If you’re unable to choose the right virtual call center software, remember you’re not alone. Not everyone understands the basic features of this software and what it offers you. In a virtual call center, the customer service agents work from all over the world.
It can be pretty challenging to manage employees working in remote locations. A good virtual call center software will help you with managing the same. There are several advantages of choosing a virtual call center over an onsite one.
So, more companies are using virtual options for their customer support services. If you’re among these companies, know that there are things to consider before you pick software.
We’ll discuss 4 of these factors below.
1. Cyber Security Measures Taken by the Call Center Software Provider
Since the pandemic, more and more companies are opting for virtual call centers. Employees working from home allows companies to save a large amount of money every year.
But, these companies should know the risks of letting their employees work from home. Remote work needs software to manage and support various operations. Companies would need a reliable software to manage their customer support services.
Installing a software, and using it is the easy part. It should be remembered that this would make it difficult for you to stay guarded against cyber security attacks. After all, the more time you spend online, the more time hackers have to invade your system. So, it’s important to consider cyber security before you choose call center software.
If you store a huge amount of information on your database, cybercrimes can be a real threat. You should look into the security features offered by the software you are likely to choose before you make up your mind.
The software you choose should have the latest security measures installed. These measures should follow the recommendation of the relevant government authorities. Your priority should be to secure your customers’ information.
Call centers often have a ton of personal and financial customer information. If you lose this information to cyber attacks, it would spell trouble. Your customers wouldn’t trust you again. Also, it would prove difficult for you to win new business in the long run.
It’s a good idea to look for a secure call center software instead of facing these consequences. This software should follow the latest legislation prevalent in your country. You can avoid facing cyber attacks if you opt for such software.
2. Features of the Virtual Call Center Software
The next thing to consider here is the features offered by the virtual call center software. Different software has different features so you should check out what it offers you.
A good way to go about this is to think about which features you need and take it from there. Not every company needs the same features in a software so this could help make things clear to you.
Some of the most common features offered by call center software are:
- Call recording
- Call reporting
- Call routing
- Call monitoring
- Call distribution
Apart from these features, real-time reporting and voicemail are significant features as well. If there are any other features you can think of, remember to jot them down. Then, look for the software that has most of the features you need.
This shouldn’t be too difficult, even if it turns out to be expensive. After all, you may have to compromise on features if you choose cheaper software. Generic software is available online at lower rates, but would not be able to satisfy your needs comprehensively.
If you want the best features, you’ll have to shell out a little bit more on a virtual call center software. Remember, a good software should help enhance your business operations. It’s hard enough to keep track of operations when your employees aren’t in one place.
It can be even harder if you don’t have the right software to keep track of their work. The same goes for assigning work to them in the future. The software you choose should make it easy for you to map their progress every day. It should also make it easy for you to assign tasks to them.
3. Employee Training for Call Center Software
It’s important to train your employees to use the call center software you choose for your company. After all, untrained employees are unlikely to use the software as you intend. It’s your responsibility to train your employees to use this software.
Asking them to receive extra training from outside is both unwise and unfair. Instead, you should make training materials available to them before introducing the software. So, before you buy software, you should consider the time and money needed to train employees.
You can’t expect them to work extra hours to learn how to use the call center software. Working extra hours could impact their productivity and job satisfaction. Instead, assign time for them to learn the basics of your new software.
The training materials you use should be easy to understand. The same goes for any training sessions you may have. Training sessions may be tougher to introduce since you’d need personnel for them.
You should consider your training budget before buying software for your call center.
4. Cost of the Virtual Call Center Software
Last but not the least, you should know that call center software can be pretty expensive. The more features you want your software to have, the costlier it’ll be. So, you need to work out which features you can do without if you want to cut costs.
Your best bet here is to find the best call center software at the lowest price. Sure, this isn’t easy considering software with great features comes at a steep price. But, if you take out the time to compare software, you’re sure to find the right one.
An important consideration here is how long you plan on using the software for. If it’s short-term, you can go for cheaper software. If it’s long-term, it makes sense to buy expensive software. Remember, the software will pay for itself if you put it to good use.
Conclusion
The best virtual call center software is one that gives you value for money. The value of the software depends on how you’re going to use it. It also depends on how well your customer service agents learn to use it.
After all, they’ll need it to function well around the clock. With these factors in mind, you can choose the right software to make your operations smooth.