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Sports coaches talk about marginal gains, and how lots of small changes can add up to the difference between winning and losing in a tight contest. But if Gareth Southgate found a new strategy that would boost his team’s performance by 200-300%, he’d jump at the chance.

That’s the level of improvement delivered by outbound dialling software over manual dialling. Like any good team performance though, it’s about getting the right balance right, in this case between reaching new targets and remaining compliant with Ofcom regulations.

Increased productivity of automated dialling

Automated dialling vs. manual dialling

A manual dialler is like a traditional phone. An agent manually dials numbers from a call list, one after another. Whereas an auto dialler, as the name suggests, automates much of the dialling process. It digitally dials numbers, and can also dial multiple numbers at once, passing answered calls to available agents.

Most call centres opt for auto dialling because it significantly boosts productivity, eliminates human error and allows agents to spend more time talking to customers and less time dialling.

Spend 2–3 times longer speaking to people with automated dialling

Where does this productivity leap come from?

Some of the productivity gains from dialler software are built on predictive dialling, in which calls are placed at a rate the dialler expects agents to become free from their previous conversation. Calculating this rate is done by the predictive algorithm.

Predictive dialling is supported by two further modes, progressive and preview dialling. In progressive mode, the dialler waits to make the call until the agent becomes free, rather than estimating that time in advance. Preview dialling allows the agent to review information about the contact before the call is made.

All three dialler modes have a role to play, and getting the right combination means agents typically spend two to three times longer actually talking to clients, and so meeting the overall aims of the business, than if they were managing their own calls manually.

Compliance myths in the contact centre industry

In order to get compliance right, the first step is separating facts from myths. There are two persistent compliance myths in the call centre industry.

Myth 1: Ofcom specifies a target of 3% for dropped calls.

Some software diallers might even be calibrated to produce 3% dropped calls and claim this is compliance.

This is not the case. Ofcom wants to see 0% dropped calls, and a contact centre operator needs to demonstrate they are doing everything they can to achieve that. The 3% figure is a benchmark. It means that so long as an operator is doing all they can to minimise dropped calls, Ofcom accepts that mistakes can and will happen.

Myth 2: A dropped call number cannot be rung again within 72 hours.

Wrong again. What matters is that an agent must be on hand if the call is answered.

Explore our no-nonsense guide to all current Ofcom regulations >

Real world conditions that lead to dropped or silent calls

In a perfect world, a predictive dialler would make outbound calls at a rate that always exactly matched the agents available to connect to clients. But it’s never that simple. Instead, let’s run through some of the ways outbound dialling can get out of sync, and ask what the consequences are.

The most obvious way is that agents are people. They log in and out unexpectedly. They have to go for meals and comfort breaks.

Then there are blended environments. Agents taking inbound calls means that they aren’t available for outbound calls, and so the predictive algorithm gets the rate of outbound calls wrong. Blended environments are like a football match against Brazil. They’re always going to be tough.

In effect, there’s always the risk of an avoidable own goal, which simply means making too many outbound calls when there aren’t enough agents available to cope.

Dropped Calls

All of these real world conditions can lead to dropped calls. And dropped calls aren’t the only compliance challenge. Redialling the same number too soon after a dropped call can be an issue if not handled properly. As is repeatedly dialling a number that has asked not to be called.

Silent Calls

Then there are silent calls. A silent call is when answer machine detection (AMD) registers a false positive, meaning a person answers but the dialler software thinks it’s an answer machine and hangs up.

“For some people – for example, those living alone – these calls can be particularly frightening,” says Ofcom.

The penalty for getting compliance wrong

Ofcom has fined several call centres over the years for various violations, including making nuisance calls, breaching regulations regarding silent and abandoned calls, and failing to provide proper customer service. The fines can vary widely depending on the severity of the violations.

Back in 2013, TalkTalk was fined £750,000 after the company swamped potential customers with silent calls and Barclaycard has received a £50,000 fine. For repeat offenders, it can mean a potential fine of up to £2 million!

The good news is that, according to Ofcom statistics, the average number of nuisance calls – including silent and abandoned calls – reported by consumers who received them, is at its lowest point ever.

• Over the last six years, the number of complaints Ofcom has received related to silent and abandoned has decreased by 65%.
• In 2022, Ofcom received a total of 15,186 complaints related to these calls, compared to 42,822 in 2016.

Data Source: Enforcement programme into silent and abandoned calls

How to balance agent productivity and compliance?

