Nortel Express User manual

Nortel Symposium Express Call Center
Call Center Management Guide
Product release 4.2 Standard 2.0 March 2005
297-2183-917

Nortel Symposium Express Call Center
Call Center Management Guide
Publication number: 297-2183-917
Product release: 4.2
Document release: Standard 2.0
Date: March 2005
Copyright © 2005 Nortel Networks, All Rights Reserved
Information is subject to change without notice. Nortel Networks reserves the right to make changes
in design or components as progress in engineering and manufacturing may warrant.
The process of transmitting data and call messaging between the Meridian 1 and Symposium
Express Call Center is proprietary to Nortel Networks. Any other use of the data and the
transmission process is a violation of the user license unless specifically authorized in writing by
Nortel Networks prior to such use. Violations of the license by alternative usage of any portion of this
process or the related hardware constitutes grounds for an immediate termination of the license and
Nortel Networks reserves the right to seek all allowable remedies for such breach.
*Nortel, Nortel (logo), the Globemark, and This is the Way, This is Nortel (design mark), CallPilot,
DMS, DMS-100, DMS-250, DMS-MTX, DPN, Dualmode, Helmsman, IVR, MAP, Meridian, Meridian
1, Meridian Mail, Norstar, Optivity, SL-1, SL-100, Supernode, and Symposium are trademarks of
Nortel Networks.
ACTIVE DIRECTORY, INTERNET EXPLORER, MICROSOFT, MICROSOFT ACCESS, MS-DOS,
POWERPOINT, WINDOWS, WINDOWS NT, and WINDOWS XP are trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation.
CRYSTAL REPORTS is a trademark of Seagate Software, Inc.
SYBASE is a trademark of Sybase, Inc.
PCANYWHERE is a trademark of Symantec Corporation.

Call Center Management Guide v
Publication history
March 2005 This is the Standard 2.0 version of the Nortel Symposium
Express Call Center Call Center Management Guide for
Release 4.2.
April 2003 This is the Standard 1.0 version of the Nortel Networks
Symposium Express Call Center Call Center Management
Guide for Release 4.2.

vi Symposium Express Call Center
Publication history Standard 2.0

Call Center Management Guide vii
Contents
1Getting started 11
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Section A: About call centers 15
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Call center objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Switching and routing concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Networking and Symposium Express Call Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
How skillset priorities affect call routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Symposium Express Call Center components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Section B: Connecting to the server 37
Configuring the server for the switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Logging on to the Symposium Express Call Center server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Exploring the Administration window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Creating a desktop shortcut. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
2Managing call presentation 45
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Adding call presentation classes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Changing call presentation class properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Printing, previewing, and exporting a list of call presentation classes. . . . . . 52
Deleting call presentation classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3Managing users 55
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Section A: User administration 57
User types in Symposium Express Call Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Resetting desktop passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Changing desktop passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Section B: Configuring users 65
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Adding supervisors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Adding agents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

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Changing user properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Deleting users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
4Configuring skillsets 77
Section A: Using skillsets 79
About skillsets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Skill-based routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Section B: Adding and deleting skillsets 83
Adding skillsets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Deleting skillsets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Section C: Configuring agent to skillset assignments 87
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Configuring agent to skillset assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
5Configuring Voice Services 93
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Types of Voice Services treatments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Configuring a transfer to a DN treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Configuring a comfort message treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Configuring a prompt/collect digits treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Configuring a voice menu treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Configuring additional voice menu treatments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Using prompt/collect digits treatments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
6Configuring call treatments and call routing 131
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Section A: Configuring call treatments 141
Adding call treatments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Configuring emergency treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Activating the emergency state. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Section B: Configuring call routing 159
How call routing works. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Planning call routing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Configuring call routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Call Center Management Guide ix
March 2005 Contents
7Configuring switch resources 171
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Section A: Working with CDNs 175
Overview of CDNs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Adding CDNs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Acquiring and deacquiring CDNs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Other procedures for CDNs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Section B: Working with phonesets 181
Overview of phonesets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Adding phonesets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Acquiring and deacquiring phonesets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Other procedures for phonesets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Section C: Working with activity codes 189
Overview of activity codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Adding activity codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Other procedures for activity codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Section D: Working with DNISs 195
Overview of DNISs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Adding DNISs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Other procedures for DNISs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
8Using the Alarm Monitor 201
About the Alarm Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Clearing active alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
9Performing backups 207
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
AAgent phoneset keys 211
Display Waiting Calls key/lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Unsupported agent phoneset keys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
BCall-flow examples 219
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Call-flow examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

x Symposium Express Call Center
Contents Standard 2.0
CReserved words list 235
Reserved words. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Glossary 239
251

