Call Center Glossary
We simplified the complex jargon of the industry. An A-Z guide of terms for professionals.
Abandonment Rate
The percentage of inbound calls where the customer hangs up before being connected to an agent.
ACD (Automatic Call Distributor)
A system that automatically routes incoming calls to the most appropriate agent based on predetermined rules (skill, language, availability).
ACW (After Call Work)
The time an agent spends on tasks related to a call (notes, data entry) after the conversation has ended.
Adherence
A metric measuring how well an agent follows their scheduled shift, breaks, and activities.
Agent
A customer service representative who handles customer interactions via phone, email, or chat.
AHT (Average Handle Time)
The average duration of a transaction, including talk time, hold time, and after-call work.
ANI (Automatic Number Identification)
A feature that displays the caller's telephone number on the agent's screen.
API (Application Programming Interface)
An interface that allows different software systems (e.g., CRM and PBX) to communicate and exchange data.
ASA (Average Speed of Answer)
The average time it takes for calls to be answered by an agent.
Auto Attendant
A voice menu system that allows callers to be transferred to an extension without the intervention of a receptionist.
Availability
The percentage of time an agent is ready to accept a call.
Abandoned Call
A call placed in the ACD queue that the customer hangs up before it reaches an agent.
After-Call Survey
A short survey presented to the customer immediately after a call to measure satisfaction.
Agent Group
Also called Split, Gate, Queue or Skills Group — a collection of agents that share a common set of skills.
Agent Status
An agent's status at a particular point in time — e.g. wait, talk, wrap, idle, unavailable.
All Trunks Busy
The state when all trunks in a specified group are busy at the same time.
Analogue
Telephone transmission or switching that is not digital; signals are analogous to the original.
Announcement
A recorded verbal message played to callers.
Answer Rate
The ratio of calls answered by agents to the total number of calls received.
Answered Call
When referring to an agent group, a call is counted as answered once it reaches an agent.
Application-Based Routing
The ACD capability to route and track calls by type or application (e.g. sales, service) rather than by trunk or agent group.
Architecture
The basic design of a system; determines how components work together, capacity, and the ability to integrate with other systems.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Machines simulating or bettering human intelligence to perform tasks.
Auto Available
An ACD feature that automatically returns agents to Available mode after they finish a call.
Auto Greeting
An agent's pre-recorded greeting that plays automatically when a call arrives.
Auto Wrap-up
An ACD feature that automatically places agents into After-Call Work once a call ends.
Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR)
Technology that lets callers interact using natural speech without an agent, automating some or all parts of a call.
Average Delay of Delayed Calls
The average delay of only those calls that had to wait in queue.
Average Resolution Time (ART)
The time elapsed from when a contact arrives until all related processes are completed and closed.
Average Time to Abandon (ATA)
The average time callers wait in queue before abandoning; the calculation considers only abandoned calls.
Auxiliary Work State
An agent state used when the agent is occupied with work unrelated to answering calls and won't receive them.
Back Office
The part of the company where administrative and support tasks are carried out, without direct customer contact.
Blended Agent
An agent trained to handle both inbound and outbound calls as needed.
BPO (Business Process Outsourcing)
Contracting standard business functions (like customer service) to a third-party provider.
Business Intelligence (BI)
Strategies and technologies used for data analysis of business information.
Base Staff
The minimum number of agents required to meet service level and response time targets for a given period.
Benchmark
Comparing products, services and processes with those of other organizations to identify new ideas and improvement opportunities.
Best in Class
A benchmarking term to identify organizations that outperform all others in a specified category.
Blended AI
The combination of human intelligence and Artificial Intelligence to improve the customer experience.
Blockage
Callers blocked from entering a queue.
Blocked Call
A call that cannot be connected immediately because no circuit is available or the queue threshold has been exceeded.
Busy Hour
The hour in which a trunk group carries the most traffic during the day.
Call Blending
A strategy that mixes inbound and outbound calls for agents to optimize efficiency.
Call Center
A centralized office used for receiving or transmitting a large volume of enquiries by telephone.
Call Recording
The practice of recording telephone conversations for quality assurance and training.
Cloud Contact Center
A contact center solution hosted on a cloud server, accessible via the internet without on-premise hardware.
Cold Calling
Soliciting business from potential customers who have had no prior contact with the salesperson.
Contact Center
A central point from which all customer contacts (voice, email, social media, chat) are managed.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
Technology for managing all your company's relationships and interactions with customers.
CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score)
A metric used to measure the degree to which customers are satisfied with a service or product.
CTI (Computer Telephony Integration)
Technology that allows computers to interact with telephone systems.
Call Avoidance
A proactive strategy to reduce the number of unwanted or low-value calls, e.g. through self-service or eliminating repeat calls.
Call Calibration
Sessions run by quality analysts and team leaders to ensure everyone assesses customer contacts using the same standards.
Call Disposition Codes
Codes used to label and classify calls as they come in, based on the reason for the customer's call.
