Call Transfers

The CATI system allows two types of call transfer: Internal and External.

• Internal call transfer allows the interviewer to transfer a call to another interviewer working in the same company. The Internal call transfer assumes that the call is transferred not to a particular interviewer but rather to one of the groups of interviewers to which the survey is assigned. The system then automatically picks the first available interviewer belonging to this group. Suitable interviewer groups with the appropriate skill types can therefore be used to facilitate internal transfers. To prepare for an internal call transfer operation the supervisor must:

• Check the system setting and the corresponding UI option on the Interviewer Console tab which enable the Internal Transfer button on the Interviewer Console toolbar.
• Check if the survey is assigned to at least one group of interviewers.
• Depending on the situation, enable for all or only for selected interviewer groups either the "Allow Call transfer" option only (if transferred calls are planned from a survey with which all interviewers currently work) or, additionally, the "Allow transferred calls from other surveys" option (if some transferred calls will come from surveys into which group members are not currently logged in).
• Choose the default call transfer mode (Blind or Warm).

• External call transfer means a call can be transferred to any telephone number which is specified and assigned in the CATI Supervisor External Transfer list by a supervisor. To prepare for an external call transfer operation the supervisor must:

• Specify the corresponding target telephone number(s) in the External Transfer list (the Resources menu).
• Check the system setting and the corresponding UI option on the Interviewer Console tab which enable the External Transfer button on the Interviewer Console toolbar.
• Choose the default call transfer mode (Blind or Warm).

The CATI Supervisor module provides UI controls (available for supervisors with administrator rights) that enable or disable the Interviewer Console call transfer buttons. These options are located on the Interviewer Console tab (Settings section of the Administration menu), see the illustration below. When a system setting is turned off, the corresponding check box in the GUI is hidden. Two options are available: allow/disallow the Internal Call transfer button and allow/disallow the External Call transfer button.

Figure 1 - The Interviewer Console tab

The supervisors without Administrator rights can allow/disallow internal call transfers within a single survey - the "Allow call transfers" option - and allow/disallow internal call transfer from a survey into which the interviewer-transferee is not logged in - the "Allow transferred calls from other surveys" option. These options are located on the Properties tab of the Interviewer group Properties view (see the illustration below). The "Allow transferred calls from other surveys" option becomes available only when the "Allow call transfers" option is chosen.

Figure 2 - The Properties tab

The supervisor must specify which type of call transfer is to be initialized when the Call Transfer buttons on the Interviewer Console toolbar are pressed. A call transfer can be either of a Blind or Warm type.

• A "Blind" call transfer supposes no interaction of the initial interviewer with the target interviewer - the initial interviewer is disconnected from the call as soon as he presses the Call Transfer button. The system then takes over the transferred call and handles it. The initial interviewer is then free to receive another call.
• A "Warm" call transfer means the initial interviewer contacts the target transferee to conduct a conversation prior to transferring the call. The CATI system provides the initial interviewer with an option of establishing independent contact with a respondent, a target interviewer, or holding a three-way conversation with both of them.

The type of call transfer which is initiated by default when a Call Transfer button is pressed in the Interviewer Console depends on the option specified for the survey (the call transfer options are available on the Survey View > General tab). For the Internal call transfer it can be "Warm", "Blind" or "Off". If the "Off" option is selected in the CATI Supervisor module for Internal Call Transfers the Internal Call Transfer button on the Interviewer Console toolbar is grayed out. For the External call transfer it can be only "Warm" or "Blind".

The illustration below shows that the "Warm" transfer type is currently selected from the drop-down lists both for the Internal and External call transfer.

Figure 3 - The "Warm" transfer type is currently selected

Only already started interviews (calls) can be transferred to another person. The interviewer should keep in mind that once a call transfer is initiated in the blind mode it cannot be canceled.

Another method to initialize the call transfer procedure is to add a corresponding command to the "Telephony" node in the questionnaire tree to start the internal or external call transfer operation at that point. In this case the call transfer is initiated in the blind mode only. This method can be useful for example when the interview is conducted by an IVR agent.

The commands that start the call transfer procedure are the following:

• InternalTransfer
• ExternalTransfer

The call transfer operation initiated in this way is the same as a call transfer operation initiated by pressing a corresponding button in the Interviewer Console. This means that all appropriate operation parameters such as the interviewer group assigned for transfer, transfer timeout value etc. are used in this case.

There is also a system setting IVR.TransferedTimeout. This regulates how long the system is to wait for a transferred call to be connected in the event it is transferred from an IVR agent to a live agent. The timeout value is specified in seconds. If the transfer to a live agent is not completed within the given timeout period it will be returned to the IVR.