As a Service

Posted on January 30, 2010 by admin

One of the ways companies can utilize call center software is to contract with software as a service providers or SaaS companies.

What does Software as a Service mean?

Software as a Service means that the software is hosted by a company on their equipment or uploaded to your site and you utilize the software under a monthly license fee. You get the software and guidance for setting up a call center without buying an expensive telephone system, ACD and IVR equipment. It is a pay as you go type plan with all the features built in and ready to go.

You can usually choose the type of package you want with the features and service options that you need, without buying the entire software program and all the equipment to go with it. Often using SaaS options mean you can start a call center or make changes within hours instead of weeks or months.

Benefits

Virtual or hosted call center software can reduce startup costs, keep ongoing operational costs under control and steady, and allow small businesses to operate and utilize the same functionality as larger premise-based businesses. SaaS companies can help call centers improve customer satisfaction by providing services and features that otherwise might not be affordable. Call centers can utilize flexible staffing options that include having remote agents working from home, in the United States and in other countries.

Starting a call center can be done within forty-eight hours or less. A call center would need agents to have a computer with headset plugged in, and broadband internet service. The hosted call center software company will do the rest.

Once the original set up has been completed, the call center management team can manage the agents with reporting and the ability to add, delete and make changes at will.

Utilizing software as a service provider means your company faces no capital expenditures. You won’t have to provide expensive infrastructure or pay and wait for telephone lines to be installed. You won’t have to maintain equipment or hire programmers. The service provider will maintain the equipment, disaster recovery plans, maintenance and upgrades for the call center.

If you need additional lines for seasonal peaks, or want the flexibility to manage a special campaign that lasts a short period of time, you can be flexible without having to add and subtract hard resources. There is no need to increase space, buy more office furniture and add more telephone lines.

On Demand Call Center

Imagine being able to respond to clients immediately. As soon as you can hire agents, your service can be configured, up and running in the increments that you can handle. There are tools that let you scale up or down as needed. Whether you have ten agents, or hundreds of agents you can get the features, reporting and functionality your business requires.

Inbound Call Center Features

Many of the SaaS companies provide a suite of services and features specific to Inbound call Centers. These features include automatic call distribution and interactive voice response. The service companies will provide you with Toll-Free numbers and voice recording options.

Even remote agents can be monitored and the system will provide real time and historical reporting. Your company can take advantage of the increased cost advantages of VOIP or Voice over IP service and voicemail for your agents.

Outbound Call Center Features

Features that are specific to Outbound Call Centers include the ability to utilize Predictive Dialers. Predictive Dialing means that the software will dial the next contact without the agent being on the line. When a live body is detected the call is transferred to an available agent.

Industry statistics imply that predictive dialing can increase your customer contact rates by 400%. Agents don’t have to dial the phone, wait for a busy signal or the ringing to end and then hang up and try again when no one answers the phone or the call goes to voicemail or a recording. A good predictive dialer will adjust to the centers calling patterns, the number of agents logged into the system, and what the average call length is running. Many will do this without human intervention.

SaaS companies offer Call Scripting, list management and help you stay in compliance with federal, state and local regulations. You can record calls, utilize voice mail and generate real-time reports.

Summary

If you are researching call center software, make sure you take a look at what the software for a service provider can do for you. Many of the companies have questionnaires online that you can fill out and get an immediate quote.

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Virtual Call Center Software

Posted on January 30, 2010 by admin

A Virtual Call Center has no need for a brick and mortar building and can give your Remote Agents a way to work at home with the full functionality of any call center.

Call Center software can give your company the ability to incorporate remote agents, or run a call center made up entirely of at-home workers. The advantages to allowing remote agents are many. From cutting overhead expenses to lessoning your carbon footprint, this may be a great option for your call center.

Consider adding remote agents if your center needs to expand but there is no room, or offer the remote agent option as a great benefit to your employees. If your center is in an area where weather is a factor in daily commutes, the agents won’t be restricted by snow, traffic or other factors.

Now your center can hire great people who need to work at home because of family conditions or long commute times. And you won’t be restricted by space and parking, just imagine the possibilities. This opens up your resources to hire handicapped individuals, older agents, and single parents as part of your call center staff. The remote agents will operate the computer screens and phone line as they would if they were in an on-site call center.

Remote Agents & Remote Access Call Centers

Call center software often includes the functionality of remote agents and supervisors. Usually connected over the internet, these agents have the full functionality to voice and data as is offered in a physical call center.

Remote agents can accept inbound calls, make outbound calls, or do both from their homes. You can even utilize a predictive dialer with remote agents. They would be included in any reporting and you will have real-time access to their statistics and login status.

The Technology

Your remote agents will need a telephone line and computer. Generally the call center software programs are geared to Windows based PCs. The agent will also need internet access and the remote call center software loaded onto the computer.

The central database and systems will have varying requirements. Some systems require that you have a phone switch; some call center software just requires internet access and the specific software loaded on a management computer. The requirements will depend on whether or not all your agents are remote agents, or if you have a central call center with only some of the agents working remotely.

