What is automatic call distribution (ACD)?
Route calls efficiently to the best-suited agents with automatic call distribution (ACD).
Written by Andy Watson
Senior Manager, Product Marketing
Reviewed by John Finch
VP, Product Marketing, AI Customer Experience
Updated: 20 September 2024
Anyone who’s ever worked in a contact center or call center knows how difficult it is when call volume starts to rise quickly. Which callers do you prioritize first? What if there aren’t any more agents available to talk? How do you stop wait times getting too high?
One way cloud contact centers prevent problems like these is by having a good ACD system. Let’s take a look at what ACD is, what tools it has to improve your customer engagement, and how it can benefit your business as a whole.
What is ACD?
First things first, what does ACD stand for? It stands for automatic call distribution. It’s a telephony system feature that automatically receives incoming calls and distributes them to an available agent. And not just any available agent, but the right agent.
Its purpose is to help inbound contact centers sort and manage large volumes of calls to avoid overwhelming the team. It also improves customer experiences by making sure callers are connected to capable call center agents in the quickest time possible.
But before the caller is queued and routed, they first have to go through the IVR. IVR and ACD are often confused with each other, so to get a proper grasp on ACD meaning, let’s take the time to differentiate the two terms.
What is the difference between IVR and ACD?
Interactive voice response (IVR) is a technology that lets users interact with an automated menu before they are sent to an agent. IVR systems are commonly used to determine what the user’s query is and, by extension, the kind of assistance they need.
IVR systems do this by asking the user to press keys on their phone—or give voice responses—that correspond to their issue. For example, an IVR might ask you to “Press 1 if you want to purchase a product.” The ACD will then take your response and assign a sales agent rather than send you to unrelated departments.
IVR menus collect customer data. ACD then uses that data to sort and distribute the calls. When used together, these two tools can really improve customer satisfaction and workforce engagement in your contact center.
So, that’s a good answer to “what is an ACD?”. Now, let’s take a more in-depth look at the ACD call distribution process to get a better understanding of how the entire system works.
How does automatic call distribution work?
So, how does ACD work? At the simplest level, the call distribution process can be summed up in three steps:
1. Caller information and identification
2. Call queueing
3. Call routing
2. Call queueing
3. Call routing
STEP 1. Caller Identification
As mentioned above, the first step is asking the caller’s purpose through an IVR. Caller ID systems can also be used to determine factors like language and location. This will allow the ACD to distribute the caller to the appropriate agent who’s best equipped to handle their concern.
STEP 2. Call queueing
The next step is to sort the callers into a waiting list. The automatic call distributor quickly determines the order of the queue based on a number of factors such as:
- Status
- Waiting time
- Query
- Agent availability
VIPs are usually prioritized over others, but the system can also be programmed to sort callers based on the other factors mentioned above.
STEP 3. Call Routing
The last step is call routing. The ACD system will route the calls based on your preferred type of distribution method.
Want to minimize customer waiting time? The ACD can distribute the incoming call to whoever’s immediately available. Want your customer to be handled by the best agent? You can set the system to distribute based on an agent’s skills.
There are many types of distribution methods for you to choose from. To help you fully understand how to use an automatic call distribution system to your best advantage, you must understand the types of ACD distribution methods.
Types of ACD distribution methods
ACD distribution methods are also known as call routing rules. The right call center software will give you various options to build the right routing strategy for your needs.
Here are a few of the most common ways to distribute phone calls in a contact center:
Fixed order
Fixed order call distribution is when you assign customer calls to agents in a predefined and unchanging order. Here’s how it works at the simplest level:
- You assign each of your agents a number, perhaps ranking them in order of their skill set or expertise.
- You enter that information into your contact center solution and choose fixed order routing.
- When a customer calls your phone number, they’ll be routed to your number one agent if they’re available.
- If your number one agent isn’t available, the caller will get routed to number two. And so on.
- As soon as your number one agent is available again, they’ll receive the next inbound call.
