Setting up a voice processing system that will perform exactly what you need and want can be frustrating. Namely due to this reason, call center managers that have computer expertise sometimes prefer developing their own custom systems using a PC, voice processing boards, and application development software.
Application development software packages, often referred to as application development generator, make the process of developing and setting up such voice processing system easier through graphical-user interfaces and object-oriented programming that eliminate the need for sophisticated, harder-to-use computer languages. Nevertheless, sophisticated voice processing systems may come with application development software to help call center staff to twist the system to fit the exact requirements, needs, and competencies of the cloud call center.
Application development software incorporated into VoiP system will become handy for call centers that frequently modify their voice processing systems, for example, for each separate campaign. In such cases, call centers and companies will benefit from the software package, which will allow easy modifications without waiting for vendor to make necessary changes.
Even the most user-friendly application generators can be a frustration
Creation of workflow logic of voice processing applications is quite different from applications used to schedule agent shifts, or controlling service levels. Sometimes dealing with application generator can take longer than expected, since something may go in an unplanned and unpredicted direction.
Since majority of voice processing systems come with built-in applications, call center mangers and staff may try using them. Still, keeping away from the procedures and processes that call center staff has little competence in is advised.
Speech Recognition
Speech recognition is very similar to interactive voice response in directing the callers. The difference is, however, that callers voice their selections instead of listening to the whole menu and choosing necessary selection with touch tone dialing to get information.
Callers are entitled with the same access to information and services without the need to press corresponding numbers on their phone pads. Consequently, speech recognition will not only add to the satisfaction level of callers, but will reduce frustration of callers with bad eye-sight, who need glasses to dial right numbers on the phone pad.
Despite the fact that over-the-phone speech recognition is limited on vocabulary, most of the voice processing system that incorporate this feature are effective enough to recognize when callers say ‘sales,’ ‘cash transfers,’ ‘order a computer service,’ etc. Yet, speech recognition technologies and applications are continuously improving in terms of enriching vocabularies as well as continuity.
Speech recognition continuity allows callers to speak freely without having to stop and wait for a beep after each word or number. If there is no continuity in speech recognition, callers are most likely to abrupt their call or ask to be connected to a call center operator immediately to avoid frustration of slow word by word speaking.
Since many voice recognition processing systems have built-in IVR, the possibility to use sophisticated speech recognition features needs to be checked with the vendor. Speech recognition technologies have changed the way callers interact with automated voice processing systems by broadening the range and scale of telephony interactions.
There are two distinctive types of speech recognition that differ on speech dependency and types of systems to make them work:
- speaker-dependent speech recognition;
- speaker-independent speech recognition.
Call center representatives usually focus on speaker-independent recognition, as people are able to recognize infinite variety of ways of saying and pronouncing different words, as, for example, ‘hello.’ But automated speech recognition systems are quite often speaker-dependent, though improvements are constantly made to make it speaker-independent.
Since touch-tone penetration is still not sufficient leaving out callers that cannot access interactive voice response systems effectively, call centers that do not install and implement voice processing technologies may end up incurring higher costs on telecom charges for longer than average waits as well as costs of agent-service rather than callers’ self-service.
Furthermore, if call centers operate in more than one country, and especially if the countries serviced use different languages, IVR systems and voice recognition processing systems become essential and inevitable. IVR systems will allow callers choose their preferred language on their first announcer, which will eliminate speech recognition issues and confusion of agents, when they are asked to speak to the caller directly.