Explore fresh, expert perspectives on customer engagement and innovation

Are we at the beginning of the end, or the end of the beginning? As far as Covid-19 is concerned, nobody seems entirely sure. The vaccination rollout promises an eventual release from lockdown, but scientists remain cagey about when everyday life might properly resume.

In the meantime, many of your sales and customer service staff are getting used to working from home. They may be there for a while yet, at least until a combination of the vaccine rollout and better summer weather allows for a cautious return to the office.

Even then, not every business will be forcing staff back into work full time. Social distancing rules are likely to remain in place for the foreseeable future, limiting the number of employees in the same space at the same time.

There’s also growing speculation that many companies will never return to pre-Covid work practices, and that some form of flexible working will become standard practice. A recent Call Centre Helper poll showed that just 7% of contact centres planned to return to the office as normal², and ONS reported a 47% increase in demand for home working amongst call centre staff¹. The data’s there to see,  hybrid working, where employees spend some of the week in the office and some working from home, will become far more widespread once the pandemic ends.

The hybrid model of work

There are certainly benefits to it. According to research from Slack, most knowledge workers want a hybrid remote-office model in future. Hardly any want to return to the office full time. Those results are mirrored across sectors and industries, inferring that companies who want to attract the best talent may have to offer hybrid working as a benefit.

Even among businesses with large sales and customer service teams, the benefits of hybrid working may outweigh inevitable misgivings. Many businesses believe they can cut post-pandemic costs by reducing office estates and moving to smaller premises that only have to accommodate a proportion of a firm’s total workforce at any one time.

Put it all together, and it means remote working probably isn’t going anywhere, even after Covid. And even businesses that remain determined to return en masse to the office eventually have no real idea of when that time might be.

So, we’re trying to balance all of this, with changing consumer contact habits – increased adoption of new channels and differing contact patterns – as well as a globally reported increase in contact centre demand, with support firm ZenDesk seeing a steady 16 per cent increase in support contact requests above pre-pandemic levels³.

Productivity challenges

So instead of holding on to pre-pandemic processes, businesses might be better asking how they can adapt more effectively to the ‘normal’ of today while also preparing for whatever tomorrow might throw at them.

Or to put it simply, how do you equip your remote staff with the tools they need to work as productively away from the office as they can in it? How do you train and mentor your teams remotely? How do you continue to delight customers and drive sales when most of your team is working from home? When your workforce returns to a socially distanced office, or splits its time between the office and home, how do you maintain a consistent customer experience?

Businesses have been asking similar questions since last March, of course. But many now realise that the sticking-plaster solutions hastily implemented then are no longer enough, especially when it comes to customer contact. Communications platforms need to give employees the tools they need today, while future-proofing businesses for whatever next month, next year or even the next decade might bring.

Is cloud-first the answer?

It’s for that reason that businesses of all kinds are turning to cloud-based solutions. When your contact centre solution lives in the cloud, your agents can access it from anywhere, on any device, onboarding new starters and completing system training remotely is easier. And, with solutions like MaxContact, new features and functionality are consistently introduced as market trends and business needs change.  

But there’s more to a future-proof solution than simply the convenience of cloud. It has to be highly reliable, flexible and secure, while giving you the data you need to measure performance and implement change.

MaxContact is cloud-native for that reason. You get the assurances with the combination of a fully equipped contact centre solution that fulfils all these requirements combined with a resilient uptime guarantee of  99.999% so dropouts and downtime won’t affect sales and customer service. Whilst real-time dashboards and custom reporting give managers full transparency over their teams’ efficiency, wherever they happen to be located.

reduction in training, the issue of training a workforce in the contact centre fast and easily remotely has been of major benefit

This valuable data can eventually be used to inform decision making around post-pandemic working models, giving a real insight into the benefits and challenges of remote working models based on your specific circumstances for every campaign and every call centre agent. This data becomes invaluable in a world were presenteeism in some form has been part of most of our everyday lives for the past 12 months.

Security concerns

Working from home has meant that the companies networks – that were once a secure perimeter – have expanded to every employee home and the plethora of devices they use. There’s now an increasing need to deploy communications solutions with network and data centre security baked in. But we go further. Granular permissions mean you can limit the data your home working teams have access to and remove restrictions at the click of a mouse on those days when they are working from the office.

In fact, MaxContact gives you that kind of agility throughout your contact centre operation. You can add and remove users in minutes, and equip new sites in just a couple of days. MaxContact lets you calculate your staffing requirements using statistical analysis so that, wherever your workforce is based, you always have the right staff with the right skills in place.

In other words, powerful contact centre solutions like MaxContact don’t just solve the temporary challenges of remote working. They equip your business for an uncertain future.

Use our powerful cloud platform to create an agile, secure and streamlined contact centre that not only adapts to the unpredictable challenges of the post-pandemic world.

Sources:

1. https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/find-staff/workforce-insights/impact-of-covid-on-call-centres
2. Call centre helper, 2021 predictions webinar
3. https://www.zendesk.co.uk/blog/zendesks-benchmark-snapshot-impact-covid-19-cx/

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The shift to hybrid working models has presented both challenges and opportunities for driving innovation in contact centres. In a webinar hosted by the Call Centre Management Association (CCMA), industry leaders gathered to share their experiences and insights on this topic. The panel featured Leigh Hopwood, CEO of CCMA, Louise Walsh, Chief Customer Contact Officer at Utilita, Nerys Corfield, industry-leading consultant, and Ben Booth, CEO of MaxContact. In this blog, we unpack the key points from the discussion.

Defining Innovation in the Contact Centre Context

The conversation began by defining innovation as the generation and implementation of new ideas that drive improvement. Panellists agreed that while the transition to hybrid working initially presented challenges, it has also opened up new possibilities for collaboration and creativity. Louise Walsh noted that engaging staff, whether in the office or working remotely, is key to fostering innovation. She emphasised the importance of giving everyone a voice and utilising remote technology to facilitate inclusive discussions.

Creating a Culture of Innovation

The panellists discussed the significance of having a clear purpose and aligned values to support innovation. Creating a culture that encourages experimentation, learning from failures, and celebrating successes is crucial. Ben Booth, CEO of MaxContact, highlighted the need for a safe working environment where people feel comfortable sharing ideas without fear of being shut down. He stated, “You have to create the structure and initiatives to get it going. You need champions in each department that are also doing the same because it shouldn’t just come from you as a leader.”

Strategies for Driving Innovation in a Hybrid Setting

To drive innovation in a hybrid setting, the panellists recommended several strategies:

1. Establish feedback loops: Ensure that ideas from all levels of the organisation, especially frontline agents, are heard, considered, and acted upon. Provide regular updates on the progress of suggested improvements to maintain engagement and motivation.

2. Utilise collaborative tools: Leverage technology platforms like Teams and Zoom to facilitate cross-functional collaboration and idea sharing, regardless of location.

3. Implement structured innovation processes: Consider techniques such as hackathons, agile sprints, and continuous improvement teams to provide focus and momentum for innovation initiatives.

4. Foster effective communication: Maintain clear and consistent communication channels to keep everyone informed about ongoing projects, successes, and learnings. Regularly share updates through team briefs, open forums, and dedicated innovation channels.

5. Celebrate successes: Take time to recognise and celebrate the successful implementation of innovative ideas. This helps to reinforce a culture of innovation and encourages further participation.

The Role of Leadership in Fostering Innovation

The panellists emphasised the importance of leadership commitment and effort in driving innovation. Senior leaders must prioritise innovation, allocate resources, and actively participate in the process. They should model the desired behaviours and create an environment where experimentation and learning are valued. Ben Booth stressed the need for continued effort, saying, “Once you think you’ve got it, you have to double down and keep going. Because if you take your foot off the gas, it’s amazing how fast it actually stops.”

Overcoming Challenges and Embracing Opportunities

While hybrid working presents challenges for fostering innovation, it also offers opportunities for greater inclusivity and diverse perspectives. Louise Walsh noted that remote technology has given everyone a voice, helping to bring people on a journey of innovation. By involving a diverse range of perspectives, contact centres can effectively identify areas for improvement and generate fresh ideas.