Call Center Management Guide 11
Chapter 1
Getting started
In this chapter
Overview 12
Section A: About call centers 15
Section B: Connecting to the server 37

12 Symposium Express Call Center
Getting started Standard 2.0
Overview
Welcome
Nortel Symposium Express Call Center provides a simplified call center
solution for call centers with up to 150 agents and up to 5000 calls per hour.
In this guide
The Nortel Symposium Express Call Center Call Center Management Guide
explains how to manage the day-to-day activities of your Symposium Express
Call Center.
Who should read this guide
This guide is for administrators who are responsible for the day-to-day
management of Symposium Express Call Center.
Assumptions
This guide assumes that Symposium Express Call Center has been correctly
installed and is operational. If the application has not been installed, then you
should contact your distributor and get it installed.
Access rights
This guide assumes that you have the privileges and access rights required to
perform the procedures. For more information, refer to Chapter 3, “Managing
users.”
Optional features
Some of the features described in this guide are optional. To determine which
features you have access to, Nortel supplies a special code called a keycode that
you use when you install the Symposium Express Call Center software. Fields
and commands for features that you did not purchase are not available.

Call Center Management Guide 13
March 2005 Getting started
What’s new in this release
The following features described in this guide are new to Symposium Express
Call Center Release 4.2:
!No charge to caller for calls that exceed ceiling
When the number of calls arriving at the call center reaches the call ceiling
(either the global ceiling, or the ceiling defined for a CDN, CLID, or
DNIS), the next caller receives a busy tone and is disconnected without
being charged for the call.
Note: Calls transferred in from a front-ending IVR system, or transferred in
by normal transfer operations, do not receive ringback and are charged.
!CallPilot support
You can use CallPilot to provide treatments, such as announcements and
voice menus, for callers.

14 Symposium Express Call Center
Getting started Standard 2.0

Call Center Management Guide 15
March 2005 Getting started
Section A: About call centers
In this section
Overview 16
Call center objectives 19
Switching and routing concepts 21
Networking and Symposium Express Call Center 24
How skillset priorities affect call routing 26
Symposium Express Call Center components 31

16 Symposium Express Call Center
Getting started Standard 2.0
Overview
What is a call center?
A call center is an environment designed to process telephone calls efficiently
while maximizing customer satisfaction. A call center can be as small as two
people who are frequently on the phone, or it can employ hundreds of people
who respond to a variety of customer inquiries.
Call center components
Call center components include
!the representatives who answer the calls (also called agents)
!management personnel
!technology that distributes calls to the appropriate representatives
!an online computer system to record caller requests and inquiries, and to
look up information
Role of the call center manager
A call center can be found within a department, or it can be the single business
unit that comprises a company. Regardless of the size of the call center, the
requirements of successful call center management are the same:
!to deliver caller satisfaction through prompt, professional call handling
!to control costs by using facilities efficiently
!to help staff work productively
!to increase profitability
Whether callers are purchasing products, requesting service, or seeking
information, the call center must have technology that delivers the timely service
they expect.

