. Optimize agent utilization: With proper management of CC routes, call centers can ensure that the right agents are available at the right time, minimizing idle time and maximizing agent productivity.
3. Enhance customer satisfaction: Efficient management of CC routes ensures that calls are distributed and handled promptly, reducing wait times and providing a seamless customer experience.
4. Increase revenue potential: By being able to handle high-volume CC routes effectively, call centers can attract more clients, especially those seeking to deliver short voice broadcasts or verification messages to a large audience.
5. Improve call center efficiency: An optimized CC route management system ensures that call center resources, such as bandwidth and infrastructure, are effectively allocated, preventing bottlenecks and call failures.
C. Overview of the challenges and considerations surrounding CC routes:
Managing high-volume CC routes presents some unique challenges that call centers must be prepared to handle. These challenges include:
1. Ensuring adequate capacity and bandwidth:
CC routes can flood networks with thousands of extra calls per second, leading to strain on bandwidth. Call centers need to have sufficient voice capacity and burstable bandwidth to absorb the spike in CC traffic. The network infrastructure should be overprovisioned and scalable to maintain voice quality during high-volume CC traffic.
2. Preventing bottlenecks and dropped calls:
Narrow network bottlenecks and resource constraints can lead to call failures when CC traffic spikes occur. It is essential to identify and widen any bandwidth or resource constraints that could create chokepoints and monitor systems in real-time for warning signs of disruption during CC floods.
3. Maintaining voice quality:
Customers often complain about poor voice quality on crackly CC route calls. To prioritize voice quality, call centers should avoid over compressing voice codecs to maximize capacity. Regular evaluation of Mean Opinion Scores (MOS) helps identify any dips in voice quality during CC spikes.
4. Balancing CC and non-CC traffic:
Allowing CC spikes to overwhelm systems can make it difficult to handle non-CC calls effectively. Creating dedicated CC bandwidth pools ensures that other traffic, such as standard incoming calls, gets priority access. It is helpful to set capacity thresholds where CC traffic is automatically throttled if it reaches defined limits.
5. Vetting reputable CC route providers:
The CC route market is flooded with providers of varying quality. It is crucial for call centers to thoroughly evaluate potential providers based on technical expertise, business practices, and past performance. Testing CC routes extensively before fully integrating them into the production traffic flow is essential to ensure quality and reliability.
Effectively managing high-volume CC routes requires careful planning, proactive monitoring, and continuous optimization to handle the unique challenges and maximize the benefits they offer to call centers.
II. Understanding CC Routes and Their Pricing Considerations
A. Definition and characteristics of CC routes:
CC routes consist of high-volume, short duration calls that are typically sold by aggregators. These routes are specifically designed to handle a large number of calls per second (CPS). The calls are often very brief in duration, such as voice broadcasts or verification messages. CC routes require sufficient capacity and resources to handle the spike in calls within a short timeframe.
B. Differentiating CC routes from standard call distribution:
CC routes differ from standard call distribution in their purpose and handling. While standard call distribution evenly allocates incoming calls to available agents, CC routes are focused on packing a high number of calls per second, bypassing traditional distribution and directly delivering the calls to designated endpoints. CC routes are typically utilized for specific purposes such as voice broadcasts, verification messages, or other Wholesale VoIP communications.
C. Pricing considerations for international CC routes:
When it comes to international CC routes, there are several factors to consider in terms of pricing:
1. Per minute billing increments:
International calls are often billed in increments of 6 seconds or per minute, depending on the destination. Short-duration CC routes to certain countries can quickly accumulate charges if each call gets rounded up to the next billing unit. This can significantly impact costs, especially with a high volume of calls.
2. Peak vs off-peak rates:
International call rates fluctuate based on the time of day and weekdays versus weekends. Peak hours to high-demand countries can drive up CC costs significantly. Call centers need to consider these variations in pricing when managing their CC routes.
3. Country-specific termination fees:
International mobile termination rates vary greatly from country to country, ranging from $0.01 to $0.40+ per minute. Similarly, landline termination fees also have a wide range, from $0.005 to $0.15 per minute. These termination fees are specific to each destination and can significantly impact the overall cost of CC routes.
4. Taxes and surcharges:
Some countries impose taxes and fees for crossing borders, which increases the cost of CC routes. For example, universal service fund fees, value-added taxes (VAT), and other regulatory fees may apply depending on the destination. Additionally, local carriers may add surcharges, further impacting the pricing of CC routes.
5. Rounding practices:
Due to the very short duration of CC calls, rounding plays a significant role in determining the cost. Different rounding practices can apply:
a. Per minute rounding: If billed per minute, sub-minute calls are rounded up to the next minute for billing purposes. For example, a 10-second CC call would be billed as a full minute at the per-minute rate.
b. 6-second rounding: To avoid per minute rounding, some providers use 6-second increments. Each 6-second bucket that the call spans is billed separately. While this provides more granular billing, it can still accumulate quickly, particularly with high-volume CC routes.
c. Per second billing: The most precise option is per second billing without any rounding. In this case, the call duration is multiplied by the per-second rate for exact billing. However, processing such intensive call detail records may be required.
Considering these pricing factors is crucial for call centers to effectively manage and optimize the costs associated with international CC routes. It involves understanding the specific pricing structure and negotiating favorable terms with CC route providers.
III. The Capabilities Powering Modern CC Routes
A. Dynamic Traffic Distribution:
Dynamic traffic distribution is a key capability in modern CC route management. Smart algorithms are used to distribute incoming calls across available agents based on factors such as their current workload, skills, and adherence to schedules. This ensures that calls are efficiently routed to the most suitable agents, maximizing agent productivity and providing better customer service.
