What is Predictive Dialer?

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.