VoiceSpin Call Center Glossary
Need help understanding call center terms? To make things easier, we’ve listed all the popular call center terminologies, acronyms, and abbreviations in our glossary.
AI virtual agents, or AI voice bots, are intelligent software systems powered by Artificial Intelligence and designed to help businesses interact with their customers or prospects via voice communication in a natural, conversational manner, just like a human agent would.
Agent Scorecard is a tool used to evaluate call center agents by combining quantitative metrics (e.g., FCR, AHT, CSAT) with qualitative assessments (e.g., communication skills, product knowledge) to ensure service quality and customer satisfaction.
Automated Quality Management (AQM) is the use of AI-driven software tools to automate call center quality assurance and quality management processes.
Automatic Number Identification (ANI) is basically a feature of a telecommunications network that enables the recipient of a call to capture the number of anyone making a call without having to ask for the phone number data manually.
ASR, or Automatic Speech Recognition, is an AI-powered technology that converts spoken human speech into written text. ASR technology is now used in voice assistants, transcription services, call center software systems, and speech analytics solutions.
Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) is a telephony system that automatically sorts and distributes incoming calls to available agents based on predefined routing rules.
Automated phone calling systems place automated outbound phone calls and deliver pre-recorded voice messages to prospects or customers.
The Average Speed of Answer (ASA) is a call center metric that measures how long it takes on average for an incoming call to get answered by a customer support agent, starting from when a caller is placed in a call queue.
After Call Work (ACW) – also known as Wrap-Up Time or Post-Call Work – refers to all the post-call formalities call center agents are typically engaged in after they complete the interaction with a customer before taking the next call.
Agent Utilization is a call center metric that measures the percentage of time agents spend handling calls, performing call-related tasks, or other productive activities out of their total available work time.
An automated system that dials a list of phone numbers and connects answered calls to available agents, increasing agents’ efficiency, is referred to as an Auto Dialer.
The amount of time an agent is not engaged in any call-related activity during their shift is referred to as Agent Idle Time.
BPO (business process outsourcing) call centers and contact centers have become a popular solution for businesses and organizations looking to manage their customer support or sales operations more efficiently, without needing to expand their in-house teams.
A blended agent is a call center representative who handles both inbound and outbound interactions in a call center.
A call center app is a software application that enables call center agents to handle communications with customers, clients, prospects, or team members directly from their mobile devices.
Call disposition is a method of logging call outcomes by assigning each inbound or outbound call a particular category.
Call center cost per call is the total expense of handling each individual call in a call center.
Call volume is a call center metric used to measure the total number of inbound calls a call center receives over a given period, typically measured hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly.
Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) is a cloud contact center software solution that enables business to manage their customer communications across channels.
Call whispering is a valuable feature for call center managers and supervisors that is often offered by call center software providers.
Call auditing is essentially the process of regularly reviewing and evaluating the quality of inbound and outbound calls in a call center.
Call calibration is a common QA practice. The purpose of call calibration is to ensure consistency and fairness in the process of evaluating customer interactions between all parties involved (e.g., managers, supervisors, call center agents, or third-party facilitators).
Call center compliance is a set of regulations that govern the operations of call centers and help ensure they adhere to legal standards, maintain transparent communication practices, and protect customer data.
CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) is one of the metrics businesses, including call centers, use to measure the overall level of customer satisfaction with a company, product, or customer service.
CpaaS, or Communications Platform as a Service, is a cloud-based platform that enables developers to add real-time communication capabilities to their own applications or services.
Call Abandonment Rate is a call center metric used to measure the percentage of calls that are abandoned by callers before reaching an agent or being resolved.
CTI, or Computer Telephony Integration, is the technology that enables the integration and interaction between a computer system and a telephone system or a contact center infrastructure.
Call avoidance refers to all the strategies call center agents employ to intentionally avoid phone calls, including transferring calls, putting callers on hold, taking excessive breaks, etc.
Call Answer Rate is a metric that measures the percentage of answered calls in relation to the total number of calls within a specific time frame.
A Call Queue is a feature of a call center system that places incoming calls in a virtual queue when all agents are busy, helping call centers manage high call volumes.
Call Routing is the process of directing incoming calls to the most appropriate agent or department based on predefined criteria such as skills, language, or location.
The process of listening to calls or reviewing recorded calls to evaluate agent performance, customer satisfaction, and compliance is known as Call Monitoring.
The process of providing guidance and feedback to agents to improve their performance and skills is known as Call Coaching.
