Utilization of agent idle time in a communication system

A method of utilizing agents in an automatic call distribution system, comprising the steps of:

• providing a plurality of agents and a plurality of plug-ins;
• determining respective plug-ins for respective agents;
• assigning the respective plug-ins to the respective agents;
• and
• activating at least one plug-in for a respective assigned agent in response to at least one predetermined parameter of the automatic call distribution system.

A method of utilizing agents in an automatic call distribution system, comprising the steps of:

• providing a plurality of agents and a plurality of agent functions;
• determining respective agent functions for respective agents;
• assigning the respective agent functions to the respective agents;
• and
• activating at least one agent function for a respective assigned agent in response to at least one predetermined parameter of the automatic call distribution system.

A computer readable medium containing embedded computer program code for use in utilizing agents in an automatic call distribution system having a plurality of agents and a plurality of agent functions, the computer readable media containing computer program code segments comprising:

• a determination computer program code segment that determines respective agent functions for respective agents;
• an assigning computer program code segment that assigns the respective agent functions to the respective agents;
• and
• an activating computer program code segment that activates at least one agent function for a respective assigned agent in response to at least one predetermined parameter of the automatic call distribution system.

An apparatus that utilizes agents in a communication system, comprising:

• means for providing at least one plug-in that implements at least one predetermined function in the call distribution system;
• means for assigning the at least one plug-in to at least one agent;
• and
• means for activating the at least one plug-in for a respective assigned agent of the at least one agent in response to at least one predetermined parameter of the communication system.

An apparatus that utilizes agents in an automatic call distribution system having a plurality of agents and a plurality of agent functions, comprising:

• means for determining respective agent functions for respective agents;
• means for assigning the respective agent functions to the respective agents;
• and
• means for activating at least one agent function for a respective assigned agent in response to at least one predetermined parameter of the automatic call distribution system.

An apparatus that utilizes agents in an automatic call distribution system having a plurality of agents and a plurality of agent functions, comprising:

• a determination module that determines respective agent functions for respective agents;
• an assignment module operatively connected to the determination module, the assignment module assigning the respective agent functions to the respective agents and storing the assigned agent functions in a storage;
• and
• an activating module operatively connected to the storage, the activating module retrieving the respective agent function from the storage and activating the respective agent function for a respective assigned agent in response to at least one predetermined parameter of the automatic call distribution system.