A nice blog I’ve recently come across that I recommend reading is the Service Untitled customer service blog. One topic they’ve spoken about recently is the concept of Skill-level-based routing and given a pros/cons list on the idea. This topic came up again in an interview they have with Dell’s VP of support, and it’s an interesting topic.

There’s always a lot of talk in the IVR / Call Center industry about how best to route callers so they are met with the most appropriate agent. Skills-based routing has always been one way of doing this. Through Skills-based routing, you simply asked the caller what they need help with, such as billing or support and then route them to either a billing or support agent.

Skill-level-based routing is a little different. It empowers the consumer to segment themselves. Take, for example, Dell’s customer support line. They get a wide range of callers, of all skill levels - from novices with their first computer, to power users with the latest gaming equipment. A power user doesn’t want to be routed to an agent who knows half as much as they do. And a novice doesn’t want to be routed to an agent who is highly skilled and doesn’t know how to put things in layman’s terms.

So, give the consumer the choice as to who they think they should be routed to. Either simply ask them to rate themself on a scale of 1-10 as to how knowledgeable they are; or, as is noted on the Service Untitled blog, ask them a series of questions to figure out their skill level, and route them appropriately. Some tips from the SU blog:

• Make skill level based routing optional. Ask customers if they would like to rate their skills and be transferred accordingly. Some customers may want to do that, others may not.
• Ask questions. Instead of flat out asking for a skill level, ask a few questions (see below). Based on the answers to those questions, route the call accordingly. Take it a step further and tell the customer what level you think they are.
• Tell about skill levels. The IVR could give a few sentence description about each skill level. Something like “Expert users are users who are proficient with operating and configuring Windows, can troubleshoot most issues by themselves, and are confident in browsing the Internet safely and securely.” can help explain what the company’s expectations are.

As I commented on the SU blog, you should also take this a step further and synch this info with your backend customer database. That way, the next time the customer calls in, the integration between your IVR system and your backend database can automatically recognize the caller and their skill level and route them without make them go through the same series of qualification questions.

Angel.com has developed a number of prepackaged apps and APIs to integrate the IVR system with CRM solutions such as Salesforce.com, Netsuite, and SugarCRM. Check out our other IVR integration partners.