Harnessing Omni-Channel Routing for better customer experience

The Omni-Channel Routing feature of Salesforce has been evolving over the years to allow cases to be assigned to the correct agent. Being able to direct cases to a specific queue which had the agents as members were long sufficient for call centres.

But now, with multiple customer service channels, it has become a game of chess for service managers trying to keep wait times down and the customers happy across these channels. Today’s customers expect companies to provide top-notch service regardless of the point of contact.

Take advantage of Skill Based Routing

Imagine if you could attach different skills to a case, i.e. language, product or premium customer and then Omni-Channel would pinpoint that case to the agent with the same skills of the case. Omni-Channel Skill Based Routing offers this coupled with the existing Salesforce functionality of assigning cases based on the team’s workload and capacity.

The idea is that a skill can be anything related to the case, and the agent can have many skills depending on their experience and speciality. This allows the cases to be assigned to the best agent for that particular case. The priority of cases can also be handled, allowing urgent cases to be dealt with first. Another great option is to prioritise a channel with a live agent so that you don’t leave the customers waiting.

Skill Based Routing allows service managers to take advantage of the skill level feature enabling the agents to have lower skills than others so they can back up for certain cases or channels when an overflow happens. It is also possible to add or remove and increase or decrease the agents’ skill level on the fly.

Implementing Omni-Channel Skill-Based Routing

When implementing Omni-Channel Skill-Based Routing, you should consider the following:

1) Skills are dictated by the amount of data you have on the case. The less data you have, the fewer skills you generally can define.

2) If you have different call centre operations using Service Cloud and Omni-Channel, always consider a unified approach to the Omni-Channel processes to meet the needs of all business units.

3) Consider how channels, cases and agents are affected by Skill Based Routing in the omnichannel dynamic. Finding the right balance allows for your agents to be happier serving your customers.

Being able to be more dynamic across the call centre allows you to be better prepared for daily operations. You can deal with any unexpected volumes or crises with less hassle. You are also ready to handle the unexpected in a more confident manner leading to a great customer experience.

Read more about Salesforce Service Cloud here.