B. Skills-based Matching:
Skills-based matching involves matching the needs of callers, identified through IVR (Interactive Voice Response) or speech analysis, with agents who possess the relevant expertise. By routing callers to agents who are best equipped to handle their specific needs, call centers can minimize call transfers and provide faster and more effective resolutions, improving customer satisfaction.
C. Integration with Planning:
Modern CC route management involves seamless integration with workforce management systems. This integration links forecasts, schedules, and performance data with routing decisions. By aligning routing strategies with workforce planning, call centers can ensure more accurate call delivery and improve overall operational efficiency.
D. Sentiment and Intent Detection:
Sentiment and intent detection technologies are used to analyze caller tone and intent through sophisticated speech algorithms. By detecting emotions and understanding the purpose behind the call, call centers can prioritize distressed customers and proactively address their needs. This capability enables personalized and empathetic customer interactions, enhancing the overall customer experience.
E. Omni-Channel Engagement:
Modern CC route management includes the capability to handle omni-channel engagement. This means providing a unified view of customer interactions across various communication channels, such as voice, chat, email, and social media. By integrating these channels into a single platform, call centers can offer consistent and seamless experiences as customers switch between media, ensuring continuity and reducing customer effort.
F. Self-Service Options:
Another significant capability in modern CC route management is the use of self-service options. Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems are leveraged to automate simple inquiries, such as checking balances or scheduling deliveries. By providing self-service options for routine queries, call centers
IV. Challenges of Managing High Volume CC Routes
A. Ensuring adequate capacity and bandwidth: The high volume of calls in CC routes can strain the network’s capacity and bandwidth. It is essential for call centers to have sufficient voice capacity and burstable bandwidth to absorb the spikes in CC traffic. Overprovisioning and scalability of the network infrastructure are crucial to maintaining voice quality.
B. Preventing bottlenecks and dropped calls: Narrow network bottlenecks can occur when high-volume CC traffic hits, leading to call failures. Call centers need to identify and address any bandwidth or resource constraints that could lead to chokepoints. Real-time monitoring of systems can help detect these issues and prevent disruptions.
C. Maintaining voice quality: Poor voice quality on CC route calls can result in customer complaints. To ensure voice quality, call centers should prioritize it over maximizing capacity. Over Compressing voice codecs should be avoided, as it can compromise voice clarity. Monitoring Mean Opinion Scores (MOS), jitter, and packet loss helps identify any dips in voice quality during CC spikes.
D. Balancing CC and non-CC traffic: Allowing CC spikes to overwhelm systems can make it difficult to handle non-CC calls effectively. Call centers should create dedicated CC bandwidth pools to prioritize real customer calls over CC routes when bandwidth becomes constrained. Capacity thresholds can be set to automatically throttle CC traffic if it reaches defined limits.
E. Vetting reputable CC route providers: The CC route market is filled with providers of varying quality. Thorough evaluation is crucial to avoid choosing low-quality providers. Technical expertise, business practices, and past performance should be considered. Extensive testing and load testing of CC routes before integration help ensure quality and reliability.
V. Best Practices for Handling CC Routes
A. Monitor traffic in real-time: Real-time monitoring of CC route capacity usage helps catch sudden spikes. Immediate adjustments, such as adding capacity or throttling traffic, can be made based on real-time data. Automating thresholds allows for the automatic addition of voice channels when
usage hits certain percentages.
B. Scale infrastructure dynamically: Implementing cloud-based auto-scaling infrastructure allows for the dynamic expansion of capacity based on demand. Policies can be defined to automatically add network bandwidth when voice traffic spikes occur, preventing bottlenecks and ensuring smooth CC route management.
C. Safeguard voice quality: Regular monitoring of voice quality metrics such as MOS, jitter, and packet loss is essential. Call centers should prioritize voice quality, even if it means reducing capacity to avoid over-compressing voice codecs. Continuously evaluating and optimizing voice quality ensures a satisfactory customer experience.
D. Isolate and prioritize traffic types: Separating CC and non-CC traffic using separate VLANs helps avoid conflicts and ensures proper allocation of resources. In times of bandwidth constraint, call centers can prioritize real customer calls over CC routes, ensuring a seamless experience for customers.
E. Thoroughly vet CC route providers: Due diligence is crucial when selecting CC route providers. Requesting references from past clients and contacting them to verify satisfactory experiences is important. Assessing providers’ technical capacity to deliver on promises and conducting trial runs and load testing before fully integrating them helps ensure the reliability and performance of CC routes.
F. Actively manage contracts: Clearly defining technical requirements, quality thresholds, and traffic volume flexibility in contracts with CC route providers is essential. Monitoring provider performance and being willing to switch providers if they do not meet standards ensures consistent and high-quality CC route management.
VI. Conclusion
A. Recap of the importance of effectively managing high-volume CC routes:
Efficiently managing high-volume CC routes is crucial for call centers to optimize customer experience and agent productivity. It allows call centers to handle increased call volume, improve agent utilization, enhance customer satisfaction, increase revenue potential, and improve overall call center efficiency.
B. Key takeaways on understanding CC routes and best practices for handling them:
Understanding the definition and characteristics of CC routes helps establish the unique challenges they present. Implementing best practices such as real-time monitoring, dynamic scaling of infrastructure, safeguarding voice quality, traffic prioritization, vetting providers, and active contract management are key to effectively managing high-volume CC routes.
C. Future considerations for optimizing CC routes in call center operations:
As technology continues to evolve, call centers should explore advancements such as AI-powered sentiment and intent detection for personalized customer interactions. Additionally, integrating CC routes with emerging communication channels like chatbots and social messaging platforms will further enhance customer engagement. Continuously evaluating and adapting to new technologies and industry trends will ensure optimal CC route management in the future.
