Contact Center Glossary

Welcome to our Contact Center Consulting Glossary, a comprehensive resource designed to help you navigate the intricate world of contact center operations and management. In this glossary, you will find concise explanations and definitions for key terms, acronyms, and concepts commonly used in the contact center industry. Whether you're a seasoned professional looking to refresh your knowledge or a newcomer seeking to grasp the fundamentals, this glossary is your go-to reference for unraveling the complexities of contact center consulting.

Business Critical Error

A measurement of how well the agent followed critical business processes.

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)

A spectrum of activities that involve the outsourcing of back-office work to be handled by an outsourced service provider (OSP) or a customer service provider (CSP).

Calibration Sessions

Meetings during which individuals responsible for monitoring transactions compare scoring results for selected transactions to ensure scoring consistency. These sessions include quantitative evaluation of the consistency of the scores via comparison to a gauge or reference at the attribute level and their correlation with measures of the customer experiences and scores provided by clients.

Call Center (Inbound Call Center, Outbound Call Center)

An organization's centralized facility or department that handles inbound and outbound communications with customers, clients, or prospects.

Call Center Agent Scorecard

A performance management tool used to evaluate and measure the effectiveness and productivity of call center agents in meeting specific performance goals and objectives.

Call Center Agent Software

A set of specialized applications and tools designed to assist call center agents in efficiently managing customer interactions, improving productivity, and providing high-quality service.

Call Center Agent Utilization

The extent to which a call center agent is effectively used or occupied in performing productive tasks related to their job within a specified period.

Call Center Coaching

See Agent Coaching.

Call Center Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

The integration and effective use of customer relationship management software and strategies within a call center environment.

Call Center Reporting

The collection, analysis, and presentation of data and key performance indicators (KPIs) related to call center operations, customer interactions, agent performance, and overall customer service.

Call Center Service Level

See Service Level.

Call Center Workforce Optimization

See Workforce Optimization.

Call Center Workforce Planning

See Workforce Planning.

Call Distribution

See Automatic Call Distributor.

Call Recording

Digitally captures and stores audio or video recordings of conversations between agents and customers during phone calls or interactions via other communication channels, such as video calls or chats.

Call Time

The duration of a customer interaction from when the call is connected to an agent until the call is concluded.

Call Volume

The number of incoming and outgoing calls or interactions a contact center handles within a specific period. It is a key metric that measures the workload and demand for customer service or support.

Capacity Plan

A strategic approach to ensure the center has adequate resources, including staff, technology, and infrastructure, to handle the expected workload efficiently and effectively.

Case Management

Managing complex transactions that require multiple interactions to resolve. Cases will include complaint handling, warranty claims, technical support, on-site repair, return-to-base repair and application processing.

Channels

The various mediums or communication pathways through which customers can initiate interactions or communicate with the organization.

Chat

A real-time, text-based, electronic interaction between an agent and a customer using a chat interface or messaging platform.

Client

The companies that hire outsource service providers to provide products and services to their customers.

Client Complaint

Negative comments received in person or by phone, mail, fax, email, etc. about any aspect of the outsource service providers (OSPs) products, services, staff, or agents.

Cloud Call Center

See Cloud Contact Center.

Cloud Contact Center

Also known as a cloud-based contact center or contact center as a service (CCaaS), a cloud contact center is a customer service and communication solution that operates without the need for on-premises hardware and infrastructure.

Compliance Critical Error

An inaccuracy that causes an entire transaction to be deemed defective because it is against prevailing regulations or laws and could cause personal or company liability.

Computer Telephony Integration (CTI)

A technology that allows computer systems to interact with and manage telephone systems.

Concurrency

The rate at which chat transactions are processed simultaneously.

Confidence Interval (Precision)

Based on a given set of sample data, a confidence interval gives an estimated range of values likely to include an unknown population parameter (e.g., mean).

Contact Center

A centralized facility or department within an organization designed to manage communication and interactions with customers or clients.

Contact Center Agent

See Agent.

Contact Center Agent Coaching

See Agent Coaching.

Contact Center Agent Experience

The overall journey, job satisfaction, and professional development of individuals working as agents within a contact center.