This post was sponsored by Jabra, a leading global provider of wireless headsets and headphones for offices and contact centers.
Up until recently, contact center headsets were primarily valued based on cost and comfort.
But contact centers are rapidly changing, and headsets are now playing a much bigger role than they ever have in customer service.
As a result, contact centers administrators need to re-think the headsets that are being used for customer-facing interactions.
How Headsets are Enabling CX
Customer experience (CX) has emerged as one of the most critical business drivers. Companies today are challenged to provide first-class customer experiences across all touchpoints. This means calls need to be crystal clear and free from distracting background noises at all times.
There’s just one problem: Contact centers are increasingly remote because of the pandemic, and agents are now working from home environments that are noisy and unpredictable. As a result, headset models that used to work adequately in controlled contact center environments are now providing to be outdated and ineffective.
“We are seeing skyrocketing demand for headphones that come with advanced integrated noise cancelling microphones,” explained Vern Fernandez, who is Senior Manager of Contact Center Excellence at Jabra.
As Fernandez pointed out, it’s not always easy or possible to limit noise in a home environment. However, headset models like Jabra’s Engage 50 series can prevent noise from penetrating into customer calls and negatively impacting CX.
“These microphones can shield customers from noisy or disruptive backgrounds, limiting interference while making it a lot easier for agents to provide stellar conversations.”
A Critical Bottom Funnel Technology
As it turns out, contact center headsets are playing an even bigger role in the contact center.
As Jabra explained in a recent white paper titled “Exploring the Post-COVID Contact Center Market,” headsets have emerged as a key bottom-funnel technology for all the various CX investments that are making their way into the contact center — like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), among others.
“You can either optimize technologies like AI, speech analytics or biometrics through the headset, or you can really mess them up,” added Fernandez. “A very cheap headset that has poor background noise cancellation can negate a lot of important — and expensive — initiatives that ultimately funnel through the headset when a phone call is needed.”
To get the full scoop on the changing contact center industry, download the white paper today.
