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Glossary · Call centre operations

What is Inbound vs outbound calls?

  • Also called: inbound calls, outgoing call, outbound call, incoming call

Reviewed by Sujan ThapaliyaLast updated

Definition

An inbound call is one a customer places to you; an outbound call is one you place to them. The distinction decides almost everything else: who is waiting, which metrics apply, which regulations apply, and how the team is staffed.
The three STIR/SHAKEN attestation levels, which underpin how inbound vs outbound calls 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, inbound vs outbound calls included.

In practice

How inbound vs outbound calls actually works

Inbound work is demand you do not control, which is why it is measured on responsiveness — service level, speed of answer, abandonment — and staffed from forecasts.

Outbound work is demand you create, so it is measured on reach and outcome — connect rate, contact rate, conversion — and constrained by consent, calling hours and abandonment limits that simply do not apply inbound.

Blended teams handling both are common and difficult: the inbound queue has to be protected, because a rep on an outbound call cannot answer a waiting customer, and the queue is where the reputational damage happens.

Worked example

A blended rep on a four-minute outbound call cannot answer the inbound queue for four minutes. That is the entire difficulty of blending, and it is why the queue has to be able to interrupt.

Inbound vs outbound calls: common questions

What does outgoing call mean?
A call placed from your line to someone else, as opposed to an incoming call arriving at it. Phone bills and call logs use the term to distinguish which direction the call went.
Which is harder to staff, inbound or outbound?
Inbound, because you do not control when the work arrives. Outbound volume can be scheduled; inbound has to be forecast and covered with enough headroom for the peaks.
Do the same rules apply to both?
No. Consent requirements, calling-hour limits and abandonment caps govern outbound calling. Inbound has none of those, because the customer chose to call you.

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.

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