Call Center Management Guide 17
March 2005 Getting started
Call processing
Typically, a call center has a number of agents available to answer incoming
calls. When a call comes in to the call center, it is automatically directed to one
of these agents. Call distribution can occur on the switch, or it can be controlled
by a product like Symposium Express Call Center.
Skill-based routing
Symposium Express Call Center can perform skill-based routing. Instead of
simply directing the call to an available agent, Symposium Express Call Center
directs the call to the agent who best meets the customer’s needs.
Queue
The queue is the number of calls waiting to be answered. Frequently, the queue
is invisible. That is, callers do not know their position in the queue. Symposium
Express Call Center provides information that helps you make the queue
visible—you can tell customers their expected wait time or you can play
appropriate messages based on their position in queue. This is a keycoded
feature, available only if you have purchased the Position in Queue option.
Agent Occupancy
Agent occupancy is the amount of time during a half-hour period that agents are
on a call (talk time) or in post-call processing (Not Ready time). Symposium
Express Call Center provides reports and displays that you can use to monitor
agent occupancy, talk time, and Not Ready time.
Call abandonment
Call abandonment measures the number of calls abandoned before being
answered. The time when calls are abandoned is as important as the number of
calls abandoned. Callers may abandon early because they have decided not to
wait, or they may abandon in frustration after a long wait. Symposium Express
Call Center lets you gather abandonment statistics.

18 Symposium Express Call Center
Getting started Standard 2.0
Service level
The service level is the percentage of incoming calls answered within a specified
number of seconds. For example, you may have the objective, “80 percent of
calls are answered within 20 seconds.” In this case, your service level is 80
percent and your threshold time is 20 seconds. Your actual service level,
reported by Symposium Express Call Center, may be “77 percent of calls are
answered within 20 seconds.” The server uses the following equation to
calculate service level:
{[(Calls Answered + Calls Abandoned) – (Calls Answered After Threshold +
Calls Abandoned After Threshold)] * 100} / (Calls Answered + Calls
Abandoned)
where the threshold is the number of seconds defined in your service level
objective (for example, 20).
Example
Your call center receives 80 calls in one hour:
!10 calls are answered after the threshold
!20 calls are abandoned
!13 of the abandoned calls are abandoned after the threshold
In this case, the service level is
{[(80+20)–(10+13)]*100}/(80+20) = 77%

Call Center Management Guide 19
March 2005 Getting started
Call center objectives
Introduction
To process calls efficiently, you must fully understand the objectives of the call
center. Generally, a call center has three major objectives:
!Maximize call center efficiency.
!Maximize caller satisfaction.
!Analyze how your call center is functioning, and make decisions on how
best to improve service.
Maximize call center efficiency
To maximize the efficiency of your call center, you must accomplish the
following goals:
!Increase productivity.
!Improve service.
!Decrease costs.
!Handle unusual situations.
In an efficient call center, agents process calls that they are qualified to handle.
You must ensure incoming calls are presented to the agents best prepared to deal
with the requirements of the call. This is the basis for skill-based routing:
determine a caller’s requirements and route the call to an agent who has the
knowledge to deal with it effectively.
Callers should wait for as short a time as possible before speaking with an agent.
This accomplishes two things: the caller is less likely to hang up while waiting
in queue, and agents spend as little time as possible waiting to answer calls.
When both of these conditions are met, costs decrease and profits increase.
Occasionally, an incoming call is not presented to the intended agent. For
example, the call is returned to the queue or is disconnected. Configure routing
to prevent such situations or to deal with them in the event they do occur. You
must consider unexpected conditions and determine methods to resolve them.

20 Symposium Express Call Center
Getting started Standard 2.0
Maximize caller satisfaction
Callers should speak to a qualified agent immediately. However, due to large
call volumes and a limited number of agents, this does not always happen. You
can, however, try to reduce the amount of time each caller waits in queue.
Caller satisfaction is extremely important. Callers waiting in queue do not want
to hear silence until their call is answered. They want to know what is happening
to their call. If callers begin to doubt that their call is being handled properly,
they may hang up.
There are several ways to ensure maximum caller satisfaction. You can
!prioritize calls based on your most important callers
!give callers options while waiting in queue
!play appropriate messages based on their expected wait time or their
position in queue
This functionality is provided by the Expected Wait Time feature, which is
a keycoded option. It is available only if you purchase the option.
!let callers speak with an agent of their choice
!let callers speak with an agent in the language of their choice
Track and report on call information
When configuring call routing, consider that you can track call-related
information and store it in a database for later analysis. Take time to plan call
routing to track the information you need. You can use this information later in
reports that enable you to analyze how your call center is functioning, and make
decisions on how best to improve service. For example, you may want to know
the average amount of time agents spend answering calls, or the number of
abandoned calls.