Reference
UK contact centre glossary
Short definitions for the terms that come up when you buy or run a UK contact centre. Regulatory entries are factual and brief. They are not legal advice. Ofcom's persistent-misuse policy (published December 2016, in force since 1 March 2017) names no specific abandoned-call threshold.
626Dialler is hosted dialler and contact centre software. Alveus hosts it for every customer. For a buying comparison of the three main dial modes, read the predictive, progressive and preview guide. CRM and telephony connectors are on the integrations hub.
Abandoned call rate (ACR)
In Ofcom's method, abandoned calls as a share of abandoned calls plus live calls (calls answered by a live person and connected to an agent), worked out per calendar day for a campaign or a call centre. An abandoned call is one a live person answers where no agent is connected and a short recorded information message is played instead (or would have been, had the person not hung up first). If nothing is played, Ofcom treats it as a silent call, which is a separate and more serious category. Silent calls, unconnected calls and calls answered by answer machines are excluded. Ofcom's persistent-misuse policy (published December 2016, in force since 1 March 2017) names no specific abandoned-call threshold. On 626Dialler you set the abandon-rate target, pacing eases off as the live rate approaches that target, and you can report on the rate per campaign, per day. This is not legal advice.
Related: Silent call · Information message · Dial ratio · Predictive dialling · Dialling modes guide
Silent call
A call where the person who answers hears nothing, or only background noise, or is cut off as soon as they pick up, with no message directed at them. Ofcom says action against silent calls is likely to be its highest enforcement priority, including those caused by answer-machine detection mistaking a person for a machine.
Related: Abandoned call rate · Information message · Answering machine detection
Information message
The short recorded message played when a call is answered but no agent is free. Ofcom expects it to say who the call was on behalf of, that they tried to call, and a basic-rate or free number to decline further calls, with no marketing. It should start as soon as possible and within two seconds of the phone being picked up, or within two seconds of the person starting to speak where the system classifies the call by listening for a voice.
Related: Abandoned call rate · Silent call
Answering machine detection (AMD)
Software that tries to tell a live person from an answering machine or voicemail, so the dialler can filter or route the call. A slow greeting can look like a machine, and a machine can look like a person. On 626Dialler, answerphone detection can be tuned per campaign. A wrong decision can leave someone in silence or drop a live answer. Ofcom says action against silent calls is likely to be its highest enforcement priority, including those caused by answer-machine detection mistaking a person for a machine.
Related: Predictive dialling · Abandoned call rate · Outbound engagement
Calling line identification (CLI)
The telephone number presented with a call, so the person you ring can see who is calling and call back. Since May 2016, PECR has required anyone making direct marketing calls not to withhold their number and to present one they can be contacted on (regulation 21(A1); regulation 19 for automated calls). Ofcom also requires phone companies to pass on a valid, diallable number that uniquely identifies the caller, and to take reasonable steps, where technically feasible, to block calls with invalid numbers (General Condition C6). Ofcom treats withheld, invalid or unreturnable CLIs as possible persistent misuse. 626Dialler places calls with the numbers you configure, including numbers you port in or bring via your own SIP trunk.
Related: SIP trunk · Twilio integration
Telephone Preference Service (TPS)
The UK register of numbers whose subscribers have opted out of unsolicited live sales and marketing calls. It covers individuals, including sole traders and partnerships other than Scottish partnerships and limited liability partnerships. Under PECR you must not make those calls to a TPS number unless the person has told you they don't object. A newly registered number is protected once it has been on the register for 28 days, so lists are usually screened at least every 28 days. 626Dialler can screen numbers against TPS and CTPS before dialling, and Starter lists TPS and CTPS suppression. A TPS screen does not replace your own do-not-call list or a record of consent.
Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS)
The UK register for companies and other corporate bodies, including limited liability partnerships, Scottish partnerships and government bodies, that have opted out of unsolicited live sales and marketing calls. TPS covers individuals, sole traders and other partnerships, so business-to-business lists are usually screened against both.
PECR
The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003. They are UK rules covering electronic marketing, including live calls, automated calls, emails and texts, and they sit beside UK data protection law. This glossary is not legal advice and does not set out what PECR requires in your campaign.
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)
The UK regulator for data protection law and for PECR. The ICO publishes guidance on marketing calls, consent and complaints. 626Dialler records consent per contact where you capture it, and gives you audit-ready campaign reporting. The ICO enforces PECR, including the rules on marketing calls, TPS and CTPS. Ofcom acts separately on persistent misuse of phone networks, including silent and abandoned calls, under sections 128 to 131 of the Communications Act 2003. Using a dialler does not by itself make a campaign lawful.
Dial ratio
How many outbound calls a predictive dialler places for each agent who is ready to take one. A ratio of 1:1 places one call per ready agent. A higher ratio leaves agents less idle time and raises the chance that more people answer than there are agents free, which is when abandoned calls happen. Progressive mode dials at a 1:1 ratio: one number per available agent. Predictive mode dials ahead of agent availability, and pacing eases off as your abandoned-call rate approaches the target you set.
Related: Predictive dialling · Progressive dialling · Abandoned call rate
Predictive dialling
A dialling mode that places calls before an agent is free, using answer rates and how long calls usually last, and connects a live answer to an agent. Agents spend less time waiting between conversations. The cost is abandoned calls if more people answer than there are agents. Predictive dialling is on every 626Dialler plan, including Starter. You set the abandon-rate target. Pacing eases off as the rate approaches it.