Round robin
Round robin routing is very similar to fixed order call distribution. The only difference is that it’s designed to better balance agent workloads.
You still assign agents numbers, and your number one still receives the first call. However, the subsequent calls get routed to each of your other agents in turn, even after your first agent’s initial call is finished. They’ll only receive their second, once every agent has answered one.
Idle time based
Idle time based call distribution is another strategy designed to share work out more evenly among your agents.
When a customer calls, your contact center software sees which agent has been idle (not on a live call) for the longest, and routes the call to them. This type of ACD distribution is favored for ensuring agent productivity across your center.
Availability based
Availability based call distribution is most useful for international or virtual call centers, with a remote workforce.
Your ACD software is programmed with information on agent availability—including their work schedule, time zone, and more. It then uses algorithms to route incoming calls to agents it knows are active and able to answer them.
Skills based
Skills based call distribution and routing is a more complex option that’s great for larger centers looking to streamline their call flows and deliver great CX.
You score your agents based on their skill sets in different areas—such as language skills, technical expertise, product knowledge, etc. Your ACD system—in concert with IVR menus—assesses the needs of any given caller, and routes them to the agent with the most suitable skill set.
For instance, a Spanish caller would get routed to an agent fluent in their language. Or, a caller with a specific billing query gets routed to an agent well-versed in billing and customer financials.
Simultaneous
Simultaneous call distribution is favored by call centers that prioritize speed to answer over all else. When a customer calls, every available agent’s phone system receives the call, with the one who answers first being the one who handles the call.
Weighted
Weighted call distribution is kind of like a combination of fixed order and skills-based routing, but gives you more control over how many calls specific agents take.
You assign each agent a proportion of your total calls to handle. For instance, you might configure a five-agent call center like this:
- Agent one to take 35% of calls
- Agent two to take 25% of calls
- Agent three to take 20% of calls
- Agent four to take 12% of calls
- Agent five to take 8% of calls
This way, you can ensure that a higher proportion of callers reach your most skilled agents. It’s a good type of ACD distribution to use when onboarding new agents.
Channel based
This is a distribution method in contact centers, rather than call centers. It’s the distribution of customers to different agents based on the communication channel by which they reach out to you.
For instance, a contact center may serve customers via phone call, SMS, and live chat. Channel based distribution, at the simplest level, may mean that queries get routed to one of three different agents depending on which of those channels is used.
Automatic call distribution system benefits
Now that we know all about ACD telephony, let’s look at the main ACD benefits for your contact center:
Better workforce management
An ACD prevents your team from wasting time by routing calls in an orderly and systematic manner. It also makes sure that your team shares the same amount of workload, and reduces your agents’ idle time by distributing calls fairly and equally.
Improved customer experience
In addition to customer management, smart routing directs customers to the agents that can best handle their concerns. The fast distribution also ensures that your customer is attended to immediately, resulting in higher satisfaction levels—one of the key benefits of ACD.
Easier agent coaching
With call monitoring, you’ll be able to check on your agents’ performance while they are handling a call in real-time. This gives you a better understanding of your agent, their strengths and weaknesses, and how they can improve in delivering quality customer service across all channels of communication.
Enhanced reporting and analytics
The right ACD system won’t just be an ACD system; it will function as a VoIP-based contact center solution. This means it should offer more than just call distribution, catering to both outbound and inbound call centers.
That means you can get ready insights into metrics like average hold time, first call resolution (FCR) rates, agent talk time, and much more besides. All of this information gives you the chance to take a data-driven approach to improving call center operations.
Greater scalability and flexibility
Software-based ACD systems, hosted in the cloud, excel in terms of both flexibility and scalability.
Most make it as simple as a few clicks to customize things like routing rules and call flows to best suit your contact center. What’s more, it’s also generally quick and easy to add new agents to meet demand—and to remove them again if that demand wanes.
True omnichannel integration
The best ACD systems come as part of a holistic contact center solution, like RingCentral RingCX. Such solutions allow you to take a truly omnichannel approach to the customer support you offer.