A person who handles customer calls and inquiries in a call center or contact center is known as a Call Center Agent.
Call Tracking is the process of monitoring and analyzing call data to gain insights into call center performance, customer behavior, and campaign effectiveness.
Caller Identification, also known as Caller ID, is a feature that displays the phone number or name of the person or organization making a call on the recipient’s phone or device.
Call Center Voicemail is a messaging system that allows callers to leave a message when agents are not available to take their call.
Direct Inward Dialing (DID), also known as Direct Dial-In (DDI), is a phone system feature that enables businesses to connect inbound calls directly with an extension, group of extensions, specific agent, or voicemail.
Dialed Number Identification Service (DNIS) is a service offered by telecom providers that allows the call receiver to identify the originally dialed number.
Call escalation is the process of transferring a customer’s call to a higher-level support tier or a senior representative (often a call center manager) when a call center agent is unable to resolve a customer’s issue, typically because of the lack of specific knowledge, resources, or authority.
First Response Time (FRT), also known as First Reply Time, is a contact center metric that shows how long it takes a customer support agent to provide an initial response to a support request (a ticket, a call, a chat, a social media message, etc.).
A metric that measures the percentage of customer inquiries or issues that are resolved on the first call or interaction with a contact center agent is known as First Call Resolution (FCR).
A Hosted PBX (Private Branch Exchange) is a type of telecommunications technology that allows businesses to manage multiple phone lines and sophisticated call handling features without needing to invest in and maintain a lot of physical telephony hardware onsite.
A hosted contact center is a communication software solution that is hosted at a third-party service provider’s physical location or on the cloud rather than on a business’s premises.
A cloud-based dialer system that enables call center agents to make and receive calls using a computer, phone, or mobile device is known as a Hosted Dialer.
An inbound sales representative, also known as an inbound sales agent, handles incoming inquiries and interacts with potential customers who contact a company through various channels, such as phone, email, live chat, or social media platforms.
Interactive Voice Response IVR is an automated phone system that allows callers to interact with businesses through keypad inputs or voice responses (powered by voice recognition technology).
A call made by a customer or client to a call center or business is known as an Inbound Call.
Local Presence Dialing is a feature that displays a local phone number to the call recipient instead of a toll-free or long-distance number, increasing call answer rates.
Multichannel contact center is a software solution that integrates multiple communication channels like voice, text, email, live chat, and social media.
An outbound sales representative is a sales professional who is responsible for actively reaching out to potential customers to promote and sell products or services. This role typically involves making cold calls, sending emails, and utilizing other communication channels to generate leads and close sales.
Outbound IVR is a phone system technology that allows businesses to reach out to their customers or prospects proactively to inform and engage them using pre-recorded voice messages.
A call made by an agent to a customer or client, usually for sales or marketing purposes, is known as an Outbound Call.
Phone number masking or call masking is a VoIP telephony feature that conceals the actual phone numbers of the parties involved in a call for security reasons.
Predictive Dialer is an automated system that dials multiple numbers simultaneously and connects answered calls to available agents, reducing agent idle time.
Queue Callback is a feature that allows callers to opt for a callback when they reach the front of the queue instead of waiting on hold.
A call center supervisor oversees agent performance, handles escalations, manages schedules, conducts training, and ensures customer service goals are met. They also maintain team morale, provide feedback, and prepare performance reports.
Service Level is a call center performance metric that measures the percentage of calls answered within a specified time frame, usually expressed as “X% of calls answered within Y seconds”.
SIP stands for Session Initiation Protocol. SIP trunking is a VoIP technology based on the Session Initiation Protocol that enables organizations to connect their PBX (Private Branch Exchange) systems to the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) over the internet.
Call center Schedule Adherence is a metric that measures whether or not call center agents adhere to their assigned schedules and meet the required work hours.
Call center shrinkage refers to the percentage of time call center agents are not available to handle customer calls during their scheduled hours.
Screen pop is a valuable call-handling feature of contact center software solutions that displays critical customer information on the agent’s screen, providing call center agents with more context before engaging in customer interactions.
In the call center context, sentiment analysis refers to the process of analyzing real-time phone conversations between customers and call center agents with the goal of understanding callers’ emotions and feelings.
VoIP (stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol) is a technology that enables users to make and receive phone calls over the Internet instead of using the traditional landline Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
A virtual agent is a software program or AI-powered application that interacts with customers and provides them with automated support.
Warm calling refers to the sales technique of making phone calls to potential customers who have had some prior interaction with the company or have shown some level of interest in its products or services.
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