Related: Progressive dialling · Preview dialling · Dial ratio · Buyer guide
Progressive dialling
A dialling mode that places one number per agent who is already free, so a live answer has someone ready to take it. Agents wait while numbers ring or go unanswered, so throughput is lower than predictive and the abandoned-call risk from over-dialling is lower. Progressive mode dials at a 1:1 ratio: one number per available agent. Progressive mode is on Growth and Enterprise, not on Starter.
Related: Predictive dialling · Power dialling · Dial ratio · Buyer guide
Preview dialling
A dialling mode in which the agent sees the contact record and chooses when to place the call. It is the slowest of the three common outbound modes, and it suits complex or high-value contacts where reading the history matters more than talk time. In preview, the agent reviews contact history and lead data before they trigger the dial. 626CRM, our own hosted CRM, is included in the Growth plan. 626Dialler can also integrate with your existing CRM. Preview is on Growth and Enterprise, not on Starter.
Related: Predictive dialling · Integrations · Buyer guide
Power dialling
An industry name, used inconsistently. Many teams use it for a mode that dials one number as soon as an agent is free and connects that agent when someone answers. Others use it as another word for progressive dialling. 626Dialler has no separate power mode. That behaviour is progressive dialling: one number per available agent.
Related: Progressive dialling · Dial ratio
Manual dialling
The agent places the call themselves, from a keypad or a click-to-call control, rather than the dialler choosing the next number. On 626Dialler, manual is one of four modes, with suppression such as TPS and do-not-call screening still able to run.
Related: Preview dialling · DNC list · TPS
Average handling time (AHT)
The average time an agent spends handling one contact. Teams usually add talk time and wrap time, and sometimes hold. A lower AHT is not automatically better: a complex call should take longer than a short notification. 626Dialler live dashboards can show AHT with contact rate, conversion and campaign outcomes.
Wrap time
The time after a conversation that an agent spends finishing the contact: notes, a disposition, and any follow-up, before they are free for the next one. It is also called after-call work (ACW). Wrap time is part of average handling time and of occupancy. Long wrap keeps the agent out of the dialler even when talk time looks short.
Related: Average handling time · Occupancy
Blended contact centre
A contact centre where the same agents handle both inbound and outbound contacts, often from one desktop, instead of sitting in separate teams. 626Dialler is an outbound and blended contact centre platform. How inbound and outbound work is mixed on a given campaign is set up with you. It is not a fixed blend ratio.
Inbound
A contact the customer starts: they call you, or they message you. Inbound voice is usually queued and then offered to an agent. That distribution is what an automatic call distributor does, sometimes after an IVR has asked what the caller wants.
Related: Outbound · IVR · ACD · Blended contact centre
Outbound
A contact the organisation starts: a campaign call, a text, or a callback you place. Outbound voice on 626Dialler uses the dial modes on your plan. Predictive is on every plan. Progressive and preview are from Growth. 626CRM, our own hosted CRM, is included in the Growth plan. 626Dialler can also integrate with your existing CRM, such as Salesforce, HubSpot or Microsoft Dynamics.
Related: Predictive dialling · Outbound engagement · Dialling modes guide
Interactive voice response (IVR)
An automated phone menu. The caller presses keys, or sometimes speaks, and the IVR plays a message or routes the call before an agent is involved. It is an inbound tool. It is separate from predictive dialling, which places outbound calls.
Automatic call distribution (ACD)
The part of a contact centre that queues inbound calls and offers them to agents, using rules such as who has been idle longest, which skills are needed, or which queue has priority. An IVR often sits in front of the ACD. Outbound predictive dialling is a different mechanism: it places calls, rather than distributing calls the customer has already made.
Call recording
Storing the audio of a call so it can be played back for quality, training, dispute handling or a record of what was said. 626Dialler records calls and tags them with a disposition. What is stored, for how long, and who can play it is part of your own retention and access setup.
Related: Salesforce integration · Wrap time
Do-not-call list (DNC)
A list your organisation keeps of numbers that must not be dialled. It is separate from TPS and CTPS, which are central UK registers. A DNC entry might come from a customer asking you to stop, a complaint, or an internal policy. 626Dialler includes TPS and DNC suppression, and manual dialling can still run DNC screening.
Related: TPS · CTPS · Manual dialling
SIP trunk
A connection that carries phone calls as data using the Session Initiation Protocol, between a contact centre platform and the telephone network or another provider. It replaces a physical bundle of lines. Cloud telephony is included on every 626Dialler plan. You can also connect your own SIP trunk. The Twilio connector uses Twilio numbers and SIP with the dialling engine.
Related: Twilio integration · Pricing · CLI
Occupancy
The share of an agent's logged-in time spent handling contacts (talk, hold and wrap) rather than waiting for the next one. Very high occupancy means little idle time and little room for a difficult call to overrun. Predictive dialling is one way teams try to raise occupancy. It does that by cutting wait time, and it can raise the abandoned-call rate if the dial ratio is too high.
Related: Average handling time · Wrap time · Predictive dialling
Right-party contact (RPC)
Reaching the specific person you meant to speak to, rather than a wrong number, a switchboard, someone else in the household, or voicemail. It matters in collections and in any campaign where talking to the wrong person does not count as a useful contact. A high connect rate can still hide a low right-party rate. Preview dialling gives the agent a chance to check they have the right record before the call is placed.
Related: Preview dialling · Answering machine detection · Outbound
See the modes on your plan
Book a demo if you want the dial modes, suppression and connectors walked through against your operation, or start onboarding if you already know the plan.