Audio headsets are a huge element in central station monitoring environments. This is especially true in today’s facilities, which are often marked by busy rows of open cubicles wherein multiple agents work in close proximity. Such configurations require all agents to be outfitted with headsets, all day long.
Ironically, however, the quality of those audio devices is often overlooked when it comes to equipment purchases. Such actions are short-sighted when it comes to creating an efficient station for any security alarm and response provider. Premium audio, in fact, can significantly impact the productivity, efficiency, and positive well-being of agents in these settings.
According to Fenman Professional Training Resources’ report, “Call Centers: Maximizing performance training manual,” 86 percent of the impact of phone-based communication is derived from an agent’s tone of voice. Clearer fidelity, combined with more comfortable, at-ease, and efficient agents are far more likely to create a superior customer engagement experience in a monitoring station – which clientele in this competitive marketplace demand.
Intelligibility
It is critical for central stations to understand that clear communication is faster and more productive communication. In an industry where response rates are crucial to the overall effectiveness of a security solution – not to mention crucial to the physical safety of the customer – speed and reaction time are major criteria in differentiating a provider’s service.
Audio intelligibility is vital to seamless interaction and communication. Inexpensive headsets frequently produce low-quality sound transmissions, which translate to electronic “jitter” on the line, dropped sounds and garbled speech. If you have ever been on a customer service call where you have had to ask an agent to repeat phrases, it is due to poor-quality sound transmission. Such erratic communications waste precious time, cause frustration – and can easily lead to the miscommunication of key details in an emergency situation.
Premium headsets are specifically engineered for superior sound quality. They leverage the same technologies that distinguish professional recording equipment and hearing aids – ensuring an outstanding listening experience with minimal jitter or lost sound. Interaction between the agent and the caller is more seamless, consistent, and streamlined, with less need for repetition, no tinny electronic interference, and minimal instances of calls being purposely redialed to achieve a better transmission.
Although higher-end audio will obviously require greater investment than “low-shelf” headsets, many of these advanced models are still competitively priced for the small business marketplace.
Comfort
Sophisticated headsets incorporate features such as multi-directional microphones, which modulate between multiple inputs and utilize whichever channel produces the most intelligible sound for the listener at any given time.
Quality reaches beyond pure sound fidelity when it comes to an all-day headset: Comfort and durability make a considerable difference in whether monitoring center operators are able to maintain a positive attitude and deliver capable, confident responses to customers on a long-term basis. If an employee is burdened with an uncomfortable piece of equipment, every day, all day, it is difficult for them to maintain concentration, perform to their utmost ability, and present themselves as positively motivated, helpful individuals for the end-customer.
High-quality audio devices are comprised of lightweight and comfortable materials such as leather and memory foam. A quality headset is also durable. In a security environment, it is unacceptable for audio to fail or for a headset band or mike to break in the middle of a conversation. Such a disruption is costly for the provider, both by way of replacement costs and potentially compromised client relationships.
Minimizing Ambient Noise
Even when transmissions are clear, monitoring stations often house rows of operators adjacent to one another in open cubicles. Simultaneous conversations produce overlap and significant background chatter.
Security providers spend thousands of dollars to keep the end-customer’s electronic data secure – they should pay as much attention to whether agents can overhear sensitive information about their neighbor’s customer, or whether the end-customers themselves can potentially overhear each other’s information when it is repeated by an adjacent agent.
Headsets that minimize ambient noise are specifically for this purpose. Modern headsets provide capabilities that can screen-out background sounds as subtle as wayward keystrokes, plus sophisticated new capabilities such as “active adaptive noise cancellation,” in which the headset can adjust to different noise levels throughout the course of the operator’s day.
Agents can easily adjust the level of noise cancellation either via simple swipe controls on the sides of the units, or through a phone-based app. This enables the agent to control their individual sound environment while eliminating the “stuck in a barrel” sensation that many standard headsets yield.
Features to Look For
A recent Spiceworks survey of 150 respondents in the IT marketplace commissioned by Sennheiser revealed the top motivations in purchasing headset equipment, including for use in call centers like central monitoring stations.
Nearly three-quarters of the respondents (72 percent) identified reliability as their top consideration in selecting an audio headset. Respondents also placed a high priority on solutions that offer superior value (52 percent), in addition to robust service and support options (39 percent). They identified headset lifespan (47 percent), sound quality (42 percent), and cost (36 percent) as the most important factors in determining whether a headset purchase will increase ROI for their organization.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the criteria respondents cited:
- Comfort: If a headset feels uncomfortable, odds increase that a worker will be reluctant to wear it for sustained periods, creating unnecessary downtime, in addition to physical duress for the employee.
- Reliability: Businesses want their investments to last, and agents want a device they can count on. Besides longevity, business owners also prioritized reliability in terms of continuous voice clarity.
- Service and Support: Ease-of-management and support for a fleet of headsets is a key consideration. Providers of security and alarm systems are by no way immune to such a requirement. Purchasers of audio equipment frequently seek headsets that are enabled for automatic firmware updates and that carry strong warranty options. In this way, software upgrades are automated; and if hardware problems do develop, units can be quickly replaced.
- Value: Respondents agree that bargain audio solutions do not deliver the quality tools and features that agents require to perform efficiently. When that’s the case, agents often stop using sub-standard tools, squandering the business owner’s investment. Or worse, qualified employees leave their jobs, creating “churn” among the staff resulting in denigrated customer service.
- Brand reputation: Purchasers frequently seek a vendor with an established track record in the headset market.
Dawn Birr is Channel Manager, Enterprise Solutions for Sennheiser Electronic Corp., a developer of premium headsets and audio conferencing solutions. To request more info about the company, visit www.securityinfowatch.com/12130185.
