VEM® - Predictive Dialing Engine
At the heart of Softdial CallGem™ is the Virtual Event Machine (VEM®), which maximises outbound performance with precise control of dialing rates and trunk usage.
How it works
VEM® works quite differently from traditional approaches to predictive dialing. It employs massive simulation techniques to work out the appropriate dialing rate for the calling conditions experienced in the call center.
This has two clear advantages over traditional predictive dialers:
- The simulation model inherently caters for all dialing conditions
- There is no need for human interaction to manage the dialer. Instead CallGem controls all pacing seamlessly and automatically
To maximise outbound performance, Softdial CallGem™...
- interacts with the telephony switch and CRM layers to monitor real-time performance, e.g. call duration, no. of available agents etc
- generates a real-time simulation of call center performance from which it predicts how many calls to dial to maintain optimum call center throughput
Monitoring real-time performance
Softdial CallGem™ maintains a virtual model of the call center internally with real-time monitoring of all call center operations for any changes that could affect the optimum dialing rate. Softdial CallGem™ continuously monitors activity in these areas:
- Campaign - changes to operating parameters on existing campaigns, call blending etc
- Agent - logon / logoff activity, talk and wrap times, non-productive time etc
- Telephony - changes to the number of trunks available, changes to the number of connects etc
- Management - startup of new campaigns or termination of running campaigns etc.
If Softdial CallGem™ detects any changes that affect the dialing rate, the updated call center model is passed to the Softdial CallGem™ Simulation Engine for re-calculation of the optimum dialing rate.
Performing real-time simulation
In order to keep both abandoned calls and wait times between calls low, a very high speed simulation engine was developed; the Virtual Event Machine (VEM®) . This unique engine, which delivers a simulation speed in excess of 10 million calls per second lies at the heart of Softdial CallGem™'s unprecedented accuracy and effectiveness.
Dialing conditions are constantly changing on campaigns. As they change VEM® is also constantly at work simulating with the changed data to work out the best dialing rate for each campaign. For example, if several agents suddenly log in after a break, VEM® immediately senses this, along with any other data that has changed, and re-runs its simulations to come up with a higher dialing rate. The speed of VEM® is so fast that the new dialing rate for the changed conditions is available immediately.
Performance and compliance
VEM® is the only set of dialing algorithms that were specifically engineered to be able to dial effectively within compliance rules.
Unlike many other dialer vendors, Sytel enforces compliance with dialing rules in all countries around the world and has done so for many years, well before it became a legal requirement. This means for example that no customer anywhere is able to work with abandoned call targets beyond 5% (in the US under FCC/ FTC control at 3%) unless the local laws permit more aggressive dialing e.g. for collections campaigns.