Did you know that an average-sized call center has a call volume of 4,400 per month. How is it possible for call centers to handle that amount? What happens when customers call all at once? Who do they prioritize first? A call center’s answer to these issues is by having a good ACD system. 

Read on to answer the question ‘What is ACD?’ and learn more about its benefits for the customer service team.

What is ACD?

ACD is short for automatic call distribution - a phone system feature that receives incoming calls and distributes them to available agents based on preset rules. This avoids overwhelming the customer service team when there is a large number of incoming calls. The automated call routing system makes sure that customers are connected to a capable agent in the quickest time possible. 

How Does ACD Work?

Whenever a call enters your contact center, the ACD mechanically works in the background to send your customers to the right agent or department. Depending on your set rules, the ACD can also forward calls to voicemail, after-hours number, or the agent’s emergency number. 

But before callers are queued and routed to their desired destination, they are first put through an interactive voice response (IVR) system. The IVR technology allows users to interact with an automated answering machine to determine what their queries are pertaining to; so that they can be directed to the correct agent or department. 

The IVR greets callers and gives them phone menu options, such as list of languages, departments, or type of query. The user will have to interact with the IVR through voice commands or more commonly by pressing keys on their phone. The ACD will transfer them in accordance with the call routing rules associated with their menu selections. 

The ACD and IVR system helps the call center operate effectively.

How Does ACD Benefit Your Customer Service?

One of the primary differentiating factors your business can have over others is your level of customer service offered. In a survey for Global Customer Experience Benchmarking Report in 2020, around 34.4% of customers cited that agent accessibility and wait times are one of the top factors that can negatively impact their perception of a brand’s customer service. An ACD will help cut down customer wait times and help improve their experience. 

• Efficient team productivity: With the ACD, your team’s time will not be wasted as call routing will be orderly and systematic. Faster and experienced agents can take higher call volumes which helps lighten the load for new or inexperienced representatives. This can help reduce the idle times by distributing calls fairly and equally, helping the team work more efficiently and productively. 
• Better customer experience: Thanks to the smart routing system, the call center can  direct customers to the agent who can best handle their queries and concerns. The benchmark for average handling time (AHT) of a customer call is 6 minutes. This includes total talking time, all hold times, transfers, and after-call work. Since the ACD transfers the customer directly to agents who are trained to handle the client’s specific queries - they will be able to shorten the AHT and leave customers satisfied.
• Improve data collection: Some call centers like StringeeX, have ACD systems that provide call recordings, automatic ticketing, and creation of detailed overviews and reports. These tools allow the supervisors to better understand and analyze their agents and customers. With this data, the ACD can route customers to the agent who last served them. The system can show all previous insights or queries of the account and it will help the agent resolve the customer’s call faster. 
• Increase revenue: Having an automatic call distribution system in your call center will save your costs because of efficiency and productivity gains. Also, having an enhanced customer service will increase reputation and brand loyalty which in turn will help increase revenue of your company.

Common Types of ACD Call Routings in Call Center Phone Systems

• Skill-based routing: Also known as weighted call distribution, calls are routed to agents with a specific set of skills such as multilingual, IT specialists, or based on the client's local location. 
• Time-based routing: The ACD routes calls to agents who are only available at a certain time period. This setting takes in consideration your agent’s working hours and out-of-office hours preferences.  
• Talk-time routing: This type of method will help in equally distributing your call center’s workload. The ACD will select agents with the least amount of talk time and give them to the next customers in queue to balance the team’s work time. 
• Simultaneous: This method is preferred by call centers who want to reduce customer waiting time. This strategy alerts all agents to an incoming call all at the same time and whoever picks up first will handle the customers. 
• Round robin: The round robin uses a looping system which means that it routes a call to an agent on a consecutive list. After every agent on the list has taken a call, the cycle repeats from the first agent.

Better Your Business By Knowing What is ACD

Now you all know the answer for ‘What is ACD?’. Call centers become more productive and effective when automatic call distribution (ACD) systems are in place. Large volumes of calls are more easily managed since this enables you to customize call routing strategies in accordance with your call center’s needs and issues. Another great advantage of ACDs is that most of them can be easily integrated into any CRM. ACD features can significantly improve agent’s productivity and personalize their interactions to better customer experiences and satisfaction. Happy customers increase brand loyalty and reputation which in turn helps the company’s growth and profitability.