Intuitive Layout

In our annual live chat effectiveness research, we discovered that agent knowledge and speed were the most critical elements determining a chat session’s success according to the panel of regular internet shoppers we surveyed. The Agent Workspace impacts both with immediate results.

Prioritized Work Queue

Work is automatically organized for the agent with the most important items at the top. With both sound and visual cues, agents can quickly see which items need attention. By clicking the item or the “Next Item” button, the agent can select it and begin work.

Centralized Intelligent Workspace

The Workspace enables the agent to work across items – chats, SMS messages, emails, etc... all from the same interface. The most frequently used tools are omni-present while other data is just a click or hover away. Partial work is saved automatically so an agent can, for example, leave a half-written email in order to respond to a new incoming chat.

SLA Metrics Read-Out

Real time service level data appears along the bottom of the Workspace letting agents know if they are meeting or exceeding corporate benchmarks. Average response time, average speed of answer, and more are available at-a-glance.

Administrative Controls

Items appear in the Agent Workspace largely because of built-in intelligence around prioritization, but also because of decisions made by administrators. Reassignment times, limitations around simultaneous chats, email routing, and more are accessible to administrators.

Triggers and Agent Controls

Adaptive Messaging is a powerful feature integrated into the natural workflow of chat. As the chat interaction progresses, Adaptive Messaging continually updates in order to place the most appropriate responses at the top of the list for the agent. Agents can pause the Adaptive engine whenever they want with a simple click. When active, the feature searches every time a new inbound message arrives. Agents can direct the search as well by:

• Typing followed by a 1-second pause, or
• Highlighting text inside the chat
  
  
  

Exposed Selection Logic

When a message is selected, the Adaptive engine exposes the reasons why it was chosen directly in the interface. For the agent, this completes a feedback loop which improves every subsequent search the agent conducts.

Account-Level Learning

The Adaptive Messaging feature gets more accurate over time because of its built-in learning methodology. As search results are selected and sent by the operator, the text used as part of the search becomes a "learned text" entry associated with that canned message and saved at the server level. Because Adaptive Messaging queries both the raw messaging content and the learned text, search results get better and better. And, because learning is stored at the server level, the entire user community of your account shares the benefit.

Routing Rules & Permissions

Administrators set up departments, folders, and permission groups in order to route incoming work to a desired destination and to grant access to those destinations to the appropriate personnel. Routing directs items, likes chats and emails, to the right place so that agents, or groups of agents, can take ownership of the items and use the best tools available to assist.

For example, administrators using departments, folders, and permission group settings, can effectively:

• Structure tiered support so that chats can follow internal escalation procedures such that as the chat is escalated, operators gain access to more advanced help tools (like remote control)
• Segment sales from support for inbound chats and emails
• Support multiple websites with either the same or totally different teams
  

In high volume environments, administrators will want even more control over work assignment based on agent workload, department rollovers, and more. The Automatic Distribution engine is required for these types of deployments.

Automatic Distribution logic enables sophisticated distribution and assignment of incoming work to the right agent. The logic can be configured for an entire account, though override controls are available at both the department and individual operator levels.

The engine allows administrators to specify reassignment time thresholds, the number of concurrent work items allowable and automatic disablement of on-site chat buttons if the queue reaches a certain size.

The Automatic Distribution Engine can assign work based on different logic.  Customers can choose to deliver work in a round-robin, least-busy, or most-busy methodology.  The logic isn’t mutually exclusive meaning that customers can use different assignment algorithms inside the same account – round-robin for sales departments and least-busy for support operations, for example.

This feature gives admins the ability to have multiple rollover departments for which there would be an inherent hierarchy for distributing incoming communications. Chats or emails can be rolled over to multiple departments in the event agents are unavailable. For example, rollover to department A first; if no one is available in department A, rollover to B; and so on.

In-Chat Toolbars

Drag & Drop Images
While canned messages can include images, most operators prefer the real-time ability to drag and drop an image directly into the chat window.

One-Click "Answer & Greet"
Agents can accept a chat, answer it and send the visitor an initial greeting all with a single button click.

Auto-Spell Checking with Multi-Language Support
Ensure professional communications with automatic spelling correction. While the BoldChat client application is offered in English only, the product does include built in language dictionaries. Operators may type chat and email text in any language and now, that text will be spelled checked automatically. Supported languages are: English, Spanish, French, German and Russian.

Text Tools
Live chat operators can increase font size, change colors, italicize, bold, and highlight.

Typing Indicator
A user favorite, this feature is especially helpful when managing multiple chats.

View Window

The default grid-view of the operator interface is just one way agents can manage chats assigned to them. Another is the instant-messenger paradigm of individual windows. This option maintains access to all of the tools available and additionally allows operators to stack up chats across multiple monitors.

Canned/My Messages

Canned responses increase productivity by eliminating the need for agents to repeatedly type answers to common questions. Once an operator selects a canned message, they can edit it to add a personal touch. With the My Canned Messages feature, agents have even more control; they can create their own unique set of messages and re-order the master list of messages to their liking. Access to the messaging knowledge base occurs through folderization, hot keys, or keyword searching.