The operations glossary.

The percentage of inquiries fully resolved in the first contact, with no follow-up needed. One of the strongest predictors of customer satisfaction and cost per contact.

The average duration of a customer interaction, including talk time, hold and after-call work. Useful for planning — dangerous as a target on its own, since rushing calls hurts quality.

A direct measure of how satisfied customers are with an interaction or service, usually collected by a short post-contact survey.

A loyalty measure based on how likely customers are to recommend a company, calculated from a 0–10 'would you recommend' question.

The percentage of callers who hang up before reaching an agent. Driven by answer speed and staffing — a visible symptom of an under-resourced line.

The percentage of calls answered within a target time — e.g. '80% of calls answered within 20 seconds'. A core SLA in most contact-center contracts.

The share of an agent's logged-in time spent actively handling contacts. Too low wastes money; sustained too high burns agents out.

How closely agents follow their planned schedules — being available when the forecast says customers will call.

'Where is my order?' — the high-volume order-status inquiries that dominate e-commerce support queues, and a prime candidate for AI deflection.

Contracting a business function — customer support, back office, collections — to a specialist provider that runs it on your behalf.

The discipline of designing, measuring and continuously improving business processes — what separates a managed operation from mere staffing.

Outsourcing to a nearby country in similar time zones — for US companies, destinations like Costa Rica. Prioritizes real-time overlap with your team. See also: our Costa Rica site →

Outsourcing to a distant, lower-cost country such as Pakistan, the Philippines or India. Prioritizes talent depth and economics; modern networks combine it with nearshore. See also: Pakistan vs Philippines vs India →

Outsourcing some or all of the hiring process — sourcing, screening, scheduling, onboarding — to a specialist provider.

An engagement model where the provider runs an entire function end to end and is measured on outcomes and SLAs, not headcount.

A unit of workforce capacity equal to one full-time person — the basis of per-agent ('dedicated FTE') pricing.

A contractual commitment to measurable performance targets — answer speed, resolution, quality scores — with defined reporting and remedies. See also: how we work →

One position of coverage in an operation. Covering one seat 24/7 takes several staff across shifts — the distinction that explains most staffing math.

The rate at which staff leave and must be replaced. A silent cost driver: every departure restarts recruiting, training and the productivity curve.

The end-to-end process by which healthcare providers get paid — from insurance eligibility and prior authorization through coding, claims, denials and patient billing. See also: Tribe's RCM service →

Confirming a patient's insurance coverage and benefits before care is delivered — the first defense against denied claims.

Approval from an insurer required before certain services are delivered. Slow authorizations delay care and revenue alike.

The percentage of claims accepted and paid on first submission without errors or rework. The headline measure of a healthy revenue cycle.

The percentage of claims insurers refuse to pay as submitted. Every denial means rework, appeals and delayed revenue.

The average number of days between delivering care and collecting payment. Lower is better — money owed ages badly.

Recording every billable service accurately so no delivered care goes unbilled.

Recording payments from insurers and patients against the right accounts — the bookkeeping that keeps the cycle honest.

Software that autonomously completes work — answering calls, booking appointments, processing claims — rather than merely chatting. Distinguished from a chatbot by its ability to act in systems. See also: Tribe's AI agents →

AI that conducts natural spoken conversations by phone — understanding speech, responding naturally, and completing tasks like order-taking or scheduling.

An AI design principle where people review, approve or take over at defined points — the difference between responsible automation and unsupervised risk.

The handoff from AI to a human (or from frontline to specialist) when an interaction is complex, sensitive or outside policy — ideally with full context transferred.

Resolving inquiries through self-service or AI so they never need a human agent — valuable when it genuinely resolves, corrosive when it merely blocks.

AI that supports a human agent in real time — suggesting answers, summarizing calls, drafting notes — rather than replacing the agent.

Running an operation with AI agents and human specialists on the same queue — AI on structured volume, people on judgment — with a mix that can shift over time. See also: AI agents vs human agents →

Coordinating people, AI agents and systems into one coherent operation — routing each piece of work to the right worker with the right context.

The Tribe Intelligent Operating System — Tribe Consulting's proprietary operating model combining autonomous AI agents, enterprise platforms and human expertise into one orchestrated system. See also: the TIOS page →

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard — the global requirements for handling card payment data securely. Non-negotiable for operations that take payments.

The international standard for information security management systems — certification means an accredited auditor has verified the security program.

An independent audit of a service organization's controls for security and confidentiality, observed over months — 'Type II' means sustained practice, not a snapshot.

The US law governing the privacy and security of protected health information. Providers and their vendors must be HIPAA compliant to handle patient data.

The European Union's data-protection regulation, governing how personal data of EU residents is collected, processed and stored.

A tamper-evident record of who did what, when, in which system — the foundation of accountability for both human and AI actions.