Some systems and software will even allow you to provide your remote call center agents with the ability to utilize an agent select, call record function.

Predictive Dialing

Many remote agent call center software programs will support predictive dialing. Predictive Dialing means that the software will dial the next contact without the agent being on the line. When someone on the other end answers the phone and a live hello, versus an answering machine being detected, the call is transferred to an available agent.

This keeps the agent working, instead of dialing numbers and dealing with busy signals and voicemail. The agents are tracked separately and the call center software will funnel inbound calls to an available agent.

Some systems will even allow voice monitoring of remote agents. The monitoring capability allows supervisors to ‘listen in’ and ensure the remote agents are providing high standards of service.

Reporting

With remote agents, you still get all the reporting abilities of an on-site center. Utilize contact management, call history, and order entry reports for training and follow up with your agents. The reports can be generated on a campaign level, agent level and supervisory level.

Functionality

The features and functionality of a remote agent can mimic what would be available in a central call center. This can even include the ability to transfer a call if needed or conference in a supervisor.

Benefit Overview

The obvious benefits include needing less office and parking space. But you will find you have a broader base for recruiting agents and these agents are often more motivated and loyal because of the opportunity to work at home. This in turn can reduce agent turnover.

The not so obvious benefit is the raise in production in having an efficient, stay at home workforce. I’ve worked at home for years. One thing I’ve noticed versus going in to an office, there’s no logging out to talk to the people next to you, or extending a lunch or coffee break to catch up on office politics. You will also find that the saving both to you and your employees is real. Energy conservation means less money spent. Less gasoline consumption for the agents, as well as reduced heating and air-conditioning usage if much of your work force isn’t in a central location. You’ll also have less sick-time and negligible weather-related absences.

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Management Options

Posted on January 30, 2010 by admin

As you review and research call center software, don’t forget to take a good look at the management options of the software.

Not all call center software is created equal. One of the most important aspects of this type of software is the management options. If you have robust reporting, training and supervisory options, then you can optimize your agents’ success.

Call Recordings

Don’t overlook this option. Make sure you understand what you get with call recording and what the functionality of the specific call center software program includes. Call Recordings allow you to play back calls for training purposes. This generates real examples of both good and bad calls.

Call recording will also be utilized to manage compliance management and ensure call center consistency. If a customer calls with a complaint, you’ll want to be able to search the call recording database for a specific call. How many calls can be saved in the database? As you get close to choosing a software program for your center, make sure you understand all the parameters and restrictions with this feature.

You will want to ensure your recording options include the ability to initiate the call at the agent, supervisor or automatic level.

Reporting Options

The reporting options of call center software will allow you manage all the data generated by the agents, the automatic call distributer or ACD, and the interactive voice response or IVR. Many software options will have dozens if not hundreds of standard reports available. There should also be customizable options.

You may want the ability to export the data from the reports into multiple file types. There are options available to view reports in real time, have the reports sent to an email at preprogrammed periods, or some have reports that are only generated every twenty-four hours.

Reports need to be easy to read, and you may need the option to manipulate data to be utilized for agent specific training. Other options allow you to generate client specific reports versus management team reports. Often the data you give the client is different than what you will need training programs and to see how scripting is affecting call times and support options.

If you can’t understand the reports and manipulate the data, the reporting package won’t be useful. Get copies of sample reports before you choose the right call center software for your company. Look at the reports and ask questions about the customizable features for future needs.

Predictive Dialing

If your call center does any outbound calling, you are going to want to understand the predictive dialing options provided by the call center software you choose. Predictive Dialing means that the software will dial the next contact without the agent being on the line. When someone on the other end answers the phone and a live hello, versus an answering machine is detected, the call is transferred to an available agent.

Industry statistics imply that predictive dialing can increase your customer contact rates by 400%. Agents don’t have to dial the phone, wait for a busy signal or the ringing to end and then hang up and try again when no one answers the phone or the call goes to voicemail or a recording. Only calls with a live body are transferred to the call center agents.

A good predictive dialer will adjust to the centers calling patterns, the number of agents logged into the system, and what the average call length is running. Many will do this without human intervention.

Compliance Regulations

Some predictive dialers and other options within call center software will help you manage the federal, state, and local compliance regulations. From federal ‘Do Not Call Lists,’ to managing time zones and the ‘two second rule,’ having programmed assistance in managing compliance will be an asset to your company.

The two second rule is an FCC regulation that states your agent has to be available within two seconds of a predictive dialer connecting to a live caller. If an agent isn’t available, there must be a recorded message played giving the name and phone number of the seller.

There are other federal regulations governing call abandonment and several other statistics. State and local governments can add to the list. If you run a call center it is important you know these regulations, and have the reporting data to show you are in compliance. There are fines and punishments for not having the correct data if asked, or meeting the regulations.

So as you narrow down your options for call center software, remember that reporting is an option you need to investigate—especially if you plan to use predictive dialing. Because call center software programs can vary greatly in their reporting feature set, it’s important to understand what each can do for you.

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