The Path to Hybrid Success

Fostering innovation in a hybrid working environment requires a deliberate and sustained effort from the entire organisation. By creating a culture of openness, collaboration, and continuous improvement, contact centres can harness the collective creativity of their teams to drive meaningful change and deliver exceptional customer experiences. As the industry navigates this new landscape, the insights shared by these leaders serve as valuable guidance for contact centres looking to thrive in the era of hybrid work.

Catch Up On-Demand

Looking for more hybrid working insights? Watch the full webinar discussion below.

To find out more about how MaxContact’s cloud-based platform can help your contact centre thrive in a hybrid world, book a demo with our team today.

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They used to be called call centres, and now they’re called contact centres. There’s a good reason for the change. Today, customers want to contact you in the way that best suits them at any particular time.  

Or to put it another way, they want the option of calling your customer service line to be one among many.

More customers want the option to email your support teams, send a quick text message (SMS), or use online chat. They also want to self-serve where possible. Providing these alternatives is one of the best ways to improve customer satisfaction.  

Customers love a consistent, simple and connected experience on any channel, and so do your teams do too. It helps them improve customer service by giving advisors instant access to all correspondence between a client and your company. A good omnichannel solution should centralise all interactions, giving a complete view of customer engagement.  

Bringing your voice and digital communications together in one place means you can serve customers faster and more satisfactorily. It helps your teams prioritise the most urgent enquiries.

If your current customer engagement software doesn’t offer these options, or does so only as an afterthought, you might be looking for something better.

Similarly, if your current engagement software is coming to the end of its contract, it’s time to explore the market. There may be a more efficient and cost-effective option out there than your current solution.

With that in mind, here are five things you must look out for when considering a new omnichannel contact centre solution.

Security and integration

It goes without saying that your next omnichannel engagement software needs to be super secure, but what does that mean in practice?

It certainly needs to give you the tools to ensure that you’re  GDPR and Ofcom compliant, and you should check that it comes with the latest data security certifications. Think ISO27001 and Cyber Essentials. If it’s a cloud-based system – and that comes with many benefits – make sure the infrastructure and data is housed in secure, compliant data centres.  

If you take payments, you need to be even more picky. Look for a secure payments manager that ensures customer information is always protected, encrypted and anonymised with PCI certifications

Finally, contact centre software works best when it integrates seamlessly with other core applications, like your CRM or data management solutions, and uses the information to make your service better. Make sure that it allows for these integrations.

Flexibility and scalability

Your needs change over time, but you don’t want to be upgrading your omnichannel engagement software every year. So can it scale as you do? Can it add new features and integrations when you need them?  

In addition, the solution you choose needs to fit your requirements exactly. If you’re a debt collection agency, it’s not just about contacting customers, it’s about doing so compliantly. Sales teams need an overall view of performance, plus insight at the individual level. Customer service departments have to be able to expand rapidly as the need arises, while at the same time ensuring quality levels remain high.

Your engagement software can help, if it has the relevant features. Ask any potential provider to demonstrate what it can offer in each area.

Flexibility is also about offering customers the communication channels they want. MaxContact currently offers SMS, email, WhatsApp, Messenger and web chat, alongside voice. Can your solution say the same?

Insights and reporting

Knowledge is the key to effective contact centres, and your omnichannel engagement software needs to provide it.

That means effortless reporting using easy-to-create custom dashboards, giving you the information you need and nothing you don’t. You should be able to define key targets and visualise key data.  

Ideally, you should be able to collect and view information in real time, whether that’s team performance or customer satisfaction, and really stay on top of your SLAs.

AI-driven speech analytics is another powerful tool for delivering customer insight, with automatic analysis of conversations, sentiment and emotion. Ask your provider if they have it, or if it is on their development roadmap.

Ease of use

The easier the software is to operate, the more likely it is that your teams will make full use of all its tools and features and the quicker they’re productive.  

So, is your chosen solution easy to navigate and intuitive to use? Or is it cluttered and confusing? If it’s the latter, it will undermine the efficiency of your teams, and make it far more costly to expand team numbers because of increased training requirements.  