All of your communication channels are part of one platform. That means customer interactions can seamlessly take place across those channels with no loss or siloing of information. When integrated with your CRM, too, the platforms ensure agents always have every piece of data they need at their fingertips.
Lower costs
All the efficiency benefits of ACD call distribution that we’ve mentioned also have a knock-on positive impact on your bottom line.
By introducing automation and other productivity boosters, you ensure agent’s resolve more calls in a shorter space of time. Meaning that you get better value from your agents’ time.
ACD in a contact center: Potential implementation challenges
That’s the considerable benefits of ACD in a call center in a nutshell. It would be remiss, however, not to mention the potential challenges you may face when implementing an ACD system. Know about those challenges at the outset, though, and you’ll be able to overcome them.
Disruption to existing processes
What is ACD in a call center if not a way to overturn your existing workflows? While you are setting out with the intention of disrupting existing processes, doing so can still generate issues.
In the short term, transitioning from your existing methods of call routing to ACD could negatively impact the customer experience. Calls may be mis-routed or even dropped if the transition isn’t handled effectively.
The solutions? Choose an ACD program that’s easy to implement and customize. Tailor the solution to your individual needs before rolling it out, and ensure you have full agent buy-in. Speaking of which.
Agent pushback and need for training
Whenever you do significantly alter contact center processes, you may face agent pushback. Your team may be used to doing things a certain way and—particularly in the case of any tech tool with automated elements—could fear the impact of a new system.
The best way to overcome this is to keep agents engaged and involved throughout. Make sure they understand that the new system you’re going to introduce is going to help them do their jobs better. Then, give them full training in the new software and its features.
Considerations when choosing ACD systems
So, now you know all there is to know about automatic call distribution, meaning you’re probably wondering how best to introduce it to your contact center.
The good news is that you’ve got plenty of ACD software options. The even better news is that many ACD systems actually come as part of a more holistic contact center solution. More on that later, however. First, let’s talk about what you need to consider when choosing automatic call distribution software.
Your current call volumes
The current demand placed upon your call center in terms of call volume is a crucial consideration. Think about overall volume, seasonality, and any trends in demand. This will help you determine just what you need an automatic call distribution system to handle, straight out of the gate.
Your growth plans and expected future needs
You want your chosen ACD software to be something you can stick with long term, too. So, also think about how your call center may grow over time and what that might mean in terms of call volumes, types of customer query, number of agents, and more. Make sure to pick an ACD solution that can scale with you.
The must-have features that reveals
Once you have a full understanding of your present and future needs, you’ll know what’s non-negotiable in terms of ACD features. For instance, perhaps you can’t do without skills-based routing or you know that soon you’ll need omnichannel capability.
There are other contact center features that can support your ACD, too, and we’ll talk a little about those shortly.
Ease of use and integration with existing tools
Great features and functionality are all well and good, but they won’t benefit your contact center if your agents can’t work out how to use them. Ease of use, therefore, is another critical consideration when choosing ACD software.
We’ve already mentioned, too, that most ACD systems come as part of a wider contact center solution. As well as combining multiple features, the best of those solutions can also integrate with your other business tools. Such integrations can further streamline processes and boost productivity.
RingCentral, for instance, offers 300+ native integrations with solutions including popular CRMs like HubSpot and Salesforce.
Value for money
Pricing is an obvious factor to consider when choosing any kind of software. Providers of contact center solutions with ACD built in tend to offer varied plans with different features available in each.
When choosing the right one for you, make sure you consider value and not cost. Rather than simply seeking to spend the least amount of money, try to ensure you get the best return on investment.
Reliability and security
ACD systems are generally offered as part of cloud-based Software as a Service solutions. You need, therefore, to ensure that your chosen provider can guarantee good uptime and that they adhere to the highest possible cybersecurity standards.
User support
Even if you do choose the most intuitive and easy to use solution, you may still encounter some teething troubles or issues down the road. Make sure, therefore, to consider the level and quality of user support that any ACD software provider offers before you sign up.
