• Journal of Information Technology Services
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.17-35
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• 2019

Call centers do not simply play a role of responding to customers' calls, but they have developed into a core unit for maintaining competitiveness through services, marketing, or sales. Since the service quality of call centers heavily affects customer satisfaction, organizations have focused on enhancing it by reducing waiting time and increasing service level. One of the techniques, which improve the service quality of call centers, is to employ multi-skilled agents that can handle more than one type of calls. This study deals with three issues relevant to multi-skilled agents. First, we analyze how the way of allocating a specific group of agents to a set of skills affects the performance of call centers. Secondly, we investigate the relationship between the number of multi-skilled agents and the performance of call centers. Finally, we examine the impact of agent selection rules on the performance of call centers. Two selection rules are compared : the first rule is to assign a call to any available agent at random while the other rule is to assign a call preferably to single-skilled agents over multi-skilled agents when applicable. Based on simulation experiments, we suggest three implications. First, as the length of cycles in the agent-skill configuration network becomes longer, call centers achieve higher service level and shorter waiting time. Secondly, simulation results show that as the portion of multi-skilled agents increases, the performance of call centers improves. However, most of the improvement is attained when the portion of multi-skilled agents is relatively low. Finally, the agent selection rules do not significantly affect the call centers' performance, but the rule of preferring single-skilled agents tends to distribute the workload among agents more equally.

• IE interfaces
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.56-62
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• 2009

This paper presents a methodology of evaluating call routing rules in call centers using simulation. The proposed methodology enables the call centers to reduce trial and error costs from applying different routing rules. Additionally, a Value Based Routing (VBR) has been evaluated with the proposed methodology in terms of profit, and finally compared it with a Homogeneous Routing (HR).

• Proceedings of the Korea Contents Association Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.99-102
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• 2006

We recognize call centers as a interface frequently interacting with clients, and as the first portal of enterprises promoting customer satisfaction and increasing the rate of customer maintenance. The importance of service quality in call centers is gradually enlarged, as criteria for competitive power of enterprises, and the first-line interface of communications with customers in operating method and business management. Also, Enhancing service quality is the first task of both the management and telemarketers in order to adapt to the customer's requirement level. The curriculum for telemarketer education is not established or standardized within the country yet. We must therefore study on it as soon as possible, though it has a short history and insufficient theoretics. In this paper, we descirbe the development of a formal telemarketer education program in call centers included the result that analyze existing educational programs, and the opinion of call centers.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.777-785
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• 2012

Recently, the rapid development of internet and information technology has led to rapid changes in many industries. One of the most rapidly developing industries is the call centers. Almost all public institutions, financial institutions including insurance companies, and shopping malls, many call center staffs are proceeding with the consultation. However, lack of call center staffs is leading to a lot of customers complaints. The function of outbound call centers such as promotion and sale of products is also arising some problems due to insufficient number of consulting staffs. In this study, we propose the call center model for maximizing the rate of call connection time and suggest the best way of call centers model to be the channel distributions using the data mining techniques.

• IE interfaces
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.327-337
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• 2012

The development of information and communication technology affects people's life in social, cultural, and economic aspects. When this happens in public sector, it gives way more benefits than in private sector because of its high accessibility by public. Among the technological public services in Korea, call center service which provides administrative services by telephone and internet had been spotlighted as a new type of communication between people in demand and public service provider. Public call center service is expected to be continuously diffused in years due to its accessibility and convenience for public users. This study analyzes diffusion pattern of public call center service in Korea using Bass model and tries to suggest appropriate diffusion strategies. For practical cases, three most popular public call centers in Korea are analyzed in light of diffusion pattern and operating strategies. Our analyses identify that public call centers in Korea are facing continuous diffusion in two years and there exist certain strategies to efficiently expedite the diffusion.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.449-454
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• 2008

