The BPO sector can be summed up by marginal gains. Finding the extra % of improvement to first call resolution, the added 0.1 to CSAT scores, or the fractional reduction to cost per call is the number one route to success. These marginal gains are often realised with new processes or technology — with updated versions and competitors regularly entering the market and challenging incumbents.
As a BPO, finding that competitive edge in the market can be a tricky, time-consuming, and ultimately fruitless endeavour. The industry is extremely mature and jumps forward in excellence are rare.
That’s why AI noise cancellation is an incredible opportunity for the BPOs who are quick to grasp it, to get ahead of the competition.
What is noise cancellation software?
Noise cancellation technologies like IRIS Clarity utilise AI to remove all the background noise on your customer calls, bi-directionally. This means:
- The customer/prospect can’t hear the sound of ringing phones, concurrent conversations, and other noises commonly heard in your call centre.
- Your agents can’t hear the sound of barking dogs, passing traffic, or construction often heard at the customer’s end of the call.
What’s more, noise cancellation apps integrate seamlessly into your current tech stack (VoIP, CRM, online meeting app, etc.) to improve the quality of your customer calls.
Why is AI noise cancellation such a leap forward?
Background noise has always been an obstacle for BPOs. Whether your agents are in the call centre physically, amongst hundreds of other agents also taking customer calls, or working remotely in imperfect locations, it’s rare to find an environment from which you can completely control the sound.
In the past, the solutions that have been offered up broadly split into three categories: acoustic furniture, headsets, or relocating/spacing out agents — each having their own drawbacks.
Acoustic equipment such as noise-absorbing partitions are the most old-fashioned solution of the three. These are typically bulky, expensive, require careful organisation within your call centre, and frankly make little difference to the level of background noise for the customer or agent.
Headsets are an essential piece of equipment for any BPO, but they only solve one source of noise in any situation - the noise around the agent for the agent. You still have the issue of noise around the agent for the customer, and noise around the customer for the agent ruining the conversation. In addition to this, effective headsets can be expensive, especially when considering replacement costs or lost sets as agents come and go.
Finally, whilst spacing out or relocating agents can certainly help with the level of noise around the agent, it also reduces the number of agents per call centre — costing your business more in office space — and again, doesn’t solve the issue of noise at the customer end. Having remote workers can help with this, but a large proportion of the working population does not have a dedicated space for working in their home, and even if they do, nothing stops traffic or building works from creating a racket in these spaces as well.
In short, noise cancellation apps like IRIS Clarity can solve all these problems:
- The fact that they are software rather than hardware means wear and tear is no longer an issue.
- From a cost-perspective, our own IRIS Clarity (which you can try for free for 7 days) is considerably better value for a year of licensing compared to the alternatives.
- Most importantly, being bi-directional means noise cancellation apps are able to remove all background noise sources, rather than just the noise around the agent, for the agent.
The end result is a solution that’s more cost effective, quicker and easier to set up, and considerably more effective than those of the past. This isn’t a marginal gain but a relative leap forward in fixing the issue of background noise.
How AI noise cancellation will help you attract more clients
Background noise is an issue for the majority of BPOs - we’ve got the research to show it. Out of the 500 customer service agents we surveyed last year, 89% said background noise impacted their quality of calls, ability to communicate, and time to resolution. Whilst in a survey of 1000 customers, 77% had been on a customer service call where they had struggled to hear the agent due to background noise around them.
The issue affects more than just your customers and agents, too. By implementing noise cancellation, you’ll reduce the errors that lead to need for follow up calls and unhappy customers. Even if it were to slightly improve your first call resolution (FCR), you can quickly see how the return on investment will quickly happen.
Between the cost savings, superior customer experience, and improved agent experience, noise cancellation can help bring your BPO to the next level above your competitors. In an industry of such fine margins, can you really afford to miss out on a tool that delivers a chasm of improvement compared to the alternative? Get in touch today to arrange a customised demo for your BPO today.