Automatic call distribution features: Essential functionality to support ACD
We’ve touched a few times upon the fact that ACD features come as part of a broader contact center solution, rather than as a standalone system. So, what other features might you get to support automatic call distribution?
Call queues
When call volumes are particularly high, there may not always be an agent available to speak to callers. Call queues account for this, by keeping callers on hold until someone can get to them. The best keep customers apprised of their expected waiting time and give them the option to arrange a callback rather than continuing to wait.
Call forwarding
Call forwarding is when you set rules to automatically transfer calls to a different destination. For example, you might configure your system to forward calls from a specific department to another when the first is closed. Unlike call transfers, which are performed manually during active calls to connect callers to another person or department, call forwarding is automated and predetermined, ensuring seamless communication even after hours.
Call recording
Call recording can be crucial for the smooth running of a contact center. Recordings are great for agent training and compliance purposes. The best contact center solutions make call recording easy, but also ensure you stay within the law by notifying callers when necessary.
Caller ID
Incoming caller ID is a feature that works hand-in-hand with automatic call distribution. The ID can tell your system who’s calling and so inform how the call gets routed. Known VIP callers, for instance, may get moved directly to the front of call queues.
Voicemail and visual voicemail
Sometimes, even with the best call distribution solutions, a caller may not be able to speak to an agent. In that case, your contact center solution should allow them to easily leave a voicemail. Voicemail transcription, or so-called visual voicemail, then makes these voicemails even more accessible.
Call management
Your interest in customer calls doesn’t end once they connect with an agent. Call management features ensure you can help out those agents while they’re helping callers. Call monitoring helps you keep across what’s being said. Call whisper lets you offer advice without the customer hearing, and call barge gives you the chance to take control.
Contact center overflow tools
Contact center overflow happens when there are not enough agents to handle the inbound calls. Not giving customers a reply or putting them on hold for too long will make them frustrated. So, you can choose between two options: to either send them to voicemail or automatically call back.
Voicemail
Allows customers to leave a recorded message for the agents. Agents can then assess the issue and try to resolve it, or call the customer back.
Automatic callback
The customer can also make an automatic callback request themselves. Once the agent is available, the system automatically calls the customer for the agent.
What are the benefits of ACD?
Now that we know all about ACD, how can it benefit your contact center?
- Better workforce management - An ACD prevents your team from wasting time by routing calls in an orderly and systematic manner. It also ensures that auto dialer technology is effectively utilized to maximize contact rates, distribute calls fairly, and reduce your agents’ idle time by distributing workload equally.
- Improved customer experience - In addition to customer management, smart routing directs customers to the agents that can best handle their concerns. The fast distribution also ensures that your customer is attended to immediately, resulting in higher satisfaction levels.
- Easier agent coaching - With call monitoring, you’ll be able to check on your agents’ performance while they are handling a call in real-time. This gives you a better understanding of your agent, their strengths and weaknesses, and how they can improve in delivering quality customer service across all channels of communication.
Learn more about RingCX today
Explore automatic call distribution features and more with your free RingCentral contact center software demo.
Automatic call distribution FAQs
Automatic call distribution works with IVR to assess the needs of customers who call your contact center, and then routes them to an appropriate agent. The principal purpose of ACD is to ensure that customers’ queries are handled both as quickly and as effectively as possible.
ACD is a call or contact center feature that routes inbound calls to the most appropriate agents to answer them. PBX stands for Private Branch Exchange. A PBX is a business’s internal telephone network, primarily used for enabling colleagues to communicate with one another.
Contact center overflow happens when there are not enough agents to handle the inbound calls. Not giving customers a reply or putting them on hold for too long will make them frustrated. Contact center overflow tools are your options for avoiding that. They include:
Voicemail
Allows customers to leave a recorded message for the agents. Agents can then assess the issue and try to resolve it, or call the customer back.
Automatic callback
The customer can also make an automatic callback request themselves. Once the agent is available, the system automatically calls the customer for the agent.