It is a
call processing system used in outbound
call centers to ensure high level of resource utilization. A predictive dialer is primarily supposed to dial
a list of telephone numbers in serial order and connect the answered or
attended calls to agents offering outbound call center services. Predictive dialers are algorithmically
programmed to dial a list of telephone numbers and screen those calls which are
unresponsive or answered by automated machines.
This helps in efficient utilization of call center resources and ensures
smooth execution of outbound calling process.
There are
many sources of delay that outbound call processing systems often had to
face. Some of the most prominent sources
of delays that outbound call processing systems came across were related to unresponsive
calls and time taken by customers before answering the calls. Predictive dialer systems has successfully
been able to resolve these issues, as it is programmed using appropriate
algorithm and statistical method. For
instance, if statistics reveal that one out of five calls are answered,
predictive dialer system would start dialing five numbers straightaway as soon
as an agent gets free. This way,
predictive dialing system ensures higher resource utilization in contact centers. Therefore, plenty of call centers are getting
attracted towards predictive dialers.
Some of the predictive
dialers are standalone hardware devices, whereas some of those can be
efficiently integrated with contact center management platforms. The prime advantage of using predictive dialers
that can be integrated with enterprises’ software is that it ensure less
aggressive dialing modes, including preview dialing or progressive dialing. These predictive dialers are generally
computer systems equipped with specially-designed telephony boards or even
off-the-shelf voice modems. There are
many advantages of using telephony voice boards, as voice modems lack many
significant features such as call transfer or call progress detection. At present, telephony voice boards ensure
increased cost-efficiency and resource utilization of call center
resources. However, with the constant
improvement in computer speed and performance, it is expected that voice modems
would soon be able to meet diverse industry specifications.