BY STEVE ERICKSON, CYBER ACOUSTICS

Whether remote or on-premise, providing agents with top-tier headsets and training them in proper usage and care is essential for delivering exceptional CXs and maintaining operational efficiency.

These devices have emerged as the unsung heroes of the trade. They not only ensure clear, professional communication, especially in noisy home environments, but they also drive down costs for contact centers while improving agent satisfaction.

With the correct technology and coaching in place, both remote as well as on-premise agents can remain productive and successful.

36 CONTACT CENTER PIPELINE

ILLUSTRATION PROVIDED BY ADOBE STOCK

Here are three tips for supporting both types of environments.

1. PROVIDE REMOTE AND ON-PREMISE AGENTS WITH THE SAME QUALITY HEADSETS One of the biggest hurdles with remote agents is loud home environments. Remote work often means an endless cacophony from kids, traffic, ACs or fans, dogs and other animals, outdoor workers, and a million other random bursts of noise. Sounds that would not leave a professional impression on a customer seeking agent support.

To mitigate this, it’ s crucial to provide all remote agents with the same technology that you would if they were working in the call center. And the most critical piece of hardware is headsets with environmental noise cancellation so powerful that no matter what is going on around the agents, the customers will only hear their voices.

While there is much debate around the use of artificial intelligence( AI) technology in business, one area where it shines is noise cancellation.

Today there are headsets leveraging AI noise reduction within the microphones( mics). These perform so well it eliminates the need for contact centers to pay for noise-cancelling software licenses, which are designed to work in conjunction with an agent’ s hardware to improve the audio quality of calls for customers.

This advanced AI-using technology offers significant cost savings to call centers. These lower operating costs can, in turn, provide more budget for training programs and streamline IT departments ' workflow, all from a single headset with the right technology.

2. HOW BEST TO CHOOSE AND

SUPPLY HEADSETS The most critical element of choosing agent headsets is ensuring the best performance in any environment. Whether it’ s a well-designed facility with superior acoustics, an open-air office with tall ceilings or concrete floors, or remote work, they bring with them the possibility for a wide range of uncontrollable sounds.