What is Call Queue? How it Works & Best Practices [2024]

Have you ever dialed a company and had to wait? Sometimes, they tell you how long you’ll be on hold. Other times, they play music while you are waiting. That’s a call queue. A virtual call queuing system is critical in the contact center environment to manage the call flow and improve customer experience.

What is a call queue?

In a nutshell, call queues works when a customer calls, but all your call agents are unavailable. When multiple callers dial a phone number simultaneously, they are placed in a queue (a virtual waiting line) until an available agent becomes free to handle their call. While waiting in the queue, callers typically hear on-hold music or recorded messages. They may also be informed of their position in the queue or provided with an estimated wait time.

Call queues are used by contact centers or customer service operations to manage call volume effectively. The goal is to help agents answer calls as fast as possible, cutting down waiting times, and increasing customer satisfaction.

How does call queuing work?

Call queues work by grouping inbound calls and placing them in a line or queue based on a set of predetermined rules. Here’s a step-by-step overview of how call queues typically operate:

Stage 1: Call Arrival

When customers call, your business phone system greets them with a recorded message, often an automated IVR menu. The IVR allows callers to select options or provide information related to their query. Once the IVR interaction is complete, they will be placed into a virtual queue.

Stage 2: Call Queue Management

In addition to the basic “first come, first served” approach, call center managers can define various queue strategies to determine call priority and agent assignment. For instance, VIP calls can be given priority by adjusting queue priority settings, while skill-based routing ensures that customer queries are directed to the most suitable agent, resulting in a higher first-call resolution.

Stage 3: Customer Call Hold Experience

Customers remain waiting on hold until an agent is available. During this wait time, they might hear music or on-hold messages as configured. Some advanced call center software also provides the option to request an in-queue callback, which allows callers to keep their position in queue and receive a callback when an agent is available.

Types of Call Queue Strategies

Call Queue Strategies, known as call routing strategies in a queue, is likely the most important step of the call queue process, as it determines which specific agent the caller will speak to. Top call routing strategies of a queue include:

Linear

Calls follow a list-based routing strategy that starts back at Agent 1 every time. When the Agent 1 is unavailable, then the call will be routed to Agent 2 until someone answers. This strategy is a good choice if you have agents that are more experienced and can resolve matters faster than others.

Round Robin

Calls are distributed among agents in a rotating manner, ensuring that each agent takes turns receiving calls. For example, Agent A receives the first call, Agent B receives the second call, and Agent C receives the third call. This rotation continues throughout the queue, allowing agents to have equal workload.

Priority-based

As the name suggests, calls are given priority based on specific criteria, such as the queue they join or how long customers have been waiting. This routing method ensures high-weight customers or those who have waited longer are handled first. Learn more

Skill-based

Also known as weighted call distribution. In skills-based routing, a queue prioritizes an agent based on a given score (skill level). Incoming phone calls will be routed to the more skilled agents first. Learn more

Other Queue Strategies

Other queue routing strategies include Ring All, Least Rcent, and Fewest Calls. Here are the a brief overview on how each strategy works: Ring All rings all agents at the same time, and the caller is connected to whoever picks up the phone first. Least Recent routes calls to the agent who was least recently called first. Fewest Calls routes calls to the agent with the fewest completed calls first.

Why should you improve call queue management?

Using a call queue can decrease customer wait times and improve issue resolution by making sure the customer is matched to the correct agent from the very start of their call. However, the advantages of a proper call queue management is more than that.

Agents anwering calls after interactive voice response route the caller to the agent

Lower Call Abandonment Rates

Abandonment rates refer to the number of callers who hang up before they are transferred to an available agent. The reason here is, of course, long wait times. Here is where an efficient virtual queue system comes into play.

Besides routing callers to the first available right agent, you can inform callers of their positions in the queue so that they will have a rough idea of how long they have to wait and will not disconnect the call. By implementing more advanced features like a virtual receptionist, callers will be able to deal with less significant issues without having to wait for an actual agent to provide them with a solution.

Increased Customer Satisfaction

When a customer is getting matched with the correct department or agent right away, it’s far more likely they are more satisfied.

By implementing various queue strategies, such as skill-based routing or priority queue, customers are connected to the most suitable agent as fast as possible. This personalized approach enhances the customer experience and increases the likelihood of a successful resolution.

Enhanced Agent Productivity

Queues that are properly ordered can assist agents stay organized and, as a result, decrease churn. Unlike manual distribution, call queuing allocates calls fairly among all agents so that no single agent is overburdened. Agents will not have to deal with irate consumers on a regular basis if queues are well-managed.

Call queues also offer reports on agent performance which can assist in determining when extra personnel or changes are required during peak periods. An efficient call queuing system will help reduces stress, keeps agents motivated, and enhances their confidence.

Optimized Operational Costs

There are several ways how improving your call queueing can help save call center costs. The first thing is that in many call centers, every inbound call occupies a landline for the entire waiting time. Call queuing allows you to respond to peak demand without incurring higher costs.

