What Is Call Queuing & What are the Advantages of Call Queuing System in a Call Center?

Have you ever found yourself frustrated😩 by long waits in call queues, enduring endless hold music as you eagerly await a response from an available agent?

No one❌ likes waiting in a queue, and it is one of the most frustrating things a customer can have. We all want fast, easy service, whether we’re in a restaurant, garage, or hotel. Contact center agents must follow✅ the same rule.

Therefore, if you want better customer satisfaction, it’s crucial to monitor call queues in your call centers closely and take the necessary steps to minimize waiting time⏳ and call drop rates.

Several factors contribute to long call queueing at your call center, but unskilled agents and outdated technology are the main ones. No matter the cause, your goal should be to keep it under control.

First, let’s learn💡 what call queueing is and how it can benefit you before we examine the causes of call queues and what benefits it can provide.  

What is Call Queuing?

Call queueing is a technology that places inbound callers into one or more virtual queues to minimize call waiting time. It helps you direct customer queries to the right person at the right time and improves customer experience. Your call queueing system increases sales, enhances customer loyalty, and strengthens your brand’s visibility.

It is a technology feature that routes incoming calls by placing callers “in line” so that their inquiries can be addressed in a specific order. It manages inbound calls and directs them into a virtual queue based on predefined criteria. Thus, call queuing helps contact centers or agents handle calls in an organized way.

Whenever your customer calls📞, if your call agent is busy or unavailable, those calls will go into a queue or “on hold.” In this situation, the callers wait for the call to be picked up or answered instead of continuously receiving “busy” notifications. 

How Do Call Queuing Work?

Typically, call queuing works at the instant when a customer places a call based on when they call into a contact center. A caller gets put on hold⏸️ while entering a call queue. When outbound calls are made to your company, a recorded message will be played. 

A virtual queue will then be created after the inquiry is logged using an automated menu. Their progress will be communicated verbally regularly, while behind the scenes, the system will happily direct them to the first available✔️ operator who can help them.

A user can receive one call from a queue; once the user is done with the call, he will receive another call from the line placed last. Hence, the agent will have sufficient time to handle the customer waiting in the bar.

It is a virtual waiting area where all unattended calls are parked unless any agent addresses them.

The purposes of the call queue are to reduce the call waiting time and transfer calls to other agents when they are done with the other incoming calls.

When a customer places a call, they are held in the waiting area, and the customer will hear greetings message🔊 automatically play when a call is received.

Most companies will play music, making it less likely for someone to hang up the call. At the same time, there are some options for the customer to leave information to contact a customer service agent or the center when they are available.

Proper call queue management can win the trust🤝 of a company, improve agent productivity, lower abandonment rates, and save time and money.

Advantages of Call Queueing System

Customers expect reliable and faster means of services. Queuing in a line is one of the most frustrating things, and customers hate waiting. You can strengthen your business by managing or handling calls in an organized way. 

It is suggested to monitor the activity and analyze the inbound calls by answering the calls. Here are some of the benefits🎁 of a call queuing system:

1. Reduce Call Waiting Time

Improving customer experience is one of the major concerns of every business. Most call centers are troubled by long call waiting times, and a call queuing system is one of the effective ways to reduce call waiting time.

The call queuing system prevents the loss of potential customers by managing the call with delicacy and in a systematic manner. You can increase📈 your call volume using a call queuing system without increasing the overhead or increasing the capacity of the internal lines.

It provides accurate data on the call waiting time which encourages callers to be in the line hence reducing the call abandonment rate. It keeps your customers informed of their call progress and keeps them engaging.

2. Improve Customer Service

High call volume makes it difficult for your business to respond promptly. However, you can improve your customer service by implementing a call queuing system. Valuing customer needs and satisfaction is an excellent approach to showing that you are concerned about them.

Using queueing technologies, you can play a customized message to your callers if you receive many calls simultaneously. You will be notified🔔 that you are aware of their call but that no staff member is available to take it. It can also let them know where they stand in the queue, so they feel more comfortable waiting.

