Contact centre glossary

Key terms and definitions for call centres, contact centres, and customer experience.

The contact centre glossary explains the most commonly used terms, measurements, metrics, and phrases related to contact centre software and customer experience. It’s a comprehensive resource covering essential terminology that every contact centre team needs to communicate effectively. Each definition provides clear explanations to help you better understand industry-specific language.

A

Agent Desktop – An agent desktop is the unified software application that agents use to manage customer interactions across multiple communication channels.

C

CCaaS – CCaaS, or Contact Centre as a Service, is a cloud-based platform that provides all the tools a modern contact centre needs via a subscription model.

Customer Communications – Customer communication refers to the exchange of information between a business and its customers. This includes conversations through email, phone calls, live chat, social media, and messaging apps.

Customer engagement – Customer engagement refers to the ongoing interaction between a business and its customers across every channel, at every stage of the customer journey.

Customer Experience Metrics – Customer experience metrics are measurable indicators that evaluate how people perceive and interact with a business.

CX Analytics – CX analytics, short for customer experience analytics, is the process of collecting, analysing, and interpreting customer data to understand how people interact with a business across touchpoints.

CX Platform – A CX platform is a centralised system used by businesses to manage and improve the entire customer experience. It integrates various tools for communication, support, automation, and analytics into a single platform.

D

Digital Customer Experience – Digital customer experience (DCX) refers to how customers interact with a business through digital channels and how those interactions shape their overall perception of the brand.

Digital Customer Service – Digital customer service is how organisations handle customer inquiries and support needs through online channels instead of traditional methods like phone calls or in-person visits.

E

Example Glossary Item – This is an example glossary item

I

Inbound call – An inbound call is a phone call made by a customer, client, or other external party to a business.

P

Predictive Dialler – A predictive dialler is a type of automatic dialler that places outbound calls using algorithms to connect agents only when a real person answers.

T

Test item – A test item is an item that's just there for testing.

W

Workflow Management – Workflow management refers to the process of defining, organising, and optimising a sequence of tasks within a business to improve consistency, efficiency, and visibility.

Workforce Optimisation – Workforce optimisation (WFO) plays a vital role in improving operational efficiency, employee satisfaction, and service quality across the contact centre.