Optimal Call Allocation in Call Centres

Speaker: Hritika Gupta (University of Wollongong) Title: Optimal Call Allocation in Call Centres Summary: We address the problem of determining an optimal call allocation policy for call centres operating under a finite time horizon with skills-based routing. The problem is modelled as a Markov decision process, and the optimal policy is characterised using Bellman’s equation. Furthermore, we present a procedure to compute transient waiting time distributions for customers under threshold policies for the continuous-time case. This framework can assist call centres in meeting client service-level targets, such as ensuring that a specified proportion of calls are answered within a given time frame. Bio: Hritika is a Research Associate at the University of Wollongong. Her postdoctoral research focuses on the pricing of weather derivatives using Hidden Markov Models, as part of an ARC Discovery Project under the supervision of Prof. Mariano Rodrigo. Hritika’s PhD research, completed at the University of Melbourne, focused on optimising call allocation in call centers using advanced statistical methods. She also holds a Master’s in Mathematics and Statistics and a Bachelor’s in Statistics (Honors) from the University of Melbourne and the University of Delhi respectively.