In the first part, we reviewed some technologies that enable more productive contact centre services, like speech analytics, automatic call distributors and predictive diallers. We look at other clever applications that make a real difference in the day-to-day management of a call centre.

Session initiation protocols (SIP)

SIPs are often used in conjunction with Internet Protocol technologies such as VoIP (Voice over the Internet Protocol), i.e. using an internet connection to make phone calls. The beauty of those applications is the amazing flexibility they give companies in terms of their ability to handle variable volumes of calls.

With physical phone lines, if you wanted to increase the capacity of a contact centre, you needed to buy more lines which you wouldn’t need once the temporary call peak was over. That left you with two options: either you decided not to upgrade and that your customers would have to wait longer to be able to talk to you – not a good idea – or you over-invested in equipment which ate into your profit

SIP put an end to this conundrum. Changing call capacity involves nothing more than switching a connection on or off so companies can always deliver the same level of service while controlling costs.

Rich presence

Rich presence allows the identification of a caller’s location as soon as they are connected to a network. It enables others to know that someone else is connected and also, to some extent, what they are doing. How much information is divulged is set by the user’s preferences and privacy laws.

It can be useful for any organisation needing to locate its customers or members such as roadside assistance or emergency services for example. It is being increasingly used for online chat.

Email response management

It is easy to focus and all-singing, all-dancing technologies and forget to get the basics right. Keeping track of emails is one of the essentials of contact centres so make sure that you invest in good email management software. It enables you to define handling rules, track emails’ status, send automated replies and follow up effectively.

There are many reasons why a company might outsource their contact centre. If it is time for you to do so, call CorporateConnect, NZ’s premier contact centre, on 0800 230 000 or via our contact form.