A dialler software solution that can deliver outstanding productivity gains without putting compliance at risk will have a checklist of key features.

1. It should head off the causes of dropped calls before they happen. That means agents have to request their next action, such as logging off. Given this information, the predictive dialler can adjust its outbound call rates to match.
2. In blended environments, the predictive algorithm has to allow for inbound calls.
3. The dialler should move seamlessly from predictive to progressive dialling at times when there are fewer agents, for example during lunch breaks.
4. When recalling numbers within 72 hours, the dialler should switch to preview mode so that an agent is guaranteed to be available if the call gets through.
5. It should eliminate silent calls due to AMD by passing the call to an agent if there is any doubt, and should leave a message in any circumstances where a call isn’t picked up, completely avoiding any silent calls.
6. Finally, the dialler software should automatically integrate and update Do Not Call lists, and allow clients to add themselves to the list.

The most compliant dialler will always be the most productive

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

MaxContact has 25 years experience performing at the highest level across all forms of contact centres. We understand compliance because we help to define the standards through involvement in Ofcom consultations around persistent misuse of software diallers.

Book a customised demo today to learn about our dialler software and ask us any questions about compliance in your contact centre.

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As the cost of living crisis continues and bills continue to soar, contact centres are facing an increase in vulnerable customers who are seeking support. Now more than ever, it’s crucial that these customers are able to easily receive the correct support and that contact centre teams are prepared for potentially difficult and distressing conversations.

Accessing adequate customer service is vital, especially during the cost of living crisis.

Being on the frontline of organisations, contact centre advisors see and hear the impact this is having on customers first. It’s important that agents have the right tools in place to effectively support vulnerable customers during these tough times without jeopardising their own wellbeing.

Identifying vulnerable customers

The FCA recently widened its definition of a vulnerable customer. While it includes more commonly known groups, such as the elderly and those with certain health conditions. It now also includes individuals that are sometimes more difficult to identify, like people with addictions, those who need care from others and those with low financial resilience.

That’s particularly important when you consider that, as the FCA survey shows, many more people have found themselves financially vulnerable, with a 15% rise in people feeling financially vulnerable since the start of the pandemic.

At the same time, the increase in the number of vulnerable people creates additional workload for companies that have a duty to identify them in their own customer base and during any sales process.  

That’s important for businesses to know, but the fact is that it’s not always easy to identify vulnerable people from basic information provided on a form, or even during a phone call.

Despite recent progress, customers can sometimes still feel stigma around mental health, poverty and poor literacy levels. In fact, customers may be reluctant to bring up a host of issues that would identify them as vulnerable to your agents.

[Watch] How to identify and best serve your vulnerable customers in your contact centre >

Insights from our research

We recently worked on a comprehensive piece of research where we surveyed 1000 vulnerable UK people who’d had recent interactions with customer service support.

At a glance, we found that:

• 45% have struggled to get through to the right person or department when contacting customer service.
• 51% have been passed between different agents and had to re-explain their problem several times.
• 30% of respondents said that their finances were negatively impacted by the inability to contact a company’s customer service.
• 27% feel their needs are not being accommodated by customer service staff.
• 30% feel as though advisors are trying to get them off the phone quickly.

5 ways you can help vulnerable customers achieve good outcomes

In this guide, we share five practical ways your contact centre can support vulnerable customers during the cost of living crisis and beyond.

1. Learn from best practice – even if your sector is unregulated

As customer concerns rise, even those in unregulated sectors could face an influx of more challenging calls so it’s important that all businesses are prepared and know the best practices in order to support vulnerable customers through the tough times ahead.

Can you easily scale your support for vulnerable customers?

• There are currently 27.7 million vulnerable customers in the UK but this number is set to grow. Greater support will be needed from firms as the number of customers facing hardship rises.
• If all staff aren’t trained to deal with vulnerable customers, make sure they are able to spot signs that a customer is struggling and know the appropriate colleagues to pass them on to for support.
• Consider training wider agent teams so they can handle vulnerable customers and ensure teams have support when things get really busy, including breaks from emotionally intense work.

