Effective Customer Enquiry Management: Why Skill-Based Routing is Indispensable

Imagine this: every call is routed directly to the member of staff who can resolve the issue competently and efficiently – without tedious transfers, without long waiting times and without causing unnecessary frustration for the customer. What sounds like a pipe dream has long been a reality thanks to Skill-Based Routing (SBR).

Particularly in complex and consultancy-intensive sectors such as energy supply, telecommunications and electric mobility, SBR is the key to excellent customer service. In this article, you’ll find out how your service centre, too, can benefit from this intelligent technology in the long term.

What is Skill-Based Routing?

Skill-Based Routing (SBR) refers to an intelligent routing system used in contact centres and service departments that directs incoming enquiries specifically to those staff members best equipped to handle them quickly and competently. Unlike traditional methods such as ‘first-come, first-served’ or ‘longest idle’, SBR takes a wide range of relevant factors into account:

• Language skills: The system routes enquiries to staff who are proficient in the customer’s language. This is a crucial factor for success, particularly in international call centres.
• Technical expertise: In inbound call centres in particular, it is important that enquiries are routed directly to staff with the appropriate specialist knowledge (e.g. for energy billing or telecoms faults).
• Experience with specific customer segments: Customer enquiries from specific sectors are assigned to staff who are familiar with the requirements of those segments. This contributes to a higher Customer Health Score and strengthens customer loyalty.
• Technical skills: Particularly in technology-driven sectors, such as solutions for electric mobility, enquiries are specifically routed to staff with the relevant technical expertise.

The key benefits of skill-based routing

How Skill-Based Routing Works

Skill-Based Routing is based on an intelligent combination of modern technology and established processes:

1. Recording employees’ skills:
   The system systematically records the qualifications, knowledge and experience that individual staff members possess. This information is derived, for example, from certificates, successfully completed training courses or performance data that documents staff members’ strengths.
2. Analysis of the customer’s enquiry:
   Using technologies such as IVR (Interactive Voice Response), Natural Language Processing (NLP) or AI-powered analysis systems, the customer’s enquiry is precisely identified – whether for multichannel customer service or for handling via traditional telephone or written contact.
3. Intelligent distribution of enquiries:
   The system matches the identified customer enquiry with the recorded skills of the available staff members. On this basis, the enquiry is routed to the person best placed to handle it.
4. Continuous improvement through learning:
   The algorithms evolve through the evaluation of KPIs and feedback. This also helps to reduce the bounce rate in the long term.

Recommendations for the successful implementation of SBR

To ensure that Skill-Based Routing can be successfully implemented and operated within your organisation, you should follow these recommendations:

• Create a comprehensive and up-to-date skills database:
  The cornerstone of successful routing is a complete overview of all your staff’s skills. Update and maintain your database regularly.
• Encourage continuous professional development and regular skill updates:
  Your teams’ skills are constantly evolving. Ensure that new training courses, qualifications or project experience are always integrated into your database in real time.
• Implement consistent monitoring and reporting:
  Regularly analyse key performance indicators such as the first-call resolution rate, average waiting times or customer satisfaction. This will enable you to identify areas for improvement at an early stage.
• Establish systematic feedback loops:
  Use feedback from customers and staff to continuously improve routing and ensure it meets the actual requirements of day-to-day operations.

Challenges and tried-and-tested solutions

The introduction of skill-based routing can also present challenges. However, these can be overcome through appropriate measures:

• High initial implementation costs:
  Building a comprehensive skills database and integrating it into existing systems requires time and resources.
  Solution: Opt for a phased implementation and start with pilot projects. This will allow you to optimise and roll out the system in stages.
• Changing requirements:
  Customer needs and the skills required are constantly evolving.
  Solution: Choose a system that is easily scalable and flexibly adaptable so that you can respond quickly to new requirements.
• Risk of overburdening specialist staff:
  High demand in certain areas can lead to individual teams or staff members becoming overburdened.
  Solution: Encourage cross-skilling and broader training to distribute knowledge more evenly within the team and avoid bottlenecks.

Skill-Based Routing in use at XELEO

At XELEO, Skill-Based Routing is not just a technology, but a central component of our service strategy. XELEO offers leading solutions in sectors such as energy supply, telecommunications, electric mobility and payments. SBR helps us to exceed our customers’ growing expectations and build lasting customer relationships.

Whether in an inbound call centre, in BPO customer support or in international projects – we help you make your service centre future-proof. Our teams of experts provide practical and efficient support – from analysis through to implementation and ongoing operations. With in-depth experience, technological expertise and the highest quality standards, we ensure that your customer service makes all the difference.

Please feel free to contact us via our contact form or call us on +43 2742/28520!