Owning and operating a call center, you undoubtedly know how important a good dialer is to your daily operations. However, many companies that rely heavily on their dialer end up suffering for it, because not every call center dialer is created equally. A dialer without the capabilities you need – or which malfunctions, even on occasion – can cost you dearly.

Here’s how to know how well your call center dialer is working for you and what to do if it’s failing you:

Understanding the Different Types of Call Center Dialers

Before you can determine the effectiveness of your dialer – or choose the right one for your facility - it’s important to understand the many different types of dialers available.

• Manual dialers. When you’re first starting out, you may have to rely on a manual dialer. This is the most basic method of dialing and was the standard a generation ago. Since these dialers are little more than human fingers and a phone keypad, you don’t have to invest in expensive equipment – but you also have very little productivity to show for it.

This type of dialer is really only useful for the smallest operations with the shortest list of contacts. Most modern call centers can’t make do with these primitive methods.

• Preview and power dialers. Preview dialers – often referred to as power dialers, a holdover from a bygone era of technology – are the first step toward automation in dialing. Called a preview dialer because of the fact that you are able to preview information about the contact you are about to reach out to before calling, this type of dialer is good for saving you the time that it would otherwise take to manually dial each contact.

Companies looking to really speed up operations might not see enough productivity and efficiency from this type of dialer. Better suited to smaller operations that allow agents to be more discerning in who they contact, this dialer boasts only a single overall advantage: when you’re working with warm leads and want to build more meaningful conversations, giving your agents the advantage of choosing who to dial and in what order promotes a more organic connection and conversation. Otherwise, though, it’s best to choose a faster dialer.

• Predictive dialers. Do you have long lists of contacts to reach out to? If so, you may already be using a predictive call center dialer. This type of dialer dials pre-established contacts automatically, giving it the advantage of massive productivity.

There are some drawbacks to this dialing method, though. First, the connection made between the caller and the person who answers is not much of a connection at all. The agent on the line is actually matched to the caller after they pick up, making the first few seconds of the call awkward for some consumers. This may lead to an increase in the number of abandoned calls.

• Progressive dialers. Perhaps the best hybrid of the previous two methods, a progressive dialer is one where personal connections are taken into account. Using a live agent to make call and transfer decision rather than just a machine, it allows for real interactions and genuine connections to be made.

It’s important to note that this type of dialer still automates the dialing process. However, it works by allowing an agent to indicate their availability, then matches them to an outgoing call. The agent manually indicates whether a call has been answered by a live human being or a machine, and also indicates when the machine should move on to dial the next contact on the list. This hybrid of man and machine is the closest call center dialers have gotten to the perfect solution for all centers.

So, which type of call center dialer is best for your operation? That depends on a variety of factors. These include but aren’t limited to:

• The type of calls you make or take.
• The type of leads you’re using.
• What goals your agents and supervisors are pursuing, such as less abandonment or greater conversions.

What Happens When Your Call Center Dialer Malfunctions?

Call center dialers are designed to do a very specific job. Unfortunately, that means that they often fail to do that job. The lack of flexibility in most of the programming for these dialers means that even the slightest variation can throw off operations entirely.

If you are working with a predictive dialer, it’s very easy for call abandonment rate to soar. When this happens, your company loses out on major business. It’s also easy for some agents to be left sitting for long stretches of time, waiting to be matched with a call, while others are overworked. Again, this leads to turnover and higher labor costs for your company as your work to replace burnt-out employees who throw in the towel and leave.

Choosing the right kind of dialer is important in ensuring that your facility operates at maximum efficiency and productivity, but also for keeping your employees focused and their workloads balanced. If your dialer isn’t doing exactly that, you’ve got the wrong kind of program on your hands!

What to Do When One Solution Isn’t Enough

Sometimes, a single type of dialer isn’t sufficient. Even the best dialer can’t keep up with a call center with layers of various calling needs. When this is your situation, you may want to consider a multi-platform program that allows you to use various approaches to placing and receiving calls. This can amp up your productivity and prevent disaster if things do go wrong with a single layer of operations.

At ChaseData, we offer an extensive list of technological solutions for your call center operation, including dialers. Whether you want to improve the efficiency and productivity of your facility with a better dialer or just need to replace your current, ineffective model, we can help you do it. Contact one of our experienced representatives today to learn more.

Your call center dialer is your company’s backbone. Don’t let it be the weakest part of your structure. Upgrade to an optimal dialer today and enjoy better business operations every day.