10 Ways Call Center Technology Improves Any Office

When businesses investigate technology solutions, they often start with the obvious: accounting software, customer relationship management tools and business planning applications. Often overlooked are new tools that integrate with CRMs, improve customer relationships and build their bottom line – cloud call center technology. It can improve any office, for both employees and customers. Here are 10 ways call center technology enhances the office environment.

1. Business Intelligence

Call center technologies integrated with business intelligence (BI) deliver greater value than standalone applications. With business intelligence, company executives and managers gain insight into how the entire organization is performing. They then take action on that insight, causing the business to flourish and profit year after year.

2. Automatic Call Distribution (ACD)

Call distribution improves both agent and customer experiences. On the one hand, it empowers agents by applying their skills to situations in which they excel – do they have a billing issue? Send them straight to your billing pro. Tricky sales opportunity? Send it to your top salesperson. ACD delivers delight to customers as they speak with an agent who is best fit to serve their issue.

3. Call Recording

Call recording software sounds like an odd way to improve the office. But it holds advantages, particularly where it concerns liability issues or cases of “he said, she said.” The call record provides a historical document that can be listened to and read—TCN’s call recording software includes transcription abilities. The recordings also present opportunities to analyze customer interactions and refine customer service processes.

4. Compliance

Compliance with regulations and standards matters, especially since the GDPR took effect this year. TCN’s call center technology supports businesses’ compliance efforts with its Compliance Suite. Alongside regular training and reviewing regulations, the suite scrubs cell phones from call lists and helps reduce Do-Not-Call list contact attempts.

5. Dialers

Call center technology awards a variety of dialers: auto, manual and predictive. Each dialer affords different benefits; as an example, the auto dialer often increases agent efficiency and productivity. The predictive dialer works well for companies with multiple outbound initiatives. The technology automatically redials busy lines, hangs up on answering machines and rotates through several preset scripts. The manual dialer complements both the auto and predictive dialers, helping businesses stay compliant with current laws.

6. Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

Similar to call distribution technology, quality interactive voice response (IVR) systems impact agents and customers. For agents, IVR reduces “busy” work, i.e., answering simple questions about a patient’s medical appointment time or rescheduling a car repair. In return, customers manage appointments, medications and other information when it’s convenient for them, without ever being put on hold or waiting for an agent to call them back.

7. True Blended Calling

In truly blended calling environments, agents switch between outbound and inbound calls with no effort on their part. The end result is more productive, happy agents. They spend their days reaching business goals rather than waiting for customers to call in. Executives approve of the technology, too, because it can increase customer contacts by 20 to 50%.

8. Workforce Optimization

Call center technology offers a workforce optimization solution. Company executives use the feature to assess staffing needs and call volumes, as well as to measure performance levels. Managers enjoy the application for a different reason: real-time data. Armed with that data, they can make those important changes within the workforce to maximize agent output.

9. Texting

Outbound texting gives call center agents another way to interact with customers – they often want to receive text messages about appointments, prescription refills, payment reminders and service notices. Also, while many call center services offer outbound text, TCN’s AgentSMS includes enhancements like business intelligence for SMS campaigns and tracking as well as interactive built-in response commands to encourage recipient engagement and/or participation.

10. Agent and Manager Call and Metric Dashboards

Even the smallest business can benefit from a great user dashboard. Well-programmed dashboards can produce: detailed customer information, information about customer choices in the voice menu (IVR), customer profile information and screens for call input and customized call handling messages like proper greetings, disclosures, and event tracking – and beyond. Call center agents and front-desk receptionists can use the information to guide conversations, solve problems specific to the customer and produce an exceptional customer experience.

Businesses invest in call center technology for any number of reasons. But the 10 listed above are excellent places to start. They grant opportunities to improve any office, not only for the staff but also for the customers.

To explore more reasons that execs are moving to the cloud call center, check out “6 Reasons Call Center Executives are Migrating to the Cloud.”