Headsets on the horizon: the future of wireless in the contact center.Contact centers are constantly challenged to improve customer satisfaction and agent productivity. Many are turning to wireless headsets See headset. to help meet these challenges. In a contact center, new wireless headsets help improve call speed resolution of customer problems and enable floor supervisors to remain "on call" and engaged even when they're away from their desks.Ensuring Customer Satisfaction The success of most contact centers is judged by customer satisfaction levels. While there are many elements that impact customer interactions, the speedy resolution of problems is one of the most important. Wireless mobility helps floor supervisors solve customer problems in real time without the need to put customers on hold or call them back once they've retrieved the necessary information. Floor supervisors can be more efficient, thus decreasing call time, by moving about the office to perform supportive tasks and actively engage with agents. The latest headsets let users roam hundreds of feet away from their desks, with excellent call clarity, while staying connected. In the event that a call needs to be escalated to a supervisor, hold time is minimized, since the supervisor is available to answer the call even if away from their desk with the remote call answer/end capabilities of the newest wireless headsets on the market. The supervisor can also visit the agent's desk to lend support and provide quicker resolution. Whether new hire orientation or a refresher session with a senior agent, keeping the agents properly trained is a round-the-clock task. Wireless headsets increase training effectiveness by allowing the coach to observe agents' key strokes and body language from afar without the agent knowing--eliminating the need for desk side monitoring. This creates a more natural training environment, where supervisors can gain a true assessment of agent performance. Guaranteeing Employee Comfort and Convenience In addition to the well-known ergonomic ergonomic - Concerning ergonomics or exhibitting good ergonimics. benefits of headsets, the latest wireless systems provide other features that are useful for contact centers. For example, most headsets now offer extended battery life so that contact center associates can work an entire shift without having to stop and plug in to recharge re·charge tr.v. re·charged, re·charg·ing, re·charg·es To charge again, especially to reenergize a storage battery. re the battery. Some systems also offer a base that easily pairs with several different headsets so that as shifts change, agents can immediately start working. Using a shared base also helps lower expenses as contact centers only purchase an additional headset Headphones combined with a microphone. Used in call centers and by people in telephone-intensive jobs, headsets provide the equivalent functionality of a telephone handset with hands-free operation. Many people use headsets at the computer so they can converse and type comfortably. top, versus an entire system. Maintaining Sound Quality One of the main elements affecting a customer's impression of a contact center is the sound quality that the customer encounters. Background noise and crackling crack·ling n. 1. The production of a succession of slight sharp snapping noises. 2. cracklings The crisp bits that remain after rendering fat from meat or frying or roasting the skin, especially of a pig or a goose. audio can make a contact center seem unprofessional, no matter how skilled the agent. The latest wireless headsets have noise-canceling microphones that filter background noise and enable crisp audio quality. Digital signal processing See DSP. Digital Signal Processing - (DSP) Computer manipulation of analog signals (commonly sound or image) which have been converted to digital form (sampled). (DSP (1) (Digital Signal Processor) A special-purpose CPU used for digital signal processing applications (see definition #2 below). It provides ultra-fast instruction sequences, such as shift and add, and multiply and add, which are commonly used in math-intensive ) is a new technology that some of the latest headsets use to mitigate echo and uneven amplitude. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Headsets that are 1.9GHz DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) A cordless phone standard mostly used in Europe; however, DECT 6.0 is increasingly used worldwide. The first DECT standards were introduced by ETSI in 1992, and DECT phones have been used as cordless home phones as 6.0-compliant are gaining popularity in contact center environments because they promote clear calls without interference from typical office equipment, like Wi-Fi networks See wireless Ethernet and 802.11. , security systems and microwave ovens. These headsets are particularly attractive because they operate in a protected, voice-dedicated frequency. Today's wireless headsets are compatible with a variety of telephony infrastructures, including IP, and legacy PBX (Private Branch eXchange) An inhouse telephone switching system that interconnects telephone extensions to each other as well as to the outside telephone network (PSTN). equipment. This is beneficial, as audio deterioration, like latency issues, pops and ticks, often occurs as a result of incompatible signals or equipment. It's clear that wireless headsets offer contact centers many benefits that can help improve service and impact the bottom line. As innovations in the space continue to develop, so will the positive affects on contact centers. By Joe McGrogan, Directory of Marketing, B2B (Business to Business) Refers to one business communicating with or selling to another. See B2B e-commerce, B2C and B2G. B2B - business to business Solutions, Plantronics, Inc. |
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