The field of speech analytics represents advancement to a goal that anyone who's ever worked in a call center can directly identify with: a quantifiable measure of how the customer on the other end of the line is feeling. It's easy to misread feelings just from tone of voice, but speech analytics can mean a lot of difference when it comes to identifying just how that customer on the other end feels. PCCW Teleservices, meanwhile, recently brought in Verint (News - Alert)'s line of speech analytics systems to help drive call center operations on several fronts.
This move actually represents something of a first in the field; PCCW (News - Alert) Teleservices is actually the first business process outsourcing (BPO) firm in the Greater China region to bring out Verint's latest speech analytics system, which not only offers help in speech analytics for Cantonese but also Putonghua and even English, and also helps in call recording and quality management fronts. PCCW Teleservices has already brought out Verint's workforce optimization tools in Hong Kong, and is now turning its eyes to mainland China for the next deployment.
With these tools in place, the company notes, the move toward an omnichannel customer journey will be a smoother one, and the company will be able to more rapidly get a better idea of what customers want out of that experience. Phone (News - Alert) calls can be analyzed via theme identification systems, which helps keep the errors out of the process that might show up with manual characterization, and there are even some voice biometric capabilities thrown in to help improve call handle time and take some of the bite from losses related to fraud.
That's a lot of value from one platform, and should be a welcome development for those looking for a new speech analytics tool. We all know that speech analytics have plenty of value when it comes to improving the customer experience, and as such, it's not surprising to see firms like PCCW Teleservices turn to speech analytics. Verint's tool, in turn, should help PCCW Teleservices derive plenty of value not only from its incoming calls, but also from its call recordings. Analytics systems depend on raw data from which to derive actionable trends, and there are few better sources of raw data than incoming calls and recordings of previous calls. Most every call center wants to improve its connection to the omnichannel customer experience customers so crave these days, and using speech analytics tools can help find where the rough spots in the process may be. Plus, such tools can identify the high points that can be built upon and replicated elsewhere to deliver a better experience overall.
PCCW Teleservices has likely made a good move in bringing in Verint for speech analytics, and in turn, has opened a door to better service that's likely to give it an edge in the BPO field. It won't work quite so well for every company that tries it, but for anyone with a lot of incoming calls, speech analytics tools may prove a valuable investment.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson