Patent ID: 6973176

Claim:
A method for reserving call center agents, comprising: establishing a first call queue associated with a first agent skill; establishing a first agent queue for agents reserved to receive calls from said first call queue; selecting a maximum number of agents that can be automatically reserved for said first agent queue; determining a number of agents reserved for said first agent queue; detecting a first available agent, wherein said first agent has at least a first agent skill; determining a total number of agent skills associated with said first available agent; in response to a determination that said number of agents reserved for said first agent queue at least one of equals or exceeds said selected maximum number, at least one of: 1) in response to a determination that only said first agent skill is associated with said first agent, determining whether a second agent having a number of associated agent skills is reserved for said first agent queue; and in response to a determination that a second agent having a number of associated agent skills is reserved for said first agent queue, releasing said second agent from being reserved for said first agent queue; and 2) in response to a determination that a plurality of agent skills are associated with said first agent at least one of: (a) (i) determining an occupancy of said first agent; (ii) identifying a second agent reserved for said first agent queue having a plurality of agent skills and having an occupancy that is less than said occupancy of said first agent; and (iii) releasing said second agent from being reserved for said first agent queue; and (b) (i) determining a number of agent skills of said first agent; (ii) identifying a second agent reserved for said first agent queue having a plurality of agent skills and having fewer agent skills in auto-reserve than said number of agent skills; and (iii) releasing said second agent from being reserved for said first agent queue; and reserving said first agent for said first agent queue.