The Perfect Match: Using Behavioral Analytics and Predictive Modeling to Pair Callers with the Best-Suited Service Representative

Contact Center managers often struggle with finding the right balance between achieving key service metrics and managing operating costs.  If staffing schedules are not properly aligned with call arrival patterns, service levels will suffer.  If service targets are consistently achieved but resources are not utilized as efficiently as possible, operational spend will be too high.  When you think about workforce optimization, many of us quickly think about workforce management tools, scheduling, adherence and forecasts.  If an organization effectively utilizes workforce management tools, they are likely achieving their targets service metrics and doing it fairly cost effectively.  But...there’s another level of sophistication that can really maximize staffing efficiency, improve employee satisfaction AND delight your customers.

In an average contact center, callers are simply routed to the longest available agent. More advanced contact centers go one step further, using skill-based routing to send callers to the agent who is best able to handle the call, typically based on the reason for call and the agent’s specific skills or capabilities. Skill-based routing has an obvious positive impact - customers enjoy, and prefer, interacting with service representatives that are skilled at addressing their needs.

Predictive behavioral routing is an emerging solution for contact centers that uses innovative technology, like that developed by Mattersight, to send callers to the agent best-suited to handle the call based on communication preferences, personality and behavioral characteristics – matching callers to representatives that can connect with them on a personal level. While leveraging an organization’s existing routing architecture, Mattersight® Predictive Behavioral Routing optimizes contact center staff by giving representatives the calls they are best equipped to handle efficiently and effectively, with a focus on customer satisfaction. It goes beyond the standard skill-based routing by directing calls based on soft skills, in addition to technical skills. The service representatives are better equipped and empowered to service the customer based on their personality and communication style, rather than just the reason for the call.

Leveraging a behavioral analytics platform allows an organization to capture and analyze data from customer and employee interactions, employee desktop usage and other contextual information. Every second of the data is captured, analyzed and stored. Within milliseconds of a new call, advanced algorithms create a ranked agent availability list, sending the call to the best suited representative.

The benefits of doing so are impressive. The results of a comprehensive six month study  of over a billion interactions from Mattersight’s customers conducted in 2012 showed that a strong behavioral connection reduces the cost of service by 35-45%, reduces customer defection by 25-50%, increases sales conversion rates by 85-230%, and increases First Call Resolution (FCR) by 30-60%. With results like these, behavioral analytics should be on every contact center executive’s agenda as the next step in customer satisfaction and operational optimization.