© Sytel Limited Version 2.1 Jan 2015 Predictive Dialing Concepts, Performance and Compliance

© Sytel Limited Version 2.1 Jan 2015 Introducing Sytel Recognised as having the world’s leading predictive algorithms This has attracted partners such as Advisor and mentor to many marketing and telecommunications regulators around the world in respect of best dialing practices

© Sytel Limited Version 2.1 Jan 2015 When to use predictive Talk & wrap time % live calls Number of agents LO HI LO HI LO HI

© Sytel Limited Version 2.1 Jan 2015 Agent activity - definitions Talk Wrap Idle Wait Agent workload (mins/ hour) = Talk time + Wrap time (mins/ hour) 60 mins

© Sytel Limited Version 2.1 Jan 2015 How the Sytel dialer works The dialer continuously monitors every dialing event As each agent becomes available more calls are launched The number of calls being dialed exceeds waiting agents, by a factor which may be in excess of ten, especially for low live call rates. The dialing rate is increased and balanced such that the specified target for abandoned calls is adhered to All these actions are undertaken by the Sytel pacing engine without any need for human intervention

© Sytel Limited Version 2.1 Jan 2015 % Live Calls on a Campaign Agent Talk Time (mins per hour) Predictive Dialing Under Compliance Progressive Dialing The predictive advantage The acid test for a good dialer is NOT whether it can dial compliantly but whether it can produce this kind of predictive advantage when dialing under compliant rules The Predictive Advantage Over Progressive Dialing

© Sytel Limited Version 2.1 Jan 2015 Managing a dialer under compliance There is no such thing as a constant dialing rate for optimum dialing. See slide 13 for how the optimum rate really moves.

© Sytel Limited Version 2.1 Jan 2015 Minimising abandoned calls

© Sytel Limited Version 2.1 Jan 2015 How does the Sytel engine do it? Sytel has developed a specialised simulation engine for predictive dialing, running at speeds in excess of 50 million calls/sec This engine called the Virtual Event Machine ® (VEM ® ) constantly recalculates the correct dialing rate every time there is a state change of any kind, e.g. an agent goes into wrap VEM determines the likelihood of any agent becoming available to take another call at any time. It then launches additional calls to meet anticipated demand from agents, whilst keeping overdials in check to ensure that the target rate for abandoned calls is adhered to

© Sytel Limited Version 2.1 Jan 2015 In a non-compliant age, legacy dialers got their performance by increasing their pacing and generating high levels of nuisance/abandoned calls In a compliant age nuisance/abandoned calls are a scarce resource which call centers cannot afford to waste So any dialer design that cannot deliver pinpoint dialing accuracy immediately will waste abandoned calls and wipe out their predictive advantage. So what if…..? Abandoned/nuisance calls as a scarce resource

© Sytel Limited Version 2.1 Jan 2015 The limit on abandoned calls was 3% of live (i.e. answered) calls, as in the FTC rules The live call rate was 20% (typical telemarketing) What if? What is the maximum number of abandoned calls a call center can make per 1000 calls dialed? This is not a trick question but try working it out before you look at the answer on the next slide!

© Sytel Limited Version 2.1 Jan 2015 Answer! 1000 x 3% x 20% = 6! Just think how far into each 1000 calls a dialer, dialing into the US under these conditions, will go before it has to turn itself off because it has used its quota of 6 abandoned calls for all those 1000 calls! With the exception of Softdial Plugin ®, dialers were not designed to work under compliance, at low levels of nuisance calls. Here it is at work on a live campaign.

© Sytel Limited Version 2.1 Jan 2015 am pm ampm Available Agents No dialer in the world other than Softdial Plugin ® dials like this. Fact! Agents are always entering and leaving campaigns in response, for example, to call blending needs. No dialer dials with the pinpoint accuracy of Softdial Plugin ® and where agent movements are significant - and they are on most campaigns, then the dialing rate for all other dialers is slow to respond. The result is excess and wasted abandoned calls and lowered performance. See note with this slide, as well as following slide, for further details. am pm am Dialing Rate Dialer at Work 1

© Sytel Limited Version 2.1 Jan 2015 Notice how the abandoned call rate finds the target and stays within just a few percentage points of it. That’s inherent in the design, but see the Speaker Notes for the previous slide on how it does this, even when agents are rapidly entering or leaving a campaign, without the abandoned calls getting out of control. This feature is unique to Softdial Plugin ® and is a key factor in giving it simply unequalled performance in the marketplace. am pm am am pm am Abandoned Call Rate Average Wait Time ( in secs ) 3.0 % 2.5 % 2.0 % 1.5 % 1.0 % 0.5 % 0.0 % Dialer at Work 2

© Sytel Limited Version 2.1 Jan 2015 How do I judge if a dialer is any good? There are NO benchmark standards in the industry Compliance of itself tells you very little about a dialer, except that it doesn’t make many silent calls Look for examples of a dialer working under compliant conditions running very similar campaigns to those you have, AND giving effective predictive performance Otherwise look for a free trial, so you can satisfy yourself Get pro-active and…..

© Sytel Limited Version 2.1 Jan 2015 Dialer Rules in the UK and US

© Sytel Limited Version 2.1 Jan 2015 Began in the UK and the US as a result of very high levels of nuisance calls Now being considered not just by other developed countries but also countries such as India Government/federal standards often preceded by codes of practices from national marketing associations The key message from the UK and the US is that voluntary dialing codes do not work The move to compliance

© Sytel Limited Version 2.1 Jan 2015 There are 4 rules typically being used to regulate predictive dialing: Measurement of abandoned Calls Level of call abandonment Restrictions on early hangups Restrictions on dead air calls Rules to limit silent calls Plus usually a ban on playing of sales messages, unless the called party has given their permission

© Sytel Limited Version 2.1 Jan 2015 Not uncommon to find major users in the same market using quite different measures; yet the measurement basis is just as important as the call limit itself. If the percentage of live calls is 50% (25%), then an abandoned target of 2% that is expressed as a percentage of ‘all calls’ (i.e. two abandoned calls for every 100 calls dialed), is actually 4% (8%) when measured correctly as a percentage of ‘live’ calls. All codes and regulations now specify ‘live calls’ as the measurement basis. Measurement of abandoned calls

© Sytel Limited Version 2.1 Jan 2015 The maximum permissible level in all existing national self-regulatory codes of practice. Level of call abandonment The limit set by both the FTC/FCC (US) and Ofcom (UK) 5% 3%

© Sytel Limited Version 2.1 Jan 2015 Some dialers dial lots of numbers, allocate connects to waiting agents, then when no more agents are either available or imminently available, will hang up on incomplete calls that are ringing. An inefficient way of dialing. It has little to do with true predictive dialing, and any dialer doing it should classify such calls as abandoned. All regulators and codes of practice now ban this and have set a minimum ring time of 15 seconds. Sometimes know as ‘dropped calls’ (by dialer) and ‘cancel dials’ Predictive hangups

© Sytel Limited Version 2.1 Jan 2015 This is the time taken before a connect is abandoned by the dialer, when no agent is available to take the call. By far the biggest source of all silent and nuisance calls Best practice is to hang up within one second if no agent available. (N.B. Queues are for inbound calls!) The FTC/FCC in the US have set a hangup time of two seconds from the end of the called party’s greeting. The UK hangup time is two seconds from detection of live call. Abandoned call delay: the dead air concept