280:, etc. Turnover is high among agents engaged in this kind of work because the task is tedious and emotionally difficult. It is tedious because you spend the bulk of your day, not talking to qualified leads, but in getting wrong numbers and answering machines. As good and as ubiquitous as predictive dialing technology has become, it still makes a lot of mistakes because the phone number inputs are outdated. It is emotionally difficult work because, beyond the tedium, you spend a lot of time hearing the word "No!", getting hung-up on, and cussed at. The pre-recorded audio allows you to dispense with wrong numbers and answering machines while you move onto the next call. Agents can easily handle two or three overlapping calls, an immediate productivity hit. Additionally, agents using the technology don't seem to take the gruff treatment as personally. They report that it feels as if the customer is saying "no" to the software, not to them. Finally, contribution amounts and conversion rates can be improved by adding some intelligence into the scripts, for example by raising and lowering the initial contribution amount based on the wealth of the area you are calling into or using pre-recorded audio with different accents, Southern when calling in the South, for example. Another benefit of the technology is that it enables the work to be done by lower cost agents in offshore locations.
309:
Moreover, there are significant individual differences between agents in their intelligence, personality, motivations, etc. which all affect performance. Despite the large amount of money call centers have spent over decades trying to reduce between-agent variation, the problem is still so prevalent that one large study of customer interactions with call centers found that a customer's experience was completely a function of the quality of the agent who happened to answer the phone.
83:
25:
244:. ID theft and credit card fraud are huge threats for call centers and their customers and few good solutions exist, but new agent-assisted automation solutions are producing promising results. The technology allows the agents to remain on the phone while the customers use their phone key pads to enter the information. The tones are masked and the information passes directly into the
300:
Second, in theory, the more steps that can be automated and the more logic that can be built into the call flow (e.g., if the customer buys items 2 and 9, then disclosures a, c, and f are read by the pre-recorded audio), then companies may be able to reduce the amount of training that is required of
186:
technology that automates elements of what the call center agent 1) does with his/her desktop tools and/or 2) says to customers during the call using pre-recorded audio. It is a relatively new category of call center technology that shows promise in improving call center productivity and compliance.
296:
In some cases, the agent-assisted automation streamlines the process and allows calls to be handled more quickly. By eliminating cutting and pasting from one application to another, by auto-navigating applications, and by providing a single view of the customer, agent-assisted automation can reduce
224:
Phone surveys are ideal applications of this technology. Whether surveying market preferences or political views, the pre-recorded audio with an agent listening allows the questions to be asked in the same way every time, uninfluenced by the agents' fatigue levels, accents, or their own views.
204:
or as soundboard technology) is another form of agent-assisted automation. The purpose of using pre-recorded messages is to increase the probability (and in some cases error-proof the process so) that the right information is provided to customers at the right time. The required disclosures are
308:
is between-agent variation in behavior and results. Agents differ in the amount of training and coaching they receive, they differ in the amount of experience they have, their jobs are repetitious and tiring, and the process and procedures the agents are supposed to follow constantly change.
316:
the process and ensures that something that needs to be done or said happens every time. Properly implemented, the between-agent variation for whatever step of the process the automation is applied to may be able to be reduced to near zero. This is especially important in a
292:
has benefited manufacturing by reducing the mental and physical effort required of workers while simultaneously improving throughput, quality, and safety, agent-assisted automation is improving call center results while reducing the tiring aspects of the job for agents.
252:
in the case of credit card transactions. The automation essentially makes it impossible for call center agents and also call center personnel that might be monitoring the calls to steal the
35:
398:
209:
software, the right combination of disclosures can be played based on the combination of goods and services the customer purchased. The integration with the
360:
46:
379:
417:
147:
301:
the agents while at the same time ensuring more consistency and accuracy. However, no published studies have reported this result yet.
100:
119:
461:
126:
312:
Therefore, the most significant benefit of agent-assisted automation may prove to be in how the automation error-proofs or
133:
257:
322:
213:
software also ensures that the order cannot be submitted until the disclosures are played, essentially error-proofing (
115:
166:
64:
402:
245:
210:
206:
430:
Fleming, J., Coffman, C., Harter, J. (July-August, 2005) Manage Your Human Sigma, Harvard
Business Review, p.111
104:
201:
471:
444:
140:
42:
39:
that states a
Knowledge editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic.
93:
205:
pre-recorded to ensure accuracy and understandability. By integrating the recordings with the
8:
466:
253:
218:
318:
241:
233:
268:
Another specialized application space of agent-assisted automation is in outbound
341:
249:
455:
269:
305:
277:
273:
183:
289:
236:
is a specialized type of agent-assisted automation focused on reducing
445:
http://www.nationalcallcenters.org/images/stories/InQueue/vol3no12.pdf
313:
272:, which goes under numerous headings including outbound prospecting,
214:
82:
237:
399:"Improving Call Center Agent Productivity and Customer Service"
217:) the process of ensuring the customer gets all the required
418:"Fixing Between-agent Variation Can Make All the Difference"
321:
whose processes and procedures are closely regulated by the
361:"Almost Human: The Surreal Cyborg Future of Telemarketing"
36:
personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay
190:
107:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
297:call handle time and increase agent productivity.
