Administrators can turn skill matching on or off for individual queues that are configured to use the predictive routing method. Skill matching allows your organization to include agent skill settings in predictive routing decisions for inbound interactions. Skill matching includes all non-language ACD skills associated to the members of queues that use predictive routing.

Using skill matching on predictive routing queues allows predictive routing to align with staffing schedules and traffic-level forecasts when routing interactions. When you turn on skill matching, you can reduce the number of agents to whom the system can route the call. This behaviour could reduce the benefit of predictive routing, which generally delivers more benefit when it has more available agents from which to choose.

Considerations

• Predictive routing only considers agents who match all of the skills that the interactions require.
• Predictive routing does not consider skill rating, which is the measure of an agent’s proficiency for a specified skill, as it may reduce the number of eligible agents drastically.
• Interactions transferred to another queue use the skill matching setting on that queue. 
• Skill matching does not apply to the benefit assessment stage of predictive routing, even when the queue uses skill matching. Skill matching may impact the benefits of predictive routing; however, this impact does not reflect in the benefit assessment stage.
• Skill matching applies only to predictive routing. Skill matching does not apply when the routing method changes for the following reasons:
  • When the routing method changes to bullseye or standard routing to run a comparison test or to monitor the ongoing value of predictive routing. In that case, the skill evaluation of the comparative routing method applies.
  • When the routing method changes to the fallback routing method, which is always standard routing, because the interaction timed out. In that case, the skill evaluation of the fallback routing method applies.

To set up skill matching, see Create and configure queues.