Understanding How Predictive Dialer Software Works

Predictive dialers are software systems that automatically dial phone numbers and pass answered calls on to call center agents. They are able to time the calls in order to ensure that a free call center agent will be available to take it if there is an answer. The employees of the call center therefore spend less time in between calls, as they do not have to make unanswered calls themselves and will quickly be provided with a new answered call when they finish talking with a customer.

Predictive dialer software are able to increase efficiency in this way because they are based on a set of complex formulas known as algorithms. These algorithms have been designed to predict the duration of calls and the likelihood of a call being answered. They can then determine the correct number of new calls to initiate in order to ensure that a member of the call center staff will be ready to take it if it is answered by a customer.

There are a number of factors that must be taken into account by the software and which are incorporated into the algorithm, including the total number of operators, the number of operators currently engaged in calls and the expected duration of those calls, and the probability that someone will answer when it dials a number. The algorithm calculates how many new calls need to be started at a particular time. This number will change as the factors that are used in the calculation change. For example, if a number of call center staff take their lunch break, the number of calls placed by the predictive dialer system will be reduced. If the duration of the calls becomes shorter, perhaps due to a change in the content, then the number of calls that the system places will be increased.

Predictive dialers work by dialing ahead. This means that they dial the optimum amount of phone numbers to keep the call center operators busy, without calling customers up and leaving them waiting for an operator to become free or hanging up on customers before anyone has spoken to them. The system will dial a greater number of phone numbers than the total number of workers in the call center, based on the assumption that not every call will be answered. The ratio of answered to unanswered calls will vary between companies.

Predictive dialers use the data gathered from past calls in order to become better at predicting the length of calls by working out the average length of an answered call. This means that the longer a system has been in use in a particular company, the better it will become at its job.

When you evaluate predictive dialer solutions, you really need to keep in mind that this type of software requires that you test the application and get professional training. There are simply not EASY decisions when trying to find the right predictive dialer.... but the good news is that the best companies are easy to find.

Always contact a company that gives you at least 48 hours of trial, check the terms, and the full details if you want to go ahead with a contract.