It’s also true that good software makes your users life easier. It allows employees to meet their targets more easily, deal with difficult customers in the best way, and continually improve their knowledge and performance. That’s good for your business, and also helps guard against employee burnout, something we’ve talked about at length.  

Compliance

On top of everything, your contact software should help ensure that you’re always acting compliantly. ICO and Ofcom enforce strict regulations around the frequency and timing of calls and dealing with vulnerable customers, among other things.  

Good omnichannel engagement software provides the tools to help you meet those requirements. That includes scripting solutions that let you create compelling and compliant scripts for every circumstance and edit them in seconds. It should certainly include intelligent outbound dialling that blends dialling types to reduce dropped calls, and that automatically checks and integrates “no call” lists.

Other things to consider when choosing an omnichannel engagement software

Those are five key factors when considering a new engagement software solution, but they’re not the only things to think about…

• Hidden costs: Are you paying a flat fee per user or do you get charged for additional features? For that matter, are you being charged for a demo, trial or proof of concept? At MaxContact, demos are always free (of both cost and obligation).
  
• Support: How easy is it to raise support tickets, and how long do they take to resolve?
  
• Expertise: Get to know your providers before you make a decision. Are they contact centre experts or just resellers? Do they have an inhouse team of developers?
  
• Accreditations: It’s great to be given the tools to operate compliantly, but are your providers acting compliantly themselves? Always check their accreditations.
  

MaxContact strengthens CCaaS solution by partnering with Engage Hub’s AI-powered solution.

Manchester, UK, 6th Dec 2023 – Engage Hub, the data-driven journey orchestration company, today announced a partnership with UK-based Contact Centre Software provider (CCaaS), MaxContact to help organisations maximise cost savings, service levels and efficiency in contact centres.

The partnership involves collaboration on contact centre solutions, including using Engage Hub’s contact centre optimisation suite to provide self-serve capabilities for customers, through automation, while offering a personalised journey based upon a contacts needs.  Powered by the MaxContact Inbound Customer Engagement software to support excellence in the journey, the partnership provides measurable improvements in first-line support, agent engagement and customer satisfaction.

Simon Brennan, VP Sales Europe at Engage Hub, said: “By combining the capabilities of two market-leading specialists, we’re creating a unique offering that provides organisations with enhancements across all areas of contact centre operations. This partnership with MaxContact is the latest Engage Hub venture aimed at offering the easiest integrations, the most comprehensive service and the best results.”

Ben Booth, CEO at MaxContact, added: “We’re excited to team up with Engage Hub to further strengthen our Omnichannel contact centre CCaaS solution. Their automation, AI and machine learning advances will help MaxContact users reduce interaction handling costs and boost efficiencies, all while delivering a higher-quality and more seamless service across digital channels.”

Through the partnership, MaxContact customers will have access to Engage Hub’s contact centre optimisation solution suite, which allows users to automate processes, boost self-service levels and improve call deflection rates based on their KPIs.

About Engage Hub

Get in touch to learn more about Engage Hub’s contact centre services.

About MaxContact

MaxContact is a cloud-based contact centre software platform with a difference. Founded by a group of contact centre professionals who had become frustrated with providers that over promised and under delivered on features, support and resilience, it’s now one of the fastest growing contact centre specialists in the UK, with a 97% CSAT rating. MaxContact was featured in CX Today’s Top CCaaS Vendors for 2023, Call Centre Helper’s Top CCaaS Vendors for 2023/4 and received the IT Vendor of the Year Award from BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT and Computing Magazine in 2022.

Contact details: 

For further information or media enquiries, please reach out to the MaxContact team at pr@maxcontact.com.

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Delivering exceptional customer service is key to fostering customer loyalty and driving business growth. Our recent survey of 449 UK customer care and technical support professionals provides invaluable benchmarking data to help you assess your team’s performance and identify areas for improvement. In this blog, we’ll explore the key metrics and share actionable strategies to enhance your customer support operations.

Call Abandonment Rate  

Our survey revealed that the mean call abandonment rate in the industry is 4.41%, with 53% of teams experiencing an abandonment rate between 2-5%. Reducing your call abandonment rate is crucial for ensuring customer satisfaction and minimising lost opportunities.

