Handling Inbound Calls

The CATI Supervisor module is able to handle inbound calls when it is connected to an integrated dialer which supports inbound call processing technology.

Inbound call processing relies on the DDI (Direct Dial-In) number list and also on a scheduling script which is dedicated to handling inbound calls. Such a script may involve specific functions and methods used in the Dialer API to handle inbound calls.

The work of a dialer also has to be configured. However, most of the dialer's functionality is handled in the background and the supervisor is usually not required to touch any of these parameters.

An inbound call can be handled by the CATI system after the system is prepared in the way described below. Procedures and settings described in this part of the documentation encompass only items that are configurable with the use of the CATI Supervisor UI. There are other aspects which are configured by a system administrator.

Prerequisites, or What Should Be Set Up Before the CATI System Is Able to Handle Inbound Calls

• Supervisor should make sure that respondent records in the sample contain telephone numbers in a dedicated field (using the standard system field named 'TelephoneNumber'). These telephone numbers will be used when the system searches for a record corresponding to an incoming call;
• DDI numbers should be configured - inbound calls will only be accepted if they are coming to these numbers. Each DDI number is associated with one survey. See Configuring Inbound Call Settings for information regarding DDI numbers and related settings.
• For each company a set of "On-hold" messages should be configured - these messages are played to a calling respondent in certain situations to explain to them what's what’s happening whilst waiting for a call to be connected. . See On-hold Messages.
• A special scheduling script should be added to the system. This script is used for accepting inbound calls.

After an inbound call is passed to an interviewer it is processed as a regular "outbound" call.

Identifying a Call

When an inbound call comes to one of the specified DDI numbers the CATI system starts looking for a survey which is associated with this DDI number. When the survey is found, the CATI system attempts to read the Caller ID (the phone number from which the call is detected). When the Caller ID (or CLI) is read, the system starts looking for a record that has this survey and this identified telephone number associated with it. Based on the survey and the identified telephone number of the respondent the CATI system looks up a suitable record to create a call.

Choosing a Suitable Record

When a CLI is identified, the system will find a corresponding survey record and create a call for this record. Note that different situations may arise as in some cases the Caller ID may not be identified. If a CLI is unknown then depending on how it is configured the system may:

• Create a new interview record automatically.
• Drop the call.

Scheduling Script forHandling Inbound Calls

When a call is created, the system runs a scheduling script to process the inbound calls. This script should be created beforehand and should contain the "Accept Inbound Call" action. Other parameters for this script are optional.

Figure 1 - Example of a scheduling script for handling inbound calls

Calls have a property called the "CLI Number". This is an identified telephone number from which the inbound call comes, and it can be used in scheduling scripts to filter calls.

A scheduling script for accepting inbound calls can contain other rules and actions which help in processing an inbound call.

It is recommended to use the "Increment priority" action for inbound calls to forcibly increase the Priority value so that the call can be delivered to an interviewer as quickly as possible. This is especially important when calls are delivered in the "non-Predictive" mode.

Delivering a Call to an Interviewer

When a record is found and an interview is created, the system starts searching for an interviewer to conduct this interview. Depending on the dial mode used for this survey the system delivers a call in the following manner:

• For a Predictive mode it puts a call in the queue, and it will then be delivered to an interviewer as a regular "outbound" call.
• For a "non-Predictive" mode the system uses a special method to tell the dialer that this is an inbound call (having a higher priority than "outbound" calls) and it should be delivered prior to other calls.

After an inbound call is connected to an interviewer it is processed in a similar way to an outbound call.

The Interviewer is always informed when an inbound call is delivered to them - the Interviewer Console toolbar turns green and an icon starts to flash towards the right end (go to Inbound Call Handling for more information).

Note that all situations when the inbound caller must wait for their call to be connected, or the call is dropped, are explained in the audio messages that are played to the caller immediately the situation arises (go to On-hold Messages for more information).

Using a Scheduling Script to Route Inbound Calls

The CATI system allows you to set up a filter for a scheduling rule action that can route inbound calls (go to Inbound Calls for more information). For further details refer also to the CATI Administartor documentation.

Note that normally an inbound call is allowed outside of the permitted shift. It will be accepted if there is at least one interviewer available.