System and method for providing call-back options

A computer-implemented system including a processing unit, voice response unit, and a storage device, the system for providing call-back options to callers making inbound calls to a call center, the system comprising:

• a receiver module that receives the inbound calls in a call routing system;
• a central server implementing the processing unit for collecting information related to at least one inbound call from at least one caller, the central server selecting, based on the collected information, a call target for the at least one caller and determining unavailability of the call target selected based on the collected information for the at least one inbound call;
• an interactive module implementing the processing unit and the voice response unit and the storage device, that provides multiple call-back options in response to the at least one inbound call for the at least one caller to receive a call-back and receives at least one selected call-back option from the caller;
• a resource module implementing the processing unit that dynamically assesses demands on the call routing system in relation to available resources, the demands including a number of live callers and a number of scheduled call-backs, wherein the resource module re-allocates resources in the call routing system based at least in part on the selected call-back option, the resources including a number of agents available to answer calls and a number of agents performing scheduled call-backs;
• and
• a telephone module that calls the at least one caller from the call center based on the at least one selected call-back option.

A computer-implemented method implemented by a call center, the call center including at least a processing unit, a database, and multiple voice response units, for providing call-back options to callers making an inbound call to the call center, the method comprising:

• receiving inbound calls in a call routing system;
• collecting information from at least one caller;
• selecting, based on the collected information, a call target for the at least one caller;
• determining, using the processing unit, unavailability of the call target selected based on the collected information for at least one of the inbound calls;
• providing, in response to the at least one inbound call, multiple call-hack options via an interactive voice response unit for the at least one caller to receive a call-back, wherein a decision to provide the at least one call-back option is triggered at least in part by an availability of the resources in the call routing system, and the multiple call-back options comprise at least one of:
• calling the caller upon an availability of the resources in the call routing system,
• calling the caller at a specific time,
• calling the caller during a specific time range, or
• calling the caller at a relative time;
• receiving a selection of one of the provided call-back options at the interactive voice response unit and forwarding the selection to the processing unit;
• scheduling a call-back in response to the selection using the processing unit and storing scheduled call-back information in the database;
• dynamically assessing demands on the call routing system in relation to available resources using the processing unit, the demands including a number of live callers and a number of scheduled call-backs;
• re-allocating the available resources in the call routing system using the processing unit based at least in part on the scheduled call-back options, the resources including a number of agents available to answer calls and a number of agents performing scheduled call-backs;
• retrieving, using the processing unit, the scheduled call-back information from the database and forwarding the scheduled call-back information to the voice response unit;
• and
• calling, using the voice response unit, the at least one caller from the call center based on the at least one call-back option;
• and
• providing the caller with at least one additional call-back option, wherein the at least one additional call-back option comprises at least one of:
• proceeding with the call-back,
• rescheduling the call-back, and
• canceling the call-back.