3. Lowers average call handle time

The average call handle time should be below or low so that your agents have sufficient time to deal with the incoming calls and sell🤑 their products. But, of course, it depends on how quickly you can solve their queries.

The faster you connect customers with highly skilled agents and collect relevant information, the greater your chances of being a loyal brand.

It reduces average call handling time because callers are directed to the right agent trained to handle those queries without making them hop from department to department. Also, this will expedite the resolution process.

4. Improve Productivity

One of the most important aspects of call queue management is agent productivity. It diversifies the workload of the team, which decreases⬇️ stress, keeps agents active, and boosts their confidence.

Customer experience and agent productivity will both benefit from call queueing systems. With automatic call distribution, no agent is overburdened, unlike manual distribution.

Good queue management means agents won’t have to deal with angry customers constantly. Otherwise, it will kill their working spirit. Call analytics can also help them train, which teaches them how to deal with customers and provide valuable feedback💬.

Reasons Behind Long Waiting Time

The main aim of call queuing is to narrow down the gap or bridge the virtual waiting area. Once you get your platform running, and reduces all the queuing problems. But still, there are lots of reasons behind long calling queues. Here are some of the reasons behind the long calling queues;

1. Incompatible Call Center Software

Working with the old technology model, outdated contact center technology, and not performing a task on time holds the agent back. It’s hard to say why your agent or business growth doesn’t expand.

However, it can be solved with the help of modern or updated call center software, which enables agents to gather information about the customer and be ready👉 for the next incoming call. This way, call queue management helps to reduce the time for both parties.

2. Insufficient Customer Support

If you are short of an agent or call a representative, and when numerous calls are waiting to be picked by the call center or agent, you are likely to cause long calling queues and may impact severe problems to your business growth.

Moreover, you are putting an extra burden on your existing agents, and it may cause an overall impact on their productivity. Hiring an additional agent is the only solution to this problem.

3. Unskilled Workers

Poorly trained staff tends to create more impact⚡ on the calling queue. Being sort of staff is better than hiring unskilled staff, not being able to perform work during the peak hour or seasons, and lack of proficiency with the technology.

Unskilled staff overall creates a negative🚩 impact on a business model, which results in long call handling. A company should provide training to newly recruited agents and should be a primary target.

4. Peak Seasons

Many of the business sectors went digital, and there is a massive demand for services from a customer. Especially in this E-commerce sector, agents have to deal with customers who love😍 to do online shopping, and agents have to deal with many customers during the festival or peak seasons.

So, this is where there will be higher↗ call volumes. Failing to provide services during this season will hamper the overall development of the company. Providing a higher level of solutions via IVR and other communications is one of the solutions, which reduces long call handling queues. These were some of the reasons behind long call queues.

Final Thoughts

Essentially, the customer wants their needs and services met as soon as possible. Nobody likes to wait around the phone line and doesn’t want to waste their valuable time. On the other hand, long queues create a negative⛔ impact on the company or organization.

Minimizing customer wait time, reducing first-call resolution rates, and solving problems and queries can all be done with the help of IVR solutions and quality call queuing technology. Good queue management helps reduce time and, overall, helps grow business.

KrispCall is one of the best VoIP services that provide call queueing features and other call center features like call forwarding, share number, call transfer, and many more. It provides you with the best features to revolutionize your business with call center software.

Just give it a try and improve your customer experience.

FAQ

What is call queuing?

Call queuing is a feature of interactive voice response (IVR) systems or call queuing software that manages incoming phone calls by placing callers in a virtual line while they wait to be connected to an available agent or specific department within a business.

How does call queuing system benefit different departments?

Efficient call queuing systems seamlessly connect callers to the billing department, sales teams, and technical support, ensuring reduced wait times and enhanced customer service across various departments.

How does call queuing system integrate with other business phone systems?

Call queuing systems can integrate with advanced VoIP systems, auto attendant features, CRM software, and other business phone systems to provide seamless call routing and enhanced customer service.

Arun Chaudhary

Arun is SEO Analyst at KrispCall. He has written in extensively in the field of cloud telephony and call center solutions.