Optimizing call queues can also save money on salaries. An efficient call queue system means fewer agents dealing with higher call volumes. This prevents overstaffing (especially during less busy business hours), allowing you to save costs and increase your company representatives’ salaries. This, in turn, will increase your team’s morale and productivity.

What are the best practices when setting up call queues?

Setting up call queues efficiently is crucial for providing excellent customer service and managing incoming calls effectively. Here are some best practices to consider when setting up call queues:

1. Define call queue structure

Determine the number and types of queues required based on your organization’s needs. Consider factors like customer segments, call types, and skill levels required to handle different inquiries.

2. Prioritize call routing

Configure call routing rules based on priority levels. Ensure urgent or VIP calls are given higher priority and routed to the appropriate agents promptly. This helps in providing optimal service to important callers.

3. Offer estimated wait time updates

Provide accurate estimated wait times to callers through automated announcements or real-time notifications. This transparency helps manage caller expectations and reduces perceived wait time.

4. Set appropriate queue thresholds

Define maximum queue lengths and wait times to maintain a balance between customer satisfaction and resource utilization. Avoid excessive wait times as they can lead to frustration, but also ensure you have enough staff to handle call volumes during peak periods.

5. Monitor and analyze queue performance

Regularly review queue performance metrics such as average wait time, abandonment rate, and first call resolution. Analyze this data to identify bottlenecks, areas for improvement, and opportunities to optimize queue settings.

6. Continuously adapt and optimize

Regularly review call queue performance, receive feedback from agents and customers, and make necessary adjustments. As your business evolves, refine your call queue settings to align with changing customer expectations and organizational goals.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What are the causes of long call queues?

No matter how hard you try, there will always be situations where call volumes are just too big to handle. Of course, it doesn’t mean it’s an impossible task. The key here is to identify the reasons for long call queues and prepare a plan on how to deal with them correctly. In most cases, the number of calls significantly increases in one or more of the following situations:

Seasonal peaks

depending on the specification of your business, certain seasons can raise incoming call volumes. The same applies to promotional campaigns. Hiring extra contact center personnel is the best way to deal with the rising call volume. Callers who are on hold for an extended period of time during peak hours are more likely to hang up, increasing your abandon rate.

Understaffed departments

insufficient staffing happens in call centers. As your business grows, the call volume will sometimes increase beyond the initial expectation. If you do not hire more workforce to handle customer calls then, your call center, even the whole business will be under negative impact. Normally, you can check call reports regularly to spot this shortage of staff before it hurts your bottom line and take actions accordingly.

A lack of customer self-service options

Customer calls in with various issues and needs, but does every one of them needs to be responded by a human agent? The more efficient way is to pair your call queue system with IVR so that your customers can handle minor issues on their own. This means that the more sophisticated and technically demanding problems are automatically filtered out, and your agents can focus on handling them. This not only enables faster resolutions, but also increases the efficiency and value of the agents’ work.

Outdated software

it requires more than staff to keep a call center running successfully. With a wide variety of tools now available, you can expect a much higher level of responsiveness and performance. If you settle for the very basic phone system features, you risk falling behind the competition and compromising customer satisfaction. Many advanced call center features such as queue panels, call reports, wallboard, etc. have been adopted by more and more call centers and helped them take the customer experience to the next level.

What is the difference between IVR and call queue?

In essence, IVRs are the first destination in a routing scheme. It interacts with callers through voice prompts and menu options and directs them to various department. Queues, on the other hand, manages how incoming calls are distributed to a group of agents effectively. In most call center environments, callers will reach IVR first before they join a call queue.

What is queue callback?

The Queue Callback feature provides a further solution to reduce customer wait time and improve the customer experience. When customers arrive in the queue, they can choose to leave their phone numbers and leave for now, yet still maintain his position in the queue. When there is an available agent, that agent will receive a callback, and as soon as he picks it up, it will ring the customer at the same time. You can also check how many customers currently need callback, callback status, and other information in one place.

How do phone queues work?

Phone queues, also known as call queues or waiting queues, are systems used to manage incoming calls in a structured and organized manner. When multiple callers contact a company’s phone system simultaneously, they are placed in a queue, awaiting their turn to speak with a representative. The queue is typically managed by an automatic call distributor (ACD) that assigns each caller a position based on when they entered the queue. Callers usually hear announcements or music while waiting, and they are typically served on a first-come, first-served basis. Phone queues help companies handle high call volumes efficiently and ensure fair and orderly customer service.

What is the difference between a call group and a call queue?

Call Group, also known as Ring Group, and call queue are two different concepts in the context of managing incoming calls in a call center or phone system. A Call Group refers to a group of individuals or agents who are designated to receive incoming calls simultaneously. On the other hand, a call queue places calls on hold until an agent is available to handle them.

Call groups aim for parallel handling, whereas call queues aim for sequential handling with prioritization. Both approaches have different use cases and can be beneficial depending on the specific needs of an organization.

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