Utilise scripting – but cut canned responses

• Consider holding back from sending canned responses for these customers as they can easily be misconstrued and seem uncaring. Personalised responses are more appropriate for vulnerable customers as they may need more detail or clarity on discussion points.
• Instead, having a scripting guide for teams to follow gives them confidence and makes sure they are prepared for any jarring questions. It also makes sure customers feel valued and reassured that the company is doing the right thing

Check out our guide to writing effective scripts >

Always follow up on what is discussed with the customer

• For example, share affordability statements and plans via links in email or SMS and emphasise the purpose of this communication is to make sure that you come to a solution that is right for both the business and customer and to eliminate any repeat conversations in the future.
• This empowers the customer to feel they understand what is being asked of them and why and encourages an honest response.

2. Stay compliant with the FCA’s new Consumer Duty guidance

The current economic climate means that it’s crucial that customers are able to make good financial decisions. Our research shows that current customer service needs to improve to ensure vulnerable customers feel supported; 27% feel their needs are not being accommodated by customer service staff.

The FCA’s new Consumer Duty guidance will not only set higher and clearer standards of consumer protection across financial services, but it will also require firms to put their customers’ needs first and provide clear communication and support.

Are your team trained to spot those in financial difficulty?

• Due to the cost of living crisis, this group will become much larger – putting even more pressure on teams.
• Make sure teams aren’t just dealing with the request in front of them but are also thinking about the customer as a whole. For example, forecasting cash flow issues to ensure someone can pay for something in future and working that into customer support conversations.

Are customers having to repeat themselves?

• It can be difficult for customers to open up to an agent, so being transferred and repeating themselves to multiple agents can stress out vulnerable customers.
• Make sure call information is captured in one system so different departments and agents have one version of truth.

Is your customer support proactive?

• Instead of waiting for customers to come to you, proactively contact customers who may be dissatisfied or having problems.
• Unexpectedly calling or messaging shows customers you are honest and upfront, reassuring them that something is being done and you care.
• For example, check in with customers before their next bill even if it’s just a WhatsApp, email or text message to inform them the next payment is coming up and ask if everything  is ok, if they can meet this payment or if they need to have a conversation around payment – this is helpful support for people who have habitual struggles with payment.

3. Get the right tech in place

Leveraging technology allows agents to spot trends in customer conversations and enhances training and coaching, allowing staff to make more informed decisions when supporting customers.

Have you got interactive scripting guides for teams to follow?

• Having scripts and guides within your software can help agents to lead the conversation, but it’s important it doesn’t become a “one size fits all” templated response. Include information on where agents can point customers to if escalation is needed e.g. relevant charity support.
• Let agents know the areas where they can / can’t help, and where their role ends.

Do you offer the right communication channels?

• Different customers have different needs and preferences – offer phone, text, email, webchat.
• Phone lines are still vital – 50% of those aged 75+ have no online access.
• People might also find it easier to open up on webchat/SMS as they can share their difficulties without feeling as if they’re being judged. However, you miss verbal cues and tone – so teams need to be careful in how they respond and make sure this is interpreted correctly.
• Being able to write down thoughts in an email can also allow customers to methodically structure what they want to say and gives agents time to read and digest the information, as well as keep some emotional distance.
• Even if conversations start in text form, it’s important to try to get that person onto a phone call as quickly as possible where nuance and tone can be captured.

Do you have speech analytics in place?

• A modern speech analytics platform doesn’t just capture the words spoken, it can capture HOW they are spoken. For example, highlighting uncertainty in a customer response.
• The software automatically identifies these potentially vulnerable customers so that the business can track them and take further action if necessary.

Discover how speech analytics can turn conversation into insights here >

4. Support front-line staff who are dealing with calls

Nearly three-quarters (72%) customer-facing staff say they’re burnt out or facing burnout due to increased workload. And for those speaking to vulnerable customers this pressure is even greater – which is why supporting staff is key to supporting vulnerable customers.

Image stat, text: 72% of customer-facing staff say they’re burnt out or facing burnout

Can you instantly access call recordings?

• If an agent has a difficult call, team leaders should be able to instantly access call recordings to make sure they have all the information they need to empathise and support agents when they ask for support.
• But it’s not just calls. Live monitoring of conversations across SMS, web chat and email allows leaders to provide actionable feedback and coaching to teams and individuals.

Do you have peer support groups?

• Give agents self-learning time where they can gather to vent and discuss how to deal with difficult calls. For example, accessing historical recordings and chats, listening to and analysing previous conversations together and reviewing best practices.
• Allow team leaders to listen in and understand the challenges staff face, especially in a remote environment.

Are the right agents dealing with the right calls?

