{"id":3113,"date":"2019-06-21T18:25:22","date_gmt":"2019-06-21T18:25:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/concert8.com\/?p=3113"},"modified":"2021-08-17T20:39:25","modified_gmt":"2021-08-17T20:39:25","slug":"top-40-business-process-outsourcing-bpo-terms-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/concert8.com\/2019\/06\/top-40-business-process-outsourcing-bpo-terms-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 40 Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Terms to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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While many of us use abbreviations or jargon in our daily communication, the actual meaning is elusive. Business Process Outsourcing or the more commonly used phrase BPO has been around for a while now, being used by businesses globally to reduce costs, increase conversions and sales as well as capture leads, but the question is, do we know the meaning behind the terms often used in the industry?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s a list of the top 40 terms to give you an edge the next time you’re having a conversation with an agent!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Agent<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The person<\/g> responsible for handling incoming and outgoing customer calls and inquiries. Other commonly used terms for an agent include Customer Service Representative and Brand Specialist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Agent Status<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This depicts the functional state of an agent at a given point – on call, idle, busy, available, unavailable, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.  ACD – Automatic Call Distributor<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A specialized phone system that handles incoming calls or inbound calls, the Automatic Call Distributor is a programmable device that automatically recognizes and answers calls. It queues and distributes calls after checking the database for the most appropriate agent available, plays delay announcements to callers all while providing real-time reports on these activities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. ASR – Automated Speech Recognition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a solution to automate some or all parts of a customer call allowing them to interact with the call in their natural language, with minimum intervention from the agent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5.  Abandoned Call<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also called a ‘Lost Call’ this is a call where the customer hangs up before speaking to an agent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. AHT – Average Handling Time <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

AHT is measured from the start to finish of an interaction between an agent and a customer, including the hold time, talk time, and related tasks that follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. B2B – Business to Business<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A term used for the inbound and\/or outbound calling contacts and interactions between businesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. B2C – Business to Consumer<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A term used to describe inbound and\/or outbound contacts that are primarily between an enterprise and an individual consumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Blended Call Center<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A call center or a BPO unit that handles both inbound and outbound calls, emails, chats, social media, and SMS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. BCP – Business Continuity Plan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A BCP is also known as a disaster recovery plan. It is an organized plan for routing calls to a different site in case of an emergency or disaster, providing contingencies for a variety of additional functions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

11. Call Blending<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A term and competent strategy that allows both inbound and outbound calls through a predictive dialing system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

12. BUQS – Blended Universal Queue System<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The BUQS is essentially a combination of email, chat, and other data enabling universal queuing along with call blending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13. Blended Agent <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An agent that is trained to take both inbound and outbound calls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

14. CRM – Customer Relationship Management <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CRM is a system or strategy that helps identifies customer needs, improving interactions, customizing contacts, sales approaches, and automation that helps provide excellent service to every customer. It takes into account people, processes, and technology related to the acquisition, retention of customers, and the maximization of the value of each customer relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

15. CCS – Centum Call Seconds <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A centum is 100 call seconds. Widely considered a unit of telephone traffic calibration. 1 hour = 1 Erlang = 60 minutes = 36 CCS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

16. ChatBot<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A computer program that is designed to stimulate and replicate human conversation via internet messaging. Used in e-commerce, call centers, and customer service virtual agent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

17. CTI – Computer Telephony Integration <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An amalgamation of voice and data or telephone and computer at the agent desktop. It is also known as screen pop \u2013 when customer details appear automatically on an agent’s screen at the same time a call is attended. This helps agents negotiate and smoother handling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

18. CLI – Calling Line Identity<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essentially a  caller ID, this flashes the caller’s information and their previous call records. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

19.   CEM – Customer Experience Management<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Procedures that help to manage and improve customer journeys and to track the interactions between a customer and the call center agents, creating better customer experiences and more satisfied customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

20. Database Call Handling<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An application where the automatic call distributor (ACD) processes calls using the information available in a database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

21. DNIS – Dialed Number Identification Service<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A caller ID, DNIS helps manage multiple programs or companies to identify how to answer the phone for a specific program or client. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

22. DMS – Document Management System<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DMS handles a large number of incoming emails, scanning them for electronic distribution, eliminating the need to go through them manually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

23.  DNR – Dynamic Network Routing <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A service provided by telephone companies that allow the call center to change where calls are routed dynamically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

24. E-commerce<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electronic Commerce, a current trend, trade is carried out via the internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

25. EWT – Expected Wait Time <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the expected time a customer waits, before speaking to an agent.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

26. ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The means of determining staffing and occupancy levels for front- and back-office staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

27. Escalation Plan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a plan for managing a call queue when it builds beyond planned levels. This also applies to situations in which a call cannot be resolved at the first point of contact and must be passed to a representative with additional permissions or resources to assist the caller better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

28. FCR – First Call Resolution<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A way to identify a customer’s issue on the first call. Used as a metric that monitors the quality of service by counting the number of times their issues get resolved on the first point of contact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

29. FTE – Full-Time Equivalent<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The equivalent headcount for one person working full time. So 1 FTE = Somebody who works Monday \u2013 Friday alternatively, 1 FTE = Two people who work half a day<\/p>\n\n\n\n

30. Historical Reports<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reports that track call center and agent performance over a period of time, typically generated by an ACD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

31. Home Agent<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An agent who works from home or another location outside of the physical premises of the call-center<\/p>\n\n\n\n

32. Interactive Voice Response (IVR)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a recorded automated retrieval and processing device, providing information through the telephone keypad to customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

33. KMS – Knowledge Management System<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is used as a source by agents to provide the answers to customer inquiries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

34. Live Chat<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An instant message system, this allows Brand Specialists and customers to have a written conversation online in real-time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

35. Lost Calls<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are inbound calls that do not get connected to either an advisor or an answering service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

36. MIS – Management Information Systems<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are reports that help monitor performance through wallboards, real-time displays, reporting, forecasting, and staff allocation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

37. Omnichannel<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A cross-channel strategy to enhance consumer experience during an eCommerce transaction. For example, a customer can shop online and then pick up in store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

38. Predictive Dialer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A system that automatically calls a contact list screening out no answers, busy signals, answering machines, and disconnected numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

39. WFM – Workforce Management<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A process used to optimize agent productivity on the individual, departmental, and entity-wide levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

40. Wrap Time<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This describes the time taken by an agent to complete any transactions or work for a customer after the call has ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congratulations! Now you are an expert in BPO Jargon. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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