Call center compliance is something that is often talked about, but commonly misunderstood.
Most people on the phones can’t fathom a lawsuit happening from something they said – especially agents who are on the phone most of the day.
They are following protocols and scripts to help them stay in compliance.
But call center compliance is often a huge weight on the shoulders of managers especially if they are onboarding new agents consistently.
What is call center compliance?
Compliance is a crucial aspect of any organization, especially call centers. It ensures that the company follows all of the necessary regulations and laws.
There are many reasons that call centers have struggled around maintaining the highest level of compliance. Most of those are due to the constant changing of regulations as well as having a deep understanding of the specific laws:
- Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
- Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
Identifying the struggles
1) Staying up to date with the ever-changing regulations.
This is why compliance remains such an important and large part of call center operations.
It can be challenging to maintain and requires effort and resources that most agents do not see every day. This includes the continuous training and onboarding that call center managers have to deal with on a daily basis.
Companies that utilize Medicare, for example, are now being required to record conversations with customers. Plus the recordings must be stored for a minimum of 10 years.
Changes like this are constantly happening.
2) Ensuring agents are following procedures
Falling out of compliance means different things to different levels of the organization. Agents might not realize the impact of being sued whereas owners understand that could mean going out of business.
This is why training should be relatable to whoever you’re speaking with. It will resonate and provide a better understanding of why compliance and following procedures are so critical.
3) Customer service agent inconsistencies
Increases in call volume and training can lead to inconsistencies in the way calls are handled, which can result in compliance issues.
Mundane tasks or overworked agents can easily change the way a call is handled, which can cause customer disservice.
Check out this QA audit checklist you can steal!
What are some of the best practices that call centers follow?
Call centers will continue to play a crucial role when it comes to customer service and sales. Ensuring your call center compliance will also always be a top priority.
Let’s dive into some of the best practices we’ve learned over the past few years working with call centers.
Training & Education
To ensure compliance and the highest level of customer service, continuing education should remain a priority. With agent turnover, there are consistently new faces that need to learn how your company handles each situation.
From speaking directly with customers to documenting calls, and how/when to escalate difficult situations.
Automated Quality Assurance
Of course, you need someone in charge of quality assurance to ensure your processes are running smoothly. However, where most companies fail is the lack of automation.
It’s better to have “eyes” on every call than it is only 20% of the calls. And whether you like it or not, AI can help ensure every call is reviewed and scored. Any call that gets flagged can be further reviewed by a person to ensure your agents are meeting your quality standards.
To Script or Not to Script
Call scripts can get a bad rap. While we want our team to have the freedom to showcase their personality and connect with customers, it’s vital that they meet compliance standards. This is why there are certain phrases/sentences that have to be scripted.
While you can let introductions or sign-offs be personalized by the agent, as well as any other portions of the call that you see fit.
Audits
While no company likes an official audit, it’s important to conduct regular internal team audits to ensure everyone is following your call center compliance guidelines. This is a great way to identify any gaps and work on a solution to fix them.
Tech, Tech, Tech
With how fast technology is evolving, you would be silly to not invest in software that can benefit your call center. Compared to two years ago, there has been such an advancement in AI and machine learning, you should most definitely have a tool implemented to help with call center compliance.
Not sure where to start?
We have some great resources:
- 8 Best Agent Assist Software
- Best Call Intelligence Software to check out
- Building a Sales Tech Stack
Next Steps In Your Compliance Journey
Hopefully, this post helped you identify any gaps or needs your team might need as you look to step up your call center compliance game.
There will always be best practices to follow, but most important is ensuring that you’re building your customer’s trust. What may work for one call center, might not work for you.
Always be learning, evaluating, and reviewing your current processes to see how you can make small improvements that could yield bigger results.
If you’re looking for an AI solution to help guide your agents through every call, then look no further than Abstrakt. We promise you’ll be blown away by our technology.