Call Drivers
The reasons customers contact the centre; often analysed to reduce overall call volumes.
Chief Information Officer (CIO)
The highest-ranking executive responsible for an organization's information systems.
Churn Rate
The percentage of customers who end their relationship with a business within a given period.
Cloud Computing
The remote delivery of a system, service or solution over a Wide Area Network (WAN).
Coach
The person who provides additional support and technical knowledge to agents, in addition to the Team Leader.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
A broad term describing a company's ethics, such as its environmental and social impact.
Cost Per Call
Total costs (fixed and variable) divided by total calls for a given period of time.
Customer Loyalty
The degree to which customers continue using a company's products and services and reject competing offers.
Customer Retention
A marketing strategy aimed at keeping customers who are at risk of leaving for a competitor.
Customer Touchpoints
The services and resources that bring the public into contact with a brand.
Database
An organized collection of structured information, or data, typically stored electronically.
Dialer
An electronic device or software that automatically dials telephone numbers.
DID (Direct Inward Dialing)
A service that allows an organization to have numerous individual phone numbers for each person or workstation.
DNIS (Dialed Number Identification Service)
A service that identifies the number the caller dialed, used to route calls appropriately.
Database Call Handling
A CTI application where the ACD processes calls based on real-time information from a database.
Day of Week Routing
A network service that routes calls to alternative locations based on the day of the week.
Delay Announcements
Recorded announcements that encourage callers to wait for an agent to become available.
Digital Transformation
The process of adapting an organization's processes, technology, and culture for the digital age.
Dip Check
A quick analysis of customer contacts by a quality analyst to find one specific type of problem or failure.
Escalation
The process of forwarding a call to a supervisor or specialist when the first agent cannot resolve the issue.
EWT (Expected Wait Time)
An estimate given to callers of how long they will have to wait before speaking to an agent.
Early Warning System (EWS)
A process that alerts a company to new product issues, often first identified in the contact centre.
Empathy
An agent's ability to put themselves in the customer's shoes and share their concerns.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
The means of determining staffing and occupancy levels for front- and back-office staff.
Escalation Plan
A plan that specifies actions to be taken when the queue begins to build beyond acceptable levels.
FCR (First Contact Resolution)
A metric indicating the percentage of customer issues resolved during the first interaction.
Forecast
Predicting future call volumes and staffing needs based on historical data.
Failure Demand
Extra demand created when a company's own failure — a missed callback, a late delivery — generates additional contacts.
Fast Clear Down
A caller who hangs up immediately when they hear a delay announcement.
Flushing Out the Queue
Changing system thresholds so calls waiting for one agent group are redirected to another group with a shorter queue.
Gateway
A hardware or software bridge that enables communication between different network protocols (e.g., VoIP and PSTN).
Grade of Service
The probability that a call will not be connected because all trunks are busy, often expressed as 'p.01' (1% blocked).
Hold Time
The total amount of time a caller spends waiting on hold during a call.
Hosted Call Center
A call center model where the technology infrastructure is hosted by a service provider.
Help Desk
A term generally used for a call centre set up to handle queries about product installation, usage, or problems.
Historical Reports
Reports that track call centre and agent performance over a period of time.
Hybrid Working
A flexible working model where employees split their time between the office and remote locations, usually home.
Inbound
Calls or communications initiated by the customer to the contact center.
IVR (Interactive Voice Response)
A technology that allows a computer to interact with humans through the use of voice and DTMF tones input via a keypad.
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network)
A set of communication standards for simultaneous digital transmission of voice, video, and data.
Incoming Call Centre Management
The art of having the right number of skilled people in place at the right times, at service level and with quality.
Internal Help Desk
A group that supports other internal agent groups, e.g. for complex or escalated calls.
Judgemental Forecasting
A forecasting approach that goes beyond statistics to include intuition, market research, and executive opinion.
KPI (Key Performance Indicator)
A measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a company is achieving key business objectives.
Knowledge Base
A specialized, easily accessible database of institutional knowledge, experience, and problem solutions.
Knowledge Management System (KMS)
A desktop application agents use as their single source of information to answer customer enquiries.
Lead
A person or entity with the potential to become a customer.
Live Chat
A customer service channel that allows customers to communicate with agents in real-time via text on a website.
Law of Diminishing Returns
The declining marginal improvement in service level attributed to each additional agent, as successive agents are added.
Load Balancing
Balancing traffic between two or more destinations.
Longest Delay
The longest time a caller has waited in queue before abandoning or reaching an agent.
Monitoring
The process of listening to agent calls for quality assurance and training purposes.
Multichannel
Offering multiple independent communication channels (phone, email) without integration.
Middleware
Software that mediates between different types of hardware and software on a network so they can function together.
Multi-Skilling
An agent who can handle several different types of calls, e.g. sales and service.
Multilingual Agents
Agents skilled in handling calls in more than one language.
NPS (Net Promoter Score)
A metric used to measure customer loyalty and the likelihood of them recommending your brand.
