... BY LEVERAG- ING AI-POWERED TOOLS, CONTACT CENTERS CAN ADOPT A MORE COMPREHENSIVE AND SYSTEMAT- IC APPROACH TO COMPLIANCE MONITORING AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
Therefore, organizations must integrate multiple strategies to keep up.
THE COST OF GETTING IT WRONG
Organizations that fail to comply with regulations can face devastating consequences. The most immediate and obvious risk is financial. Regulatory bodies have the authority to impose significant fines for breaches.
Here are just a few examples. For the Information Commissioner ' s Office( ICO), maximum penalties for a violation can reach up to £ 17.5 million( approximately USD $ 22.7 million at presstime), or 4 % of annual global turnover, whichever is higher.
GDPR fines can be equally or more devastating. Violations can cost organizations up to € 20 million( approximately USD $ 21.9 million) or 4 % of a company ' s global turnover, whichever is higher. In 2024, GDPR fines hit € 1.2 billion( approximately USD $ 1.3 billion) as breach reports increased by 8.3 %.
Beyond fines, regulatory failures can erode customer trust. When customers lose confidence that their data is secure or that they are being treated fairly, they take their business elsewhere. In the worst-case scenarios, public backlash can lead to a customer exodus, forcing companies to invest heavily in damage control: if they can recover at all.
In addition, non-compliance impacts employees, including frontline contact center agents. When a company faces regulatory trouble, employee morale suffers. The uncertainty, increased scrutiny, and potential financial instability can create stress and reduce productivity and increase pressure on frontline workers.
In extreme cases, compliance failures can lead to business closure. The collapse of payday lender Wonga in 2018 was largely driven by regulatory crackdowns on unfair lending practices.
The company was forced to pay out compensation, and when its financial model became unsustainable under stricter regulations, it went out of business.
26 CONTACT CENTER PIPELINE
HOLISTIC IS BEST
There is no single solution to achieving compliance: and preventing the costly impact of violations. Instead, businesses must take a comprehensive approach that involves understanding regulations, implementing the right processes, leveraging technology, and ensuring employees are well-trained.
... BY LEVERAG- ING AI-POWERED TOOLS, CONTACT CENTERS CAN ADOPT A MORE COMPREHENSIVE AND SYSTEMAT- IC APPROACH TO COMPLIANCE MONITORING AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
Step 1: Understand the compliance landscape
The first step to managing compliance is understanding which of the regulatory requirements apply to your business. This is not always straightforward. Many organizations operate across multiple industries, each with their own regulatory frameworks.
Also, an organization may not be located in a particular country but if they are selling to that country’ s consumers, the same regulations apply. For example, an energy provider selling home heating solutions in the UK might have to comply with:
• Energy sector regulations from Ofgem, which ensure fair pricing and responsible customer treatment.
• Financial services regulations, if offering financing products for boiler insurance.
• Consumer protection laws governing warranties and sales practices.
One of the biggest challenges organizations face is simply knowing where to look for relevant regulations. Many businesses only realize they have overlooked a requirement after it’ s too late.
Regularly reviewing policies and processes against the latest regulations is essential. Many regulatory bodies, such as the FCA, publish guidance and updates that businesses can subscribe to, ensuring they remain informed of changes.
Step 2: Use data to strengthen compliance
Traditional compliance monitoring in the contact center often involves random sampling of customer interactions, where analysts review a small percentage of interactions manually. However, this approach is flawed, because it only captures a tiny fraction of interactions, leaving significant blind spots.
But by leveraging AI-powered tools, contact centers can adopt a more comprehensive and systematic approach to compliance monitoring and continuous improvement.
Instead of relying on chance, organizations can analyze patterns, detect anomalies, and identify high-risk interactions in a timely and effective manner. They can do this across each and every customer interaction and across all communication channels.
As examples:
• Post-contact analysis can flag instances where agents failed to disclose key terms, such as cooling-off periods for financial products. Supervisors can then target frontline agents with 1:1 coaching and training.