• Back-to-back calls with distressing situations can really take their toll – especially if the right people haven’t received extensive training in that area.
• Giving the right conversations to the right agents means they can handle calls more effectively and feel confident in their job.

Are managers live tracking sentiment?

• Allowing team leaders to listen into calls can help with QA, but also allows you to identify agents who need extra guidance.
• Live-tracking call sentiment allows them to pinpoint which calls, customers and agents need the most support.

5. Don’t let support become counselling

The cost of living crisis has led to a surge in customers seeking support and reassurance, but it’s important to remember that agents aren’t counsellors and shouldn’t be taking on the additional emotional burden. Agents who are dealing with upsetting calls need to be supported and clear on the areas where they can provide support and where to signpost vulnerable customers for extra help.

Do agents know where their role ends?

• Calls with vulnerable customers can be very emotionally charged and agents often want to do everything they can to help.
• Ensure guides and scripts explain where their role ends and when they should flag to a supervisor or charity who are better qualified to help.
• This creates better outcomes for both agents and customers.

Are people getting breaks between difficult calls?

• The last thing you want is agents feeling horrific after a bad call – make sure that they feel supported.
• Allow them to have 5-10 mins breaks after distressing calls so they can recap, regroup and rethink – getting them into the right mindset for the next customer.

Do you have break clauses in place?

• Once people open up about an issue, a customer service agent might be the first person they’ve spoken to about it – and you can’t stop them in mid flow.
• Supervisor / managers need to put rules in place to catch this. For example, if a call is longer than 30mins, managers should check in to see whether the agent needs help, and be on hand to support that agent if they’re dealing with an emotionally draining situation.
• Especially working remotely, managers can make sure that person gets a break after a particularly demanding call, or can speak to a mental-health advisor.

Improve the outcomes for distressed and vulnerable customers

Now more than ever, you need to ensure that distressed and vulnerable customers can receive the right support from your contact centre teams. While making sure your agents and advisors have the right training and tools to deal with those potentially difficult and distressing conversations.

Book a customised demo to learn how our contact centre software can help your contact centre teams serve vulnerable customers more effectively.

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A few years ago, IVRs (Interactive voice response) were not much loved by consumers, and even today, poorly implemented systems can leave callers fuming on the other end of the phone. But as customers have got more used to talking to technology (think Alexa, Google Assistant and more), and IVR systems have got more sophisticated, it has become ever more essential.

Today, almost three-quarters of customers think they should have the ability to solve their own product or service issues, and improved self-service is among the top three priorities for businesses that want to improve CX.

IVR is worth its weight in gold when it comes to self-service for credit and collections. Is the price of having a payment IVR worth paying?

What is a payment IVR?

A payment IVR allows you to process PCI-compliant payments without the hassle. Your contact centre agents can take payments over the phone – and automatically as part of your IVR – both compliantly and securely.

How can you take payments in your contact centre?

Take payments online

Create secure and convenient payment links to send to customers via digital channels like web chat. This removes the need for your team’s intervention and allows you to take customer payments 24/7.

Assisted payments

Your team can take payments on calls. At the point of payment, customers enter card details using the phone keypad. After payment, the conversation continues.

Automated payment phone line

Automated payment, or payment IVR, allows customers to self-serve. The service is available 24/7, reducing the number of missed payments and increasing customer satisfaction.

How does a payment IVR help your credit and collections teams?

• Save time on credit and collections: Automation gives your customers the payment options they want, speeds up cash collection to improve cash flow.
• Reduce costs, not service: Automate routine customer conversations, saving time, money and effort.
• Value your team’s time: Delight your staff and reduce churn by replacing repetitive work with automated payment lines and easy payment options. Give teams back the time they need for more complex calls.

What happens if you don’t have a payment IVR?

Unproductive agents

If you don’t have a payment IVR solution, the professional agents you employ, equip and train spend significant amounts of time doing little more than entering numbers into a digital data management system. They check identification details and type in credit card numbers, or transfer to payment gateways again and again and again.

It’s a waste of talent. IVRs can do all this via touch tones or voice activation, without customers ever having to speak to an agent. Won’t they miss the human touch? Not at all. When they’re paying bills or making payments, consumers simply want the quickest and most efficient experience, and what they want most of all is to avoid waiting in call queues. IVRs can help give them what they want.

It also frees up your agents for more productive tasks, like the kind of deeper dives into customer issues that increase customer satisfaction ratings, as well as the escalation of unpaid bills and late payments.