The study aims at providing an influential model with regard to the level of satisfaction over the call center users and its operator in the National Railroad Administration, while at the same time seeking for possible ways to improve service standards in the call centers for Korean railroads. As a result, it demonstrates that; in the aspect of callers, the call center personnel are required to improve their ability and reciprocating attitude toward the uses; in the aspect of the operator, they are in need of more qualified service providing including advanced facilities. In this context, it is of outstanding importance to take into account the need and demand by both of the user and the operator as for the call center.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society for Industrial Systems Conference
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• 2008.10b
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• pp.316-321
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• 2008

In the present emerging global economy, as the focus is shifted from manufacturing to service sector, the efficiency of service operations is crucial for the county's sustainable growth and development. As one of the fastest growing service sector industries in South Korea, the call center has become an inevitable part of customer service for most companies. Despite of the strategic importance of the call center, there has been no empirical study on the efficiency of call center service operations in the literature. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the technical efficiency of call center services so as to not only identify the current status of call center service operations, but also suggest ways to improve service operations efficiency. For this purpose, we apply a non-parametric efficiency measurement method, DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis), to domestic call centers in order to compare their relative efficiency. Based on DEA evaluations, we provided specific directions for the inefficient call centers to possibly improve their operation efficiencies. It is expected that the measurement methods suggested in this study can be applied to various issues such as service KS certification, service operations management, and the productivity analysis of service personnel.

• Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.31-40
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• 2009

Call centers have become the prevalent contact points between companies and their customers. By virtue of recent advances in communication technology, the number and size of call centers have grown dramatically. As a large portion of the operating costs are related to the labor costs, efficient design and workforce staffing are crucial for the economic success of call centers. Therefore it is very important to determine the adequate number of agents. In this context, the workforce staffing level can be modeled as mathematical optimization problem using queueing theory. In this paper, we deal with an approximate analysis of an N-design call center with two finite queues and two types of reneging customers by using the state decomposition method. We also represent some numerical examples and show the impact of the system parameters on the performance measures of the call center.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.128-138
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• 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the factors influencing the wellness of call center employees. Methods: From December 2018 to October 2019, a cross-sectional study was conducted with 155 workers recruited from the call centers in Seoul, South Korea. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. The questionnaires were used to measure the following scales: Korean occupational stress scale, emotional labor scale, work-life balance scale and wellness scale. Using the SPSS 26.0 program, the descriptive statistics, independent t-test, ANOVA, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis were conducted. Results: The mean score of the wellness level of call center employees was 3.05 out of a maximum of 5.00. More wellness level of call center employees was associated with gender, psychiatric diagnosis, and call characteristics. A multiple regression analysis indicated that the total scores on the wellness scale were predicted by call characteristics, occupational stress and work-life balance, with an explanatory power of 42.2%. Conclusion: Study findings show that it is necessary to promote wellness in call center workers with differentiated strategies according to call characteristics, occupational stress and work-life balance. This implies that it is necessary to understand the call characteristics and patterns of workers and to provide an innovative wellness program tailored to individual characteristics for an effective management of the emotional labor and occupational stress.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.12 no.9
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• pp.15-23
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• 2014

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of service marketing agents' psychological contract with the company on organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior. Research Design, Data, and Methodology - The antecedent variable of psychological contract, dependent variables of organizational commitment and citizenship behavior, and mediating variables of self-esteem, self-efficacy, and perceived organization support were used, based on precedent studies. Result - The psychological contract had a positive influence on self-esteem, self-efficacy, and organizational support. Moreover, self-efficacy and organizational support had an influence on commitment, while self-esteem, self-efficacy, and organizational support influenced organizational citizenship behavior. In addition, the results relating to mediated effects showed that only self-esteem had no mediated effect between contract and commitment. Conclusions - The call centers are asked to let the agents cognize an affirmative psychological contract. Further, the call centers are asked to produce an organizational atmosphere to let agents increase motivation factors. Finally, agents should develop them at personal levels to cognize organizational support affirmatively and to keep mutually beneficial contracts between call centers and agents.