A predictive dialer dials a list of telephone numbers and connects answered dials to people making calls, often referred to as agents. Predictive dialers use statistical algorithms to minimize the time that agents spend waiting between conversations, while minimizing the occurrence of someone answering when no agent is available.^[1]

When dialing numbers one at a time, there are two sources of delay. First, only some fraction of dials are answered; for example, if 1 out of 3 dials are answered, a predictive dialer might dial 3 lines every time an agent becomes available. Second, even dials that are answered take some time before being picked up. If it typically takes 10 seconds for someone to pick up, and conversations typically last 90 seconds, a predictive dialer might start dialing at 80 seconds.^[1] A predictive dialer does so by discarding all tones and only passing "Hellos" from the lead to the agent, the total time can be as short as 3 seconds between calls, as opposed to nearly a minute if the agent dialed by hand. The 57 second difference is an extraordinary amount of time for a call center to consider.^[2]

Dialing one number at a time, only when an agent is available, typically keeps agents utilized for 40 minutes per hour (33% idle time). Predictive dialing can increase utilization to 57 minutes per hour (5% idle time).^[1][3]

Predictive dialers may be standalone hardware devices, cloud-based, or they may be integrated in software with call center or contact center platforms. A cloud-based predictive dialer provides the functionalities of a traditional predictive dialer without requiring installation on the local device and reduces the dependency on the hardware.^[4] The dialer can often also perform less aggressive dialing modes such as, power, progressive, or preview dialing.^{[citation needed]}

Regulations[edit]

In the UK, Ofcom requires that predictive dialers abandon fewer than 3% of answered calls on a daily basis. Ofcom also requires that if an agent is not available within 2 seconds the call is considered "abandoned" and an automated message is played. The automated message must identify the company making the call, the purpose of the call, a free phone or basic rate phone number to call back on and must not contain any form of marketing. A phone call to the return number must not be treated by the company as an opportunity to market, but to be removed from the calling list. In the UK "abandoned" calls must not be called back within 72 hours unless there is a dedicated agent available.

In the United States, if someone answers but no agent is available within 2 seconds of the person's greeting, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations consider the call "abandoned" and require the dialer to play a recorded message. The FCC requires that predictive dialers abandon less than 3% of answered calls.^[5]

In 1991 the Telephone Consumer Protection Act prohibited the use of an “automatic telephone dialing system” to contact “any telephone number assigned to a mobile telephone service” without “express prior consent” from the party being called. Dialing “accidents” are not an effective legal defense and penalties run from $500 to $1,500 per violating call.^[6]

In Canada, the maximum abandon rate is 5%, and calls cannot be made to numbers registered with the National Do Not Call Registry, emergency or health care providers.^[7] However, not-for-profit organizations such as survey companies are exempt from the National Do Not Call Registry.

See also[edit]

• Telemarketing


• Do Not Call Registry


• Dialer


• Computer telephony integration


• Direct marketing


• Robocall

References[edit]