To tackle high abandonment rates, start by analysing your call volume patterns and staffing levels. Ensure that you have sufficient agents available during peak hours to minimise wait times. Consider implementing a call-back option, allowing customers to opt for a return call instead of waiting on hold.

Regularly review your IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system to ensure that it is user-friendly and efficiently routes callers to the appropriate agents. Offer self-service options, such as a comprehensive knowledge base or chatbot, to enable customers to find answers quickly without needing to contact an agent.

Average Handle Time  

The survey found that the mean average handle time is 7.82 minutes, with 44% of teams managing calls within 6-9 minutes. While it’s important to strive for efficiency, it’s equally crucial to ensure that quality is not compromised in the pursuit of shorter handle times.

To optimise your average handle time, invest in comprehensive agent training that covers product knowledge, troubleshooting techniques, and effective communication skills. Provide agents with access to a robust knowledge management system that offers quick and accurate answers to common customer queries.

Implement call monitoring and quality assurance processes to identify areas where agents may need additional support or training. Encourage agents to take ownership of customer issues and empower them to make decisions that prioritise customer satisfaction over strict adherence to handle time targets.

Speed of Answer  

The survey revealed that the mean speed of answer is 17.11 seconds, with 25% of teams answering calls within 6-10 seconds. A prompt response is essential for creating a positive first impression and reducing customer frustration.

To improve your speed of answer, ensure that you have adequate staffing levels to handle incoming call volume. Implement skill-based routing to direct calls to the most appropriate agents based on their expertise and availability.

Consider offering alternative support channels, such as live chat or social media, to distribute the workload and provide customers with more options to reach out for assistance. Regularly monitor and adjust your staffing levels based on historical call volume data and forecasted demand.

First Call Resolution (FCR)  

Our survey found that 45% of teams achieve an FCR rate between 20-49%, with the mean FCR rate being 41%. Resolving customer issues on the first call is a critical driver of customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.

To boost your FCR rate, focus on equipping your agents with the knowledge and tools they need to handle a wide range of customer inquiries effectively. Implement a comprehensive training program that covers product features, common issues, and troubleshooting techniques.

Encourage a culture of ownership and empowerment among your agents, allowing them to take the necessary steps to resolve customer issues without unnecessary transfers or escalations. Regularly analyse your FCR performance by issue type and agent to identify areas for targeted coaching and process improvements.

Data-Driven Decisions in your Contact Centre

By leveraging these industry benchmarks and implementing proven strategies, customer service contact centre leaders can drive significant enhancements in their team’s performance. Use these insights to set ambitious yet realistic goals, prioritise improvement initiatives, and make data-driven decisions to optimise your customer support operations.

Remember, delivering exceptional customer service is an ongoing journey that requires continuous monitoring, learning, and adaptation. By staying attuned to industry best practices, emerging technologies, and evolving customer expectations, you can position your team for long-term success in creating memorable and satisfying customer experiences.

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Industry regulator Ofcom produces regulations around what contact centres can and can’t do when it comes to automatic dialling.

The regulations can be confusing, having undergone numerous iterations over many years. On top of that, there is no single source of truth – there isn’t even a complete version of all the regulations in one place.

With that in mind, we’ve produced a no-nonsense guide to all current regulations surrounding the use of automatic calling equipment (ACS), with links to accompanying Ofcom and ICO literature.

It’s important that you know these regulations, because neither Ofcom or the ICO accept ignorance as a defence. The penalty for transgression can be severe: over £3,000,000 in fines were handed out in 2018.

For reference:

ACS = Dialler software

Abandoned call = dropped call

Connect = Live call passed to an agent

Silent calls

There are three main causes of silent calls:

1) false positives

2) abandon calls (with no message)

3) agents receiving calls and not speaking or being on mute, which is a reasonably significant cause.

Silent Calls (Page 4)

The 3% drop rate myth

In 2010 Ofcom said companies “should ensure their abandoned call rate is less than 3% of all live calls.”  

That seemed clear enough. If dropped (or abandoned) calls were less than 3% of your total, you were safe. Or so many of us thought.