Unnecessary costs

According to one study, the average cost of a call to a contact centre agent is £4.27, made up of staffing costs and overheads. Some of that expense is unavoidable, but many contact centres still have agents taking calls they really don’t need to take.

A payment IVR system can handle many of those calls at considerably reduced cost, and taking payments is exactly the kind of simple, repetitive task that automation was designed for. It’s often said that IVRs can reduce the cost of simple calls by around 35%. In addition, IVR systems don’t take breaks, don’t need holidays and don’t need to be equipped with a desk and chair.

We’ve been talking about inbound calls, but you can also drive huge efficiencies by combining outbound operations by automating ‘reminder to pay’ calls or SMS to customers approaching payment deadlines.

Limited opening hours

When you rely on live agents to take payments and offer account information, you’re limiting your service to office hours. Even with a shift system in place, many contact centres can’t justify the expense of keeping the lights and air conditioning on after nightfall.

With payment IVR, you can run a 24 hour operation, 365 days a year. That increases satisfaction among customers who work unsocial hours or have busy lives and want to be able to complete financial housekeeping at a time of their choosing. It also reduces the chances of missed payments and payment defaults.

Customers understand that they can’t do everything at midnight. But they’re increasingly aware that paying bills and obtaining basic account information can and should be a round-the-clock service.

Insecure payments

If you take payments over the phone, you have to be PCI compliant at the very least. A PCI-compliant payment IVR can help you achieve compliance and handle payments and account enquiries in the most secure way.

That’s partly because an automated system is simply more secure than an agent noting down card details manually. With payment IVRs, sensitive information is processed securely within the system. With manual payments, a scribbled note containing sensitive information could end up anywhere. And though it’s unlikely that an unscrupulous agent will take customer card details, it’s not unheard of.

Payment IVRs can integrate with accounting software and debt management systems to automatically update account information too – win, win.

Secure payment processing for credit and collections teams

For efficient credit and collections, it’s essential to give customers easy ways to check accounts and make payments, while also reminding them when payments are due. At the same time, no business wants to spend unnecessary time and expense on chasing and taking payments. A modern, user-friendly and easily tailored IVR solution is becoming a standard tool in this arena, as businesses seek greater efficiency at lower cost.

Speak to an expert to find out more about our PCI-compliant payment IVR solutions.

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Customer satisfaction is intrinsically linked to strong business performance. In today’s world, customers have more power than ever and are able to share their experience with your business in a variety of ways – from online reviews to social media and beyond. This is great, if they’re talking about your organisation in a positive light, but what if you fail to provide a positive customer experience? Your customers will complain.

According to a recent survey by the Institute of Customer Service, customer complaints are at their highest level in 12 years. While Google search trends show searches for ‘how to complain’ have been rising steadily since 2010, reaching its peak in March 2021

Jo Causon, chief executive at The Institute of Customer Service, said: “We are at a critical juncture for the UK economy. As we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, customers have become ever more discerning with where they spend their money and it is essential that organisations pay close attention to their full service offering.”

Worryingly, 61% of consumers revealed that they believe UK businesses think their service is better than it is, in a new survey carried out by MaxContact.

So how do you know if the service you’re offering customers really meets their expectations? And how do you prevent complaints from happening, in order to protect your business?

Complaints aren’t all bad

The truth is, prevention isn’t always the cure. Customer complaints are actually essential for your business. Why? To learn from and continually improve.

No matter how much criticism hurts, it’s vital for growth. In fact, a study by Harvard Business Review found that customers who have a complaint handled in less than 5 minutes go on to spend more on future purchases

How to learn from complaints

Analyse

Are you seeing similar complaints cropping up over and over again? Identifying patterns and repetitions of particular complaints can help you to recognise key issues and work on areas of improvement. Customer complaints can help highlight areas where your product needs work, or where staff members may need extra training. By observing where complaints are focussed you’re able to prioritise and address issues clearly.

Create a feedback loop

Complaints open up opportunities for your team to have honest discussions with your customers. Create opportunities for a feedback loop and welcome suggested improvements into your business rather than waiting for customers to come to you. See it as an opportunity to improve rather than an attack on your organisation. Having open conversations with customers can help customers feel like the key components to your success that they are.

Create guidelines to support staff

Dealing with angry customers is tough at the best of times, but it’s made even more difficult if you don’t have the right support tools in place to help. Creating clear guidelines and policies for your staff is vital to turn the dissatisfied into satisfied customers, and align your team’s responses so complaints are dealt with consistently. In most cases, customers are looking for clarity, so having clear processes in place will provide a quality customer experience.

