WHAT IS ACD? THE IMPORTANCE OF ACD FOR BUSINESSES

Have you ever wondered how incoming calls to a Contact Center are accurately routed to the right employee or support department? The answer is ACD. So, what is ACD? It is an intelligent information system that helps optimize customer experience and efficiently manage high call volumes.

For those of us who have worked in a Call Center, we’ve all encountered situations where multiple calls come in at the same time, but there aren’t enough agents available to handle them. To prevent this and optimize customer service, ACD is a valuable solution. Let’s explore what ACD is and how it works in the article below.

What is ACD?

What is ACD? ACD, which stands for Automatic Call Distribution, is a feature commonly used in Contact Centers. This function allows incoming calls to be automatically distributed to agents. ACD is a crucial and indispensable element, especially when:

• Handling a large volume of customer calls daily.
• Many agents are on duty.
• Multiple Contact Center locations exist (both domestic and international).

ACD (Automatic Call Distribution) means automatic call distribution

How does ACD work?

What is ACD and how does it function? In a typical ACD system, incoming calls are automatically distributed to available agents in sequential order, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (also known as the Round Robin mechanism). This results in unequal time distribution for each call across agents, as the system doesn’t account for the duration of each call or the number of calls received by each agent.

However, by integrating smart routing features and using various algorithms, the system can distribute calls more evenly, not only in terms of duration but also the quality of the call handling. This ensures that each call is directed to the agent with the most appropriate expertise and skills, thus addressing the customer’s issue more efficiently.

Depending on the specific needs of the business, there are various routing methods that can be implemented on an ACD system for a Contact Center. One of the most common routing methods used globally in Contact Centers today is Skill-based Routing. This method allows businesses to handle every call effectively, ensuring that each call is directed to the agent with the most suitable skills at the right time.

An example of a typical ACD system:

Auto Call Distribution (ACD) automatically receives the call, determines the need, analyzes the contact volume, queue wait time, and then routes the call to the appropriate department or team responsible for handling the inquiry.

What is the difference between ACD and IVR?

From the definition of ACD above, we can see that ACD is a system that automatically distributes calls to an available group. The goal of ACD is to help Contact Centers effectively manage and organize large volumes of calls, preventing overload. ACD ensures that customers are connected to the most appropriate agent with the necessary skills and expertise in the shortest amount of time.

On the other hand, IVR (Interactive Voice Response) is an automated voice response system used in Call Centers. It works by using pre-recorded voice prompts to interact with customers, playing back information whenever customers call the center. 

The Importance of ACD in Modern Contact Centers

ACD plays an extremely important role in today’s Contact Center systems, as detailed below:

Improving Agent Efficiency

The ACD system allows agents to store customer information from all channels and touchpoints with a single data entry. Customer data is organized in a unified format, making it easy to access and reuse. This feature enables agents to work remotely or move across locations without facing any difficulty in retrieving or using customer information. 

Intelligent Call Routing

In typical ACD systems, the Round Robin mechanism is used to automatically distribute calls to available agents in order. However, this method doesn’t take into account the call duration or the number of calls handled by each agent, which can result in uneven distribution. 

ACD plays an important role in Contact Center System

To address this issue, ACD integrates an intelligent routing system, which can evenly distribute calls both in terms of quantity and duration among agents. This ensures that customers are connected to the most qualified agents who have the appropriate skills to effectively resolve their issues.

Multichannel Integration

A Contact Center is where customers can interact through various channels such as SMS, Web, Chat, and Email. The ACD feature within the system plays a crucial role in unifying these communication channels, supporting both agents and administrators. This integration helps filter and synchronize information, thereby enhancing customer trust and improving their overall experience.

Call Management

ACD serves as a tool for managers to monitor and assess calls within the Contact Center system. It evaluates calls based on criteria such as talk time, missed calls, wait times, and demand statistics.

The reporting and monitoring capabilities of ACD are diverse, accurate, and practical. They help assess service quality and the performance of agents objectively. ACD also supports forecasting, provides suggestions, and sets goals for businesses.

How is ACD Applied in Call Center Systems?

Once you understand what ACD (Automatic Call Distribution) is, it’s essential to explore how it can be applied within a Call Center system. Here are some key applications:

• Simultaneous Ringing: All phones ring at the same time, and once one phone picks up the call, the others automatically stop ringing.
• Sequential Ringing Based on Priority: The first call is directed to phone 1, and if it’s busy, it moves on to phone 2, and so on. 
• Round Robin Ringing: The call is distributed evenly among all agents. This mode is ideal for customer service or sales teams, ensuring fair distribution of workload and KPIs.
• Random Ringing: When a call comes in, it randomly rings on one of the phones. 
• Ring the Nearest Available Phone: The call rings the phone that has been idle for the longest period. 
• Ring the Least Answered Phone: This mode ensures that the phone that has answered the fewest calls receives the incoming call next.

Setting Custom Ring Time for Each Extension

Depending on the nature of the work, the ring time for each extension can be configured differently. Typically, the ring time for each extension is set between 10 – 15 seconds, which corresponds to about 2 – 4 rings. This helps avoid customers waiting too long and eventually hanging up the call.

Handling Busy Extensions

When an extension is busy, the system automatically routes the call to another available extension. In case all extensions are busy, the system will play a busy signal and suggest the customer wait for 30 – 60 seconds. If the call remains unanswered, the system will inform the customer to try again later. Additionally, businesses can set up music to play while customers are waiting for an available agent to pick up.

ACD applied in Call Center system

Auto-login for Extensions in a Group

When employees are busy handling outgoing calls and don’t have time to accept incoming calls from customers, they can simply log out from the call group. The ACD system will then automatically route incoming calls to other extensions that are logged in within the system.

Future Benefits of ACD

Currently, the main function of ACD is focused on routing and distributing calls, ensuring that each request is transferred to the most qualified agent. However, in the future, the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will significantly change how the system operates.

It is expected that AI will use machine learning to analyze customer data, provide predictions, and make recommendations for agents. In some cases, AI might even perform tasks without human intervention.

Thus, this article has clearly explained what ACD is and its importance in modern communication systems. With its ability to automatically route and distribute calls, ACD not only helps optimize resources but also demonstrates the flexibility and intelligent interaction of an efficient Contact Center organization.

In turn, ACD helps improve the efficiency of call handling and ensures customer satisfaction, highlighting its crucial role in maintaining and developing modern communication systems today. We hope this article has thoroughly addressed your questions about what ACD is.