But as it turned out, this was a misinterpretation. Ofcom has since clarified that 3% was meant as a measuring stick and the actual target is 0%. In other words, you can attract regulator scrutiny with any percentage of dropped calls.  

Despite Ofcom’s clarification, many people in the industry still think the 3% rule applies – and some even run their diallers with 3% in mind. We have even seen suppliers of dialler equipment advertise the 3% rule as compliant.  

It isn’t. This is why we developed our un-droppable algorithm, which helps contact centres stick to 0% dropped calls even in blended environments.

Reference – see Section A4.12

Drop call calculation

Knowing how to calculate the drop call rate accurately is essential if you want to remain compliant, and there are still quite a few systems that get it wrong. They either use the wrong formula or, knowingly or otherwise, add inbound and manual dial connects into the equation to artificially reduce the drop call rate.  

The correct formula is:

Drop rate = Drops/(Drops + Connects)

It’s worth checking Ofcom’s guidance (see Section A3.8) on calculating the drop call rate. It has examples with AMD both on and off.

15 second minimum ring time

This rule stipulates that you have to call a number for a minimum of 15s before disconnecting as a no answer.  

The rule was introduced to prevent the practice of “pinging”, whereby diallers would ring a number for 1 second to try and generate a missed call. The next day agents would dial all the numbers found to be “live”. You can imagine how annoying this was for customers.

The only contentious point around the 15s minimum ring revolves around preview calls, which are automated but in every other way are the same as a manual call. Manual calls are not restricted to the 15s minimum. Because of this, whether or not you need to adhere to the minimum ring time rule on preview calls is open to interpretation. The Ofcom wording is in Section A2.15.

Rotating CLI

Not long ago, there was a trend for calling line identification (CLI) calls to display local numbers. The system would present a Manchester number when calling a Manchester number, a Newcastle number when calling a Newcastle number, and so on.  

This was primarily done to increase connect rates, and it worked pretty well. It also rotated the numbers, so people didn’t recognise you.  

But because Ofcom and the ICO base complaints on the CLI, it was seen as a way of avoiding investigation because contact centres were presenting 150+ different numbers. So complaints to a single number were low even when complaints about the call centre as a whole might have been very high.  

Ofcom acted, and carriers are no longer allowed to automatically rotate numbers, so the practice is vastly reduced. But you can still present different numbers if you have a valid reason. For example, a well-established car dealership with branches around the UK, but a central call centre, can present a local dealer’s number.

For more, see the Ofcom regulations, Section A1.20 – A1.23

Answer Machine Detection (AMD)

There’s a lot of controversy around AMD use. Ofcom now makes firms take false positive rates into consideration when calculating drop rates (though it has suggested it may drop this).  

This is because inadequate systems with poor AMD were causing silent calls on false positives. In other words, when the system thought a live person was an answering machine, no message played and the call was not passed to an agent (see below on leaving a message).  

But AMD use is not banned, and it can play an essential role in the productivity of contact centres. In fact, it can increase efficiency by 100% in some cases, but it must be used correctly.

For more, see Section 4.41 of the regulations.

Two second CPA rule

CPA stands for Call Progress Analysis and is part of the AMD function. Two seconds is the amount of time your CPA is given to determine whether the called party is an answering machine or a live person.  

Many providers say two seconds is not enough and, as a result, AMD can’t be used compliantly. They’re wrong. In our case, if we can’t determine whether the answered call is an answering machine or not, we pass the call through to an agent and play it safe.  

If your current system “holds” onto the call longer than two seconds you are non-compliant, which is why you often get recommended to turn AMD off rather than the vendor resolving the problem.

For more, see Section A2.19 of the regulations.

Leaving messages

In a silent call, someone answers the phone only to be met with silence from the other end. Needless to say, Ofcom is not in favour of silent calls.

It’s recommended that an answerphone message is left, so false positives would no longer result in silent calls. The problem here is the huge proliferation of answer phone messages, but Ofcom’s number one priority is to tackle silent calls. It all comes down to the contact centre: you have to make the choice.  

