Call centers are one of the most controversial businesses. While some argue about the validity or invalidity of outsourcing as a whole, others are delighted with the multitude of career options, possibilities and opportunities that it offers people. But, many commonly used terms of this domain are not understood by many quite specifically. In this article, I will write about two terms that are used very frequently: inbound call center and LDQ (the longest time you will have to wait while calling a contact center).
inbound contact center
This is one of the most used jargon in the outsourcing industry. An incoming call is initiated by a customer to a contact center. This customer can be both external and internal. For example, in the cases of a help desk or payroll service provider, the caller could be an employee of the company itself.
Depending on whether the support center receives calls exclusively or not, it can be classified as an inbound, outbound, or mixed center. However, most of the time it is observed that although a customer service center can be exclusively an outgoing environment; Almost all of these service providers have a certain proportion of outgoing calls that are generated from the desktop itself.
The performance of an incoming executive can be measured by many metrics. Some of them can be waiting time, AHT, FCR, CSAT scores, etc. However, with the increasing sophistication in customer service in general, most customer service centers consider soft skills to be an important part of their performance metrics.
Most inbound contact centers communicate with customers not only by voice, but also by email and chat. Additionally, most entry centers stipulate service targets that they will work to achieve at a given SLA (service level agreement)
LDQ
Another term that is frequently used among business strategists is LDQ. LDQ means longest delay in queue. This term indicates the longest period of time for any customer in a queue; while waiting for their call to be answered or before the customer hangs up.
In business metrics, LDQ is a very important parameter to measure the overall performance of the contact center. Smaller LDQs may be an example of shorter AHTs, or higher agent availability, or lower call volume in general. Longer LDQs, on the other hand, indicate a possibility of higher level of customer dissatisfaction, higher AHT, and higher volumes. Longer LDQs can also lead to a higher number of quick clears.
All offshore service providers make sure to find the best possible balance in the number of agents available at any given time and predict the number of inbound contacts initiated to access their WFM software efficiently.
In call center metrics, LDQ can be classified into two broad categories: longest delay to answer the phone or longest delay to abandon or take action. While Longest Delay to Answer is the longest period of time before an agent answers the phone, Longest Delay to Abandon is the longest any customer waits before hanging up.
Customers also appreciate companies’ customer support services where they experience shorter LDQs and quicker response time.