453:
439:Patel, S. (2008) How to win a no-win situation.
200:Pre-recorded audio (sometimes referred to as
377:
401:. connectionsmagazine.com. Archived from
263:
167:Learn how and when to remove this message
65:Learn how and when to remove this message
358:
380:"Automated Outbound Sales Go High-Tech"
454:
396:
195:
105:adding citations to reliable sources
76:
18:
378:Schelmetic, Tracey (January 2014).
342:"Overseas credit card scam exposed"
258:personally identifiable information
256:, social security number, or other
228:
13:
359:Madrigal, Alexis (December 2013).
323:Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
191:Types of agent-assisted automation
14:
483:
415:
397:Carden, Francis (November 2009).
246:customer relationship management
211:customer relationship management
207:customer relationship management
81:
23:
92:needs additional citations for
462:Computer telephony integration
433:
424:
409:
390:
371:
352:
334:
304:But an even larger problem in
16:Type of call center technology
1:
328:
202:soundboard (computer program)
7:
283:
116:"Agent-assisted automation"
10:
488:
180:Agent-assisted automation
264:Outbound telemarketing
45:by rewriting it in an
101:improve this article
472:Workflow technology
219:consumer protection
254:credit card number
196:Pre-recorded audio
47:encyclopedic style
34:is written like a
348:. March 19, 2009.
319:collection agency
242:credit card fraud
177:
176:
169:
151:
75:
74:
67:
479:
447:
437:
431:
428:
422:
421:
420:. isixsigma.com.
413:
407:
406:
394:
388:
387:
375:
369:
368:
356:
350:
349:
338:
276:, solicitation,
234:Fraud prevention
229:Fraud prevention
172:
165:
161:
158:
152:
150:
109:
85:
77:
70:
63:
59:
56:
50:
27:
26:
19:
487:
486:
482:
481:
480:
478:
477:
476:
452:
451:
450:
438:
434:
429:
425:
416:Adsit, Dennis.
414:
410:
395:
391:
376:
372:
357:
353:
340:
339:
335:
331:
286:
266:
250:payment gateway
231:
198:
193:
173:
162:
156:
153:
110:
108:
98:
86:
71:
60:
54:
51:
43:help improve it
40:
28:
24:
17:
12:
11:
5:
485:
475:
474:
469:
464:
449:
448:
432:
423:
408:
405:on 2014-03-03.
389:
370:
351:
332:
330:
327:
285:
282:
265:
262:
230:
227:
197:
194:
192:
189:
175:
174:
89:
87:
80:
73:
72:
31:
29:
22:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
484:
473:
470:
468:
465:
463:
460:
459:
457:
446:
442:
436:
427:
419:
412:
404:
400:
393:
385:
381:
374:
366:
362:
355:
347:
346:bbc.co.uk.com
343:
337:
333:
326:
324:
320:
315:
310:
307:
302:
298:
294:
291:
281:
279:
275:
271:
270:telemarketing
261:
259:
255:
251:
247:
243:
239:
235:
226:
222:
221:information.
220:
216:
212:
208:
203:
188:
185:
182:is a type of
181:
171:
168:
160:
157:November 2022
149:
146:
142:
139:
135:
132:
128:
125:
121:
118: –
117:
113:
112:Find sources:
106:
102:
96:
95:
90:This article
88:
84:
79:
78:
69:
66:
58:
55:November 2022
48:
44:
38:
37:
32:This article
30:
21:
20:
440:
435:
426:
411:
403:the original
392:
383:
373:
365:The Atlantic
364:
354:
345:
336:
311:
306:call centers
303:
299:
295:
287:
278:fund-raising
274:cold calling
267:
232:
223:
199:
179:
178:
163:
154:
144:
137:
130:
123:
111:
99:Please help
94:verification
91:
61:
52:
33:
184:call center
467:Automation
456:Categories
384:tmcnet.com
329:References
290:automation
248:system or
127:newspapers
314:poka-yoke
215:poka-yoke
441:In Queue
288:Just as
284:Benefits
238:ID theft
141:scholar
41:Please
143:
136:
129:
122:
114:
148:JSTOR
134:books
240:and
120:news
103:by
458::
443:.
382:.
363:.
344:.
325:.
260:.
386:.
367:.
170:)
164:(
159:)
155:(
145:·
138:·
131:·
124:·
97:.
68:)
62:(
57:)
53:(
49:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.