For more, see Section A1.6, A2.16

Drop call message

When dialling predictively you are calling more people than you have agents, which can occasionally result in dropped calls. Instead of silent calls, Ofcom insists a drop call message is played to the consumer. It also offers guidelines on what the message should and shouldn’t say.

For more, see Section A1.14 of the regulations.

False positive

In the context of AMD, a false positive occurs when the system detects an answer machine even though a person has answered the phone. This results in silent calls and complaints from consumers.  

The recommendation from Ofcom here is to play an answer machine message. Consumers will hang up, but at least they won’t experience a silent call that can be at best annoying and at worst frightening.  

See Section A1.6 – 1.8 of the regulations.

Call blocking from carriers

This is a relatively new addition to Ofcom’s plan to tackle nuisance and silent calls. What it means is that carriers – or more accurately termination endpoint carriers – can block you if they think you are making nuisance calls to their clients. This isn’t the carrier you are using to make calls, it’s EE, Vodafone, BT or Telefonica (o2).

Carriers now have a shared database of nuisance callers. It’s possible that if one blocks you, they all will.  

This is an automated response to perceived nuisance calling, based on two main factors:

1. Connect rate or ASR (Answer Seizure Ratio)

If your connect rate to Vodafone (for example) is low – i.e. people aren’t answering the phone –  then Vodafone will interpret this as people not wanting to talk to you.

2. ACD (Average call duration)

Taking Vodafone again as an example, if call duration length is low Vodafone might view this as clients not wanting to speak to you. “Low” typically means less than 30 seconds. Leaving an answer machine message can help, as it increases the average call duration.

These factors will often result in an automatic calling block to Vodafone numbers from your CLI.

The only way to get around this is to change your number. You should also make a complaint to the termination carrier if you think they have blocked you by mistake.

Unfortunately, as Ofcom makes clear, this blocking policy is actively encouraged:

Page 6 – Technical Measures (Ofcom forms Strategic Working Group)

Page 5 – Strategic Working Group (Ofcom confirms the SWG has blocked a large number of nuisance calls since its formation)

Page 4 Formal Blocking Directions

A new focus on blocking

Automatic System Recalls

You are not allowed to call previous dropped calls within 72 hours, or answer machines the same day (note: not 24 hours), unless you can guarantee an operator is present. Preview or manual dialling is fine. This is one of the reasons MaxContact has mixed-mode dialling, which means we can automatically move records from “predictive” to “preview” and back again.

Drop Calls – Section A2.9

Harassment

What exactly “harassment” means is not clearly defined and is open to interpretation. The term “a reasonable amount” is often used, but that’s unclear what that means in practice.  

This needs Ofcom clarification. It can boil down to the nature of the calls. Debt collectors have a valid reason for calling but how much is too much? We have seen agreements in place between the FCA and some contact centres that allow X calls per day but no more than Y times per week, for example.

Maximum attempts to a user

Again, this is not defined in the regulations and needs clarification. Common sense should be applied, and the strategy modified in line with the nature of the call.

DNC list

Do you need one? It’s not in the regulations, but it’s good practice to have one. There does need to be a way for people to remove themselves from calling lists either by speaking to an agent or more commonly now through self-service IVRs.

The mention of DNC lists is in Section A1.25 here.

TPS

If you are not checking Telephone Preference Service (TPS) you have a problem. The ICO has taken over this side of the regulations, and they are serious about enforcement. Many recent fines have been around TPS breaches, and non-compliance is easy to prove.  

If your third party data supplier says it screens against TPS, you have to ensure it really does. Spot check the data. If your supplier is not doing it, you’re still liable for due-diligence.

See Section A1.25, the TPS website and the ICO website

The good news

The good news is that, according to Ofcom statistics, consumer complaints are reducing:

But contact centres still need to do all they can to avoid falling foul of these rules, and potentially taking significant financial and reputational damage.

MaxContact is your friend here. Our sophisticated customer engagement solution will keep dropped calls to an absolute minimum (in fact, close to zero), while helping you remain compliant.  

If your contact centre is struggling with this or any other aspect surrounding regulations or compliance, or want to know how we turn new regulations to your advantage, please get in touch.

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