On hook agents. I can see arguments both for and against these types of agents, but which side of the argument will end up working for you in your contact center acd? It’s a tough question to fully answer, but let’s have a look at a few of the pros and cons.
Pros:
- Agent freedom: When on hook, agents are not forced to be attached to their headset or physical phone all the time, perhaps making them feel like more of an actual person rather than just an ‘agent.’
- Identification of caller: Agents can assess the call information prior to answering the call, giving them the ability to prepare for a short period of time before answering.
- Device control: This sort of relates to the first point, but allowing the agents to control the devices that will be handling their calls can give them a sense of added responsibility.
Cons:
- Agent freedom: When on hook, since the agents do not need to be attached to their headset or physical phone all the time, this can give the agents the freedom to not be available to take calls, due to simply not being present to answer the device.
- Identification of caller: Since agents can assess call information prior to answering the call, they might just flat out refuse to answer.
- Device control: Allowing the agents to control the devices that will be handling their calls can lead to abuse of the device, such as ending the device’s connection to the call center system because they feel like it.
It might seem odd that the pros and cons of using on hook agents in a contact center, on the surface, are identical but they mainly point out that you need to know what type of agent you are employing for your contact center. If you believe that you have some top quality agents, on hook may be incredibly optimal. On the other hand, if your agents to not appear to be the most trustworthy type of personnel, using on hook could be a disaster.