Interactive Intelligence's VoIP Software Suite Boosts Productivity and Customer Service at WRB Communications Call Centers

Before deploying Interactive Intelligence’s all-in-one IP Communications Software Suite in April, WRB Communications faced some serious challenges stemming from its previous call center system’s outdated functionality.

 The Chantilly, Virginia company which delivers medical information contact center services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical-device industries, needed a vamped up system to streamline operations to keep up with customer pace. And they needed an all-in-one-suite that didn’t require several servers.

 

“We knew we needed to transition to VoIP to cost-effectively grow our company,” said Steve Hairston, WRB’s director of technical services. “When looking at other systems it became clear that Interactive Intelligence (News - Alert) offered the best architecture for ease-of-management, while giving us the functionality and flexibility we needed to support both-in-office and at-home agents.”

 

Interactive Intelligence’s Customer Interaction Center (CIC) IP communications software suite did all of those things. The CIC enables WRB to match the correct agents to callers more quickly, no matter where those agents are located. The software suite also includes an add-on application (called an “Interaction Recorder”), which monitors and reports on calls for quality assurance and training services.

 

What makes the CIC unique is that it is truly a single-platform “unified” solution, Christine Holley, director of marketing communications for Interactive Intelligence, tells TMC (News - Alert). “Many other vendors claim to offer this kind of unified solution; however, their offerings are a result of loosely integrated third-party applications from acquisitions and mergers. This means many more servers are required to run the same number of applications compared to our solution. It also typically means multiple user and administrative interfaces, and limited functionality.”

 

For instance, it's very difficult, and in many cases impossible, to run reports across all applications and all types of interactions (such as calls, e-mail and Web chats), Holley adds.  

 

“In contrast, we've organically grown our applications so they all run inherently on our single IP communications platform,” Holley tells TMC. The net result is lower costs, simplified management and administration, and maximum functionality and flexibility.

 

“A ‘before-CIC’ scenario might be a call that is answered by a receptionist, then transferred - sometimes multiple times before getting to the right person - and in many instances, ending up in someone's voice mail,” Holley tells TMC. “Using CIC, however, that same call would be automatically routed to the most appropriate agent based on a number of criteria as assessed by the dialed number and the calling number or caller's identity, as well as choices made via CIC's interactive voice response (IVR). CIC's presence management would automatically detect which employees are available so calls don't get dumped into voice mail. The result is that customer calls get connected faster, and once connected, customers get the best service based on their unique needs.”

 

Since deploying it, “we’ve been able to increase agent effectiveness while decreasing agent talk time,” WRB’s Hairston said.

 

Even better, the transition to Interactive Intelligence’s CID was also much easier than WRB had ever experienced, said Mark Hewitt, WRB’s vice president of operations.

 

“By getting CIC up and running quickly,” Hewitt says, “we’ve been able to realize a faster return on investment.”