Next Available Agent
A call distribution method that sends calls to the next agent who becomes available, keeping load balanced across skill groups.
Occupancy Rate
The percentage of time agents spend handling calls versus waiting for calls.
Omnichannel
Providing a seamless customer experience across multiple channels (phone, email, chat, social media).
Outbound
Calls initiated by the contact center agents to customers.
Outsourcing
The practice of using outside firms to handle work normally performed within a company.
Off-Peak
Periods of time other than the call centre's busiest hours, often when carriers provide lower rates.
Open Ticket
A customer contact or transaction that has not yet been completed or resolved.
PBX (Private Branch Exchange)
A private telephone network used within a company to make and receive calls.
Predictive Dialer
An automated dialing system that calls numbers and connects answered calls to available agents.
PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network)
The traditional landline telephone network.
Pareto Chart
A bar chart that arranges events in order of frequency, named after economist Vilfredo Pareto.
Percent Allocation
A call routing strategy used in multi-site environments where calls are allocated across sites based on user-defined percentages.
Predictive Dialler
Specialist telephony equipment that dials ahead and connects only answered calls to an available agent.
Pooling Principle
The principle that consolidating resources improves traffic-carrying efficiency, while the reverse reduces it.
QA (Quality Assurance)
The process of observing and analyzing interactions to ensure quality standards are met.
Queue
A virtual line where callers wait to be connected to an agent.
Quantitative Forecasting
Using statistical techniques and historical trends to forecast future call volumes.
Real-Time Management
Monitoring and managing contact center performance metrics as they happen.
Remote Agent
An agent who works from a location outside the physical contact center, often from home.
Routing
The process of directing incoming calls to the appropriate agent or department.
Real-Time Adherence (RTA)
Measuring agent adherence to schedule in real time so issues can be addressed immediately.
Retrial
A caller who tries again when they get a busy signal.
Round Robin Distribution
A method of distributing calls to agents according to a predetermined list.
Schedule Adherence
A metric tracking whether agents are working the hours they are scheduled.
Script
A written guide or prompt for agents to follow during customer interactions.
Self-Service
Tools (like IVR or FAQs) that allow customers to resolve their issues without agent assistance.
Service Level
The percentage of calls answered within a specified time frame (e.g., 80% in 20 seconds).
Shrinkage
The percentage of paid time that agents are not available to handle calls (meetings, breaks, training).
SLA (Service Level Agreement)
A contract between a service provider and a customer that specifies the standards of service (e.g., response time).
Softphone
A software program for making telephone calls over the Internet using a general purpose computer.
Supervisor
A person who manages a team of agents and is responsible for their performance.
Satellite Call Centre
A smaller contact centre at another location, joined with the main centre and typically handling the same calls.
Skills-Based Routing
Ensuring calls are directed to the agents with the specific skills to answer that call type most effectively.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
The remote delivery of a software item or system by a provider to a subscriber or user base.
Speech Recognition
The capability of a voice processing system to decipher spoken words and phrases.
Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
A set of guidelines contact centres create to deal with common processes, such as quality scoring or staff scheduling.
Talk Time
The amount of time an agent spends talking to a customer.
Telemarketing
Marketing goods or services via telephone calls.
Toll-Free Number
A telephone number that is free for the calling party to dial.
Turnover Rate
The percentage of employees who leave a company within a certain time period.
Telecommuting
Using telecommunications to work from home or other locations instead of at the organization's premises.
Trunk
A telephone line connecting two switching systems together.
Upselling
A sales strategy to encourage customers to purchase a more expensive item or upgrade.
Unified Communications (UC)
The blending of interaction types — for example, when initial contact by voice is followed up by email.
Universal Agent
An agent who can handle all types of incoming calls, or both inbound and outbound calls.
Virtual Call Center
A contact center where agents are geographically dispersed but connected via cloud technology.
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
A technology that transmits voice data over the internet.
Voice Response Unit (VRU)
An automated telephone answering system that plays recorded messages.
Virtualisation
The means by which a series of disparate processes or systems is combined to provide a single service offering.
Voicebot
The same as a chatbot, but instead voice-activated.
Voice Processing
A blanket term for any combination of voice-processing technologies, including Voice Mail, Automated Attendant, and VRU.
Warm Transfer
Transferring a call where the agent speaks to the receiving party before connecting the customer.
WFM (Workforce Management)
The process of maximizing employee productivity by forecasting labor requirements and creating and managing staff schedules.
Workload
The amount of work (total handle time) required to handle the volume of contacts.
Wrap-Up Time
The time spent by an agent after a call to complete related work; synonymous with ACW.
Wallboards
Electronic displays used to give management and agents a real-time view of key performance metrics, such as service level.
Workforce Optimisation (WFO)
The means of applying schedules and forecasts based on previous and expected interaction volumes.
Zero Tolerance Policy (ZTP)
A ban on a certain behavior or item that an organization deems unacceptable, with defined consequences for non-compliance.
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