We all want phone calls to be flooding into our call centers. An ACD will help you be organized and efficient when that happens as your agents handling the calls will automatically be routed calls that they can best handle.

ACD stands for Automatic Call Distributor. ACD call routing is when the ACD transfers incoming calls to the appropriate employee for the task. ACD call routing is ideal for offices handling a large volume of calls, especially when callers do not need to talk to a specific employee but require attention by any of multiple persons at the soonest possible opportunity.

To help match which available agent should take any particular call the ACD call routing system reviews that customers credentials. Sometimes a simple interactive voice response system may retrieve additional data from the customer for the ACD. Alternatively the ACD can be programmed to recognize different toll free numbers, and direct customers to the appropriate employees based on that. A third alternative is that an ACD may be connected with a CRM (Customer Relationship Management). In this arrangement the ACD will route calls based on key information and also relay this information to the answering agent.

ACDs can work equally well with both in-house call centers and remote inbound call agents. Automatic call distribution will increase the rate of response to incoming calls and productivity no matter which set up is used to organize call agents. Better response times lead to improved customer satisfaction by limiting the time each customer waits for service and by giving inbound agents higher levels of responsiveness to each caller.

Automatic call distributors often contain software that monitor reporting and performance data. Records of call time and volume provide insight to managers about a business's performance. Tracking which toll free numbers are called the most allows an organization to refine and reevaluate marketing plans and current campaigns. Call recording options provide quality control as well as tools for valuable training for current and future employees.

The ability to blend inbound calls with outbound calls is also a task a good ACD call routing system can accomplish. This allows an agent to be free to make outbound calls while waiting to receive inbound calls. This is especially useful at increasing efficiency during non-peak shifts or down times in caller volume.

By subscribing with a hosted ACD call routing system provider your resources are expanded. Additional hold capacity without having to pay for more T1s or local lines is an example. Instead your ACD's host can hold those calls that you during those times of peak inbound call volume, and patch them through with your ACD call routing system as inbound call agents become available.