Call Transfers in the Call Center ACD

The need to transfer calls is an inevitable use case in the workflows of almost every contact center ACD. Whether it’s a transfer to an external entity, a different internal department, or to a supervisor, transfers do not necessarily follow the same pattern given the scenario. Let’s talk about the 3 major types of transfers that can be configured in the Q-Suite.

1. Blind Transfer – Blind transfers are typically used when the agent needs to sent the caller to an external source that has no direct affiliation with the center. Perhaps you call into a local Home Depot and your question or concern needs to be directed to someone on a more corporate level. The agent can simply make the transfer and it’s as though you had dialed the number yourself in the first place; the initial agent is long gone at this point.
2. Conference Transfer – We should all be fairly familiar with these given how frequently they are used in the world of business these days. In our case, an agent can transfer themselves and the caller into a predesignated conference room and any other interested parties can dial the conference room’s extension and join as they wish.
3. Consultative Transfer – These types of transfers usually happen when the initial agent needs to send the caller to a different department or queue, or if they need to escalate to a supervisor. In a consultative transfer, the agent triggers the transfer to the 3rd party while the caller is placed on hold. The agent then relays the caller’s information or problem to the 3rd party. When the 3rd party is prepared to take over, the agent then starts talking to the caller, the 3rd party is placed on hold, and the agent finalizes the transfer which bridges the caller and the 3rd party together, while the agent departs the conversation.