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Glossary · Call centre operations

What is Call disposition?

  • Also called: disposition codes, call outcome codes

Reviewed by Sujan ThapaliyaLast updated

Definition

A call disposition is the coded outcome an agent records at the end of a call: connected, voicemail, wrong number, callback scheduled, not interested, do not call. Dispositions drive follow-up automation and are the raw material of every outbound report.
The three STIR/SHAKEN attestation levels, which underpin how call disposition behaves in practice: A asserts both that the carrier knows the customer and that the customer may use the calling number, B asserts the customer only, and C asserts neither. A shared number pool can reach B at best, which is why number ownership keeps recurring in these definitions.
Attestation is the backdrop to most caller-ID and deliverability terms, call disposition included.

In practice

How call disposition actually works

Keep the list short. Beyond about a dozen options, agents pick the first plausible entry rather than the accurate one, and the data quietly becomes fiction.

Each disposition should trigger something concrete: a retry schedule, a suppression entry, a task, or a sequence. A code that changes nothing will not be recorded carefully.

Common set: Connected, interested; Connected, not interested; Connected, callback; Voicemail left; No answer; Busy; Wrong number; Disconnected; Do not call.

Disposition data is also the only bridge between calling activity and revenue. Without it, a campaign report can say how many calls were made and nothing about what happened on them, which is why the code list should be designed backwards from the questions the weekly review asks rather than forwards from what the system offers.

Worked example

Eight codes a rep picks correctly under time pressure beat twenty they do not. If more than half your calls land in one catch-all code, the list is too long rather than the work too varied.

Call disposition: common questions

What is a call disposition code?
A short outcome label a rep or the system attaches to a call — connected, voicemail, callback, wrong number, not interested, do not call. It is what turns call records into something you can report on and route from.
How many disposition codes should a team have?
Few enough that reps pick the right one under time pressure, which in practice means eight to twelve. Long lists produce garbage data because everything lands in whichever code sits at the top.
Which dispositions should trigger suppression?
Do-not-call requests and wrong numbers, immediately and automatically. If a suppression depends on somebody remembering to also tick a box elsewhere, it will be missed, and that miss is the one with legal consequences.

Sources

  1. Combating Spoofed Robocalls with Caller ID Authentication — Federal Communications CommissionThe STIR/SHAKEN framework, the attestation levels carriers sign calls with, and the mandate requiring providers to authenticate caller ID.
  2. 47 U.S.C. § 227 — Restrictions on the use of telephone equipment — Cornell Legal Information InstituteThe Telephone Consumer Protection Act itself — the consent requirements, calling-hours limits, and private right of action.
  3. ITU-T Recommendation E.164 — The international public telecommunication numbering plan — International Telecommunication UnionThe international number format, the 15-digit maximum, and how country codes and national numbers compose.

See call disposition in the product

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