Queue Distribution Algorithm: RING STRATEGY

The contact center ring strategies are an important consideration for all inbound contact center administrators. This arrangement, which allows you to choose how calls are distributed to agents in a call queue, has an impact on several contact center KPIs, including the average time taken during a call and the time taken to answer.

In this article, we will be taking a closer look at six types of ring strategies which are the

1. Ring All
2. Least Recent
3. Fewest Calls
4. Random
5. Linear
6. Circular

We also examine the benefits and drawbacks of each ring method and how you can use them to improve your results and increase customer satisfaction.

1. Ring All

Ring All is very common and basic ring strategy used by the majority of contact center software available today. Whenever a call arrives to the skill, it connects and rings to all the agents available in the call queue simultaneously. The caller who requested the call will be connected to the first agent who answers the call.

It ensures that every agent in the call queue to receive notification for an inbound call. This means that all callers will not have to wait long before the call is transferred to an available agent.

Despite the benefits, this strategy has some drawbacks. As can be seen, this strategy aids in reducing the average hold time. On the other hand, since all the agents are aware that all of them are notified of the call, it is natural for most of them to ignore the call, assuming that it will be answered by someone else.

An example scenario created using the Ring All strategy is given in the image below.

1^st Call  ➤  Ring all available agents until one answers.

2^nd Call  ➤  Ring all available agents except the green one due to the ongoing call.

3^rd Call  ➤  Ring all available agents except the green and yellow ones due to the ongoing calls.

4^th Call  ➤  Ring all available agents except the yellow one due to the ongoing call.

2. Least Recent

In this type of ringing strategy, the system always routes the call to the least recent agent, in other words, the agent who has waited for the longest to take a call.

If the extension is ringing and the agent does not answer, the call will be redirected to another least recent agent. If another call comes in, it will be routed the next available agent who has been provided a call at least recently.

This strategy distributes the call volume equally among all the agents and keeps all the agents active.

An example scenario created using the Least Recent strategy is given in the image below.

1^st Call  ➤  Ring the green agent with the longest waiting time.

2^nd Call  ➤  Ring the red agent with the second longest waiting time.

3^rd Call  ➤  Ring the blue agent with the third longest waiting time.

4^th Call  ➤  Ring the purple agent with the fourth longest waiting time.

3. Fewest Calls

In this strategy, the call is routed to the agent who has answered the fewest amount of calls than all other logged-in agents on a queue basis. 

Overall call distribution is judged over the total number of calls answered. So with this strategy, the agent cannot ignore the calls, as if the call is routed to the agent who answers fewer calls.

An example scenario created using the Fewest Calls strategy is given in the image below.

1^st Call  ➤  Ring the purple agent who has fewer calls than the others.

2^nd Call  ➤  Ring the yellow agent who has fewer calls than the others.

3^rd Call  ➤  Ring the green agent who has fewer calls than the others.

4^th Call  ➤  Ring the purple agent who still has fewer calls than the others.

4. Random

This strategy will ring any available agent on the queue selected randomly.

The random strategy uses normal distribution, so each agent has the same probability to receive a call.

An example scenario created using the Random strategy is given in the image below.

1^st Call  ➤  Ring one of the available agents at random (green).

2^nd Call  ➤  Ring one of the available agents at random(yellow).

3^rd Call:  ➤  Ring one of the available agents at random (red).

4^th Call:  ➤   Ring one of the available agents at random (purple).

5. Linear

In this strategy, the call is routed to the agents according to the pre-decided order (priority) of agents. The call is first routed to the agent with the pre-determined lowest priority in the queue, and if the agent is not available, it is routed to the second agent and so on. Each time a new call is received, this process is repeated starting from the beginning.

This strategy sets priorities for the agents who will answer the calls. Usually, the administrators create the pre-determined order as the first one being the most experienced and the last one being less experienced. One disadvantage of this strategy is that it provides less opportunity to other agents.

An example scenario created using the Linear ring strategy is given in the image below.

1^st Call  ➤   Ring the red agent who has fewer priority value than the other available agents.

2^nd Call  ➤  Ring the blue agent who has fewer priority value than the other available agents.

3^rd Call  ➤  Ring the yellow agent who has fewer priority value than the other available agents.

4^th Call  ➤  Ring the blue agent who has fewer priority value than the other available agents.

6. Circular

Another ring strategy is the cyclical/circular ring. It works exactly the same as the linear ring strategy, with one main difference. It does not always begin with the first agent in the queue since it remembers who received the last call and begins with the next agent in the queue if another call is received.

This gives contact centers the opportunity to distribute calls equally among the agents.

An example scenario created using the Circular strategy is given in the image below.

1^st Call  ➤  Ring the yellow agent who has fewer priority value than the other available agents.

2^nd Call  ➤  Ring the blue agent who has fewer priority value than the other available agents.

3^rd Call  ➤  Ring the red agent who has fewer priority value than the other available agents.

4^th Call  ➤  Ring the purple agent who has fewer priority value than the other available agents.

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