What is time-based call routing?
Time-based call routing is a valuable tool for businesses that want to provide exceptional customer service, even outside of regular business hours. By automatically switching telephone system components at specific times, you can offer more efficient and effective service to your customers.
One of the key benefits of time-based routing is that it can significantly improve the customer experience. When callers reach your business outside of regular hours, they can be presented with clear and helpful options, such as a menu for after-hours support or a message indicating when the business will reopen. This helps to reduce frustration and ensures that customers feel valued, even when they can’t reach a live agent.
In addition to enhancing the customer experience, time-based routing can also improve operational efficiency. By directing calls to appropriate departments or individuals based on time of day, you can optimise resource allocation and reduce wait times for customers. This can lead to increased customer satisfaction and improved productivity.
Time-based routing (also called time management) uses logical timelines to open and close elements of your system.
These are as follows-
- IVR Menus
- Groups
- Announcements
- Group Voicemail
This means that all of these elements can be switched on or off using a logical set of rules, specified using time.
Setting this up
Setting up and changing time base routing is simple. In most cases, we will set up the time based routing for you, according to your system build profile that you submit to us when you first order your telephone system. After this is done you can either call Customer Services free of charge on 100 and they can edit this for you, or you can use the customer portal to change your time management.
Time-based routing would normally be activated on the telephone system element that normally receives the calls when you are open, for example, the main menu or the main group. You can check where this is by looking at your telephone numbers and seeing where these terminate. You then create a set of exception rules by telling the system that from time A to time B on day C, send the calls to Z (the out of hours menu for example).
Overview
Time-based management allows you a high degree of flexibility when designing your telephone system, and even though most people only use this to turn on their out of hours menu at closing time.