INTEGRATED INTELLIGENT CALL BLENDING

摘要

A system and method for sharing a pool of agents (24, 26, 34) in a telephone call servicing operation so that agents are utilized effectively. The telephones of a pool of agents are coupled to a number of dedicated inbound communication lines (14) through an automatic call distributor (ACD) (18). The telephones of another pool of agents is coupled to a number of dedicated outbound communication lines (16) through an outbound dialer (30). The outbound agent telephones may be directly coupled to the outbound dialer, or may be coupled to the outbound dialer through the ACD. Alternatively, the agents may be in a single pool and all be available for servicing inbound and outbound calls. Agents are acquired from inbound call servicing to service outbound calls when the agent response indicator for inbound calls is below a predetermined threshold. Agents are acquired for outbound calling by placing an internal call from the outbound dialer through the ACD to an agent. An acquired agent is released by terminating the internal call, not the individual outbound calls handled by the acquired agent.