Multichannel approach

Be clear on how customers can complain to remove any further pain points. If your customer wants to complain but can’t find the right channel to do so, it’ll only cause more frustrations and potentially lead to a worse complaint. With more customers expecting organisations to interact through digital channels, having a multichannel approach to serve a variety of customer needs is vital.

Jo Causon, chief executive at The Institute of Customer Service, said: “Those brands that have performed best in the UKCSI are those that have maintained a key focus on the whole customer experience journey – providing honest, genuine communication across different channels.”

So instead of trying to mask over complaints or avoid them – embrace and learn from them to continually improve your customers’ experience.

MaxContact is a cloud contact centre solution provider, offering predictive outbound dialling and PCI-compliant omnichannel solutions built around your needs. Find out more about us.

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Since March 2020, how many times have you heard ‘due to Covid, we can’t do x, y and z’ or ‘there’s a delay due to Covid’? More than a handful, we bet, and over a year on, the excuse is starting to wear thin. Whilst Covid and its restrictions have seriously impacted people and businesses, UK consumers are fed up with brands STILL using Covid as an excuse for poor customer service.  

A recent UK study of 10,000 people (by the UK Institute of Customer Service) showed that a quarter of us said organisations had used Covid as an excuse for poor service, including late deliveries.

Jo Causon, the institute’s Chief Executive, stated that the crisis has “exposed” a lack of proper investment in service.

Increasing consumer demand, skills and people shortages and lack of proper investment in tech infrastructure have added an immense amount of pressure for companies walking the tight rope of pleasing customers whilst dealing with issues behind the scenes.  

And for what result? Complaints about customer service are at the highest level since 2009.  

In contrast to this, nearly a quarter of us have told a brand that we were happy with the service we received when we weren’t and well over half (55%) of us make excuses to end conversations with company representatives.  

So, what’s changed during the pandemic?

During just two weeks during the pandemic, the average company in a Harvard Business Review study saw the percentage of calls scored as ‘difficult’ more than double from a typical level of 10% to more than 20%.

Issues related to the pandemic dramatically increased the level of customer emotion and anxiety in service calls, making a job that is hard for reps on a ‘normal’ day far more challenging. In addition to this, teams were battling tech issues and working from home. The study showed ‘a massive uptick in instances of both customers and reps saying, “I can’t understand you,” and some companies in the study saw hold times balloon by as much as 34 percent and escalations (calls sent up the chain of command) skyrocket more than 68 percent’.

Where are brands going wrong?

Covering over the cracks

If your business has not got the right technology or systems in place, hasn’t got all the answers for customers, is running on less employees than is needed, and asking your customer-facing teams to do ‘their best’  – you’re creating a recipe for disaster. It’s time to realise the need for proper investment in the right tech, tools and staffing levels for teams to do their job properly.

Processes that help the company, not the customer

‘Due to our process…’ is probably one of the most irritating lines any customer can hear, with it instantly coming across as a get-out clause for anything slightly tricky, especially when said process does nothing to help a customer. Organisations shackle reps with standard customer-service policies (such as rules about extending bill payments) that pre-date the pandemic, and agents are often ‘powerless to help’. A study found that low-performing reps were 27% more likely to hide behind policy on Covid-19 related calls than their higher-performing peers.

The moral of the story is to update processes for the world we live in, giving agents the flexibility to amend based on the circumstances and thus adopting a customer-first approach.  

What is speech analytics?

Call centre speech analytics uses technology to analyse recorded phone conversations between call centre agents and customers. AI powered speech analysis helps to identify trends, patterns and areas for improvement in customer service, agent performance and overall contact centre operations.

Speech analytics isn’t a new thing. In fact, it’s been around for nearly two decades. But thanks to developments in AI and natural language processing (NLP), speech analytics is growing in popularity and is a powerful tool for contact centres. But why is speech analytics needed?

Why do call centres need speech analytics?

75% of customers will spend more to buy from a company that offers a good customer experience (CX). On the other hand, nearly half of consumers would ditch a brand for a competitor due to poor CX.

In other words, good CX is a huge win for your business. Customers who are happy with the experience you provide will spend more with your business, forgive your occasional mistakes and recommend your products and services to others.

The problem is that it’s not always clear if your customers rate their experience as highly as you hope they do.

