Cross-trained versus specialized agents in an inbound call centre: a simulation-based methodology for trade-off analysis

While advances in call–centre technologies offer increased capabilities and efficiencies, the expanded possibilities for alternative configurations and operating policies complicate call–centre design and management correspondingly. Discrete–event simulation can capture these complexities and assist call–centre management in leveraging new technologies. In this study, we describe a simulation–based methodology developed for the inbound call centres of a leading catalog retailer of consumer electronics. Management sought to understand the implications of exploiting the capabilities of advanced telephone switches to migrate from a staff comprised entirely of cross–trained agents to a staff of dedicated product specialists. At issue was the trade–off between the efficiency of the single–channel generalist configuration and the potential effectiveness of a dual–channel specialist configuration. We describe the resolution of a range of technical issues embodied in this methodology, including modelling non–stationary call–arrival processes, deriving service–delay distributions from aggregate call–duration data, modelling call flow and control processes, adaptation of a framework for proper statistical comparison of multiple alternatives, and a software utility developed to integrate experiment design, run control, and output analysis.