Many customers stay silent about their issues, leading businesses to miss crucial feedback. It’s not malice on the customers’ part, but discomfort or wanting to avoid hassle. This silence hurts business and can result in low customer satisfaction (CSAT), higher customer churn rates and reduced sales revenue.

Businesses can’t fix what they don’t know. So, how do we encourage open communication for happier customers and thriving businesses?

How does speech analytics software work?

Speech analytics empowers contact centres by automatically analysing call recordings to understand both agent performance and customer sentiment. It identifies keywords and phrases which reveal customer satisfaction or frustration, even if they didn’t explicitly say it. Looking beyond spoken statements, speech analytics software analyses voice characteristics, like intonation and pitch, picking up on emotions such as happiness, anger or confusion.

To measure agent performance, call centre speech analytics tracks metrics such as time on hold and silence periods, giving insights into both agent efficiency and customer satisfaction.

How is speech analytics used to improve contact centre operations?

The ability to analyse every customer interaction is a powerful tool but how is speech analytics used and what are the benefits?

1. Real-time speech analytics software can boost customer satisfaction by 20% and reduce churn

• Proactive Issue Identification: Speech analytics can be used to understand call drivers including emerging problems. Real-time call analysis can alert agents to any new issues and encourage them to address the issue and implement corrective measures to nip the problem in the bud.
• Real-time Sentiment Analysis: Call agents are able gauge customer emotions more accurately throughout the call, allowing them to ease any frustrations and personalise interactions, which all lead to happier customers.
• Targeted Upselling Opportunities: Eradicate the need for relying on your agent’s memory of what’s been said on the call. Real-time analysis can review calls and push alerts to agents to discuss new products or services, driving revenue by 10%.

2. Insights from ai speech analytics can be used to improve agent performance and drive engagement

• Personalised Coaching: Coaching your call centre agents is easy with post-call analysis. Review performance and develop targeted training and development plans based on individual strengths and weaknesses.
• Compliance & Quality Assurance: AI-led speech analytics can automate compliance checks across all calls. Real-time analysis (alongside post-call analysis) also prompt agents to read the relevant scripts while the call is taking place. This leads to increased agent compliance and reduces the risk of fines associated with non-compliance.
• Performance Benchmarks and Recognition: Use insights from speech analytics to identify and reward high-performing agents and showcase their successes to motivate and inspire the entire team.

3. Automated call analysis can be used to enhance quality management and call handling efficiency

• Quality management: Be more confident in the validity of your quality scores and agent assessments with speech analytics software that automates analysis of all calls rather than relying on a small sample of contact centre interactions.
• Reduce average handling time (AHT): Customers want quick and efficient resolutions over the phone. Speech analytics software can give you powerful insights that help you design better scripts to reduce AHT and cut costs.

One solution to the problem of reticent customers is speech analytics. You’ve probably come across hype around speech analytics before – the technology has been around for nearly two decades. The difference today is that it actually works.

The industry certainly seems to think so too. One recent study estimated that the market for speech analytics will grow at a CAGR of 22.14% over the next five years. And we believe its popularity is entirely justified.

Why choose AI-led speech analytics from MaxContact?

Our speech analytics software will help you to make better business decisions, and understand the ‘why’ behind 100% of your contact centre interactions.

We’ve kept it simple

High-level data is displayed on an intuitive dashboard and further information can be accessed from a central control panel. Simple to set up and easy to understand, MaxContact ai speech analytics provides sophisticated insights at the click of a button.

Powerful filtering at your fingertips

Our advanced solution pre filters nearly 70% of critical and problematic conversations that need further attention. This lets contact centre managers focus on priority issues before it’s too late. Thanks to faster response times, timely interventions and streamlined operations, managers can enhance performance and improve customer satisfaction by coaching agents in real-time.

Easy to integrate

And if all this sounds expensive and complex, it really isn’t. We offer a fully integrated platform designed to work seamlessly with our feature-rich, cloud-based contact centre software.

Speech analytics from MaxContact gives you the information you need to deliver market-leading CX, even if your customers are not always as candid about your service as you’d like them to be.
Book a customised demo to learn how our AI-led speech analytics can understand customer sentiment, improve call quality, and reduce churn in your contact centre.

Leveraging speech analytics for contact centre improvement

Book a customised demo to learn how our AI-led speech analytics can understand customer sentiment, improve call quality, and reduce churn in your contact centre.

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