6 Ways The Financial Sector Is Taking Advantage of Voice Analytics

The financial sector, like all industries, has faced challenges during COVID-19. The demand for services has increased dramatically and with the reduction of highstreet branches open, more members of the public are turning to call centres with their queries.

Call agents can quickly feel the strain without the implementation of software like voice analytics from Awaken and management can become overwhelmed with the task of monitoring customer satisfaction levels.

Voice analytics is a form of software that can recognise patterns within the voice and speech of the caller. It can recognise words, phrases and can determine the emotion of these customers.

These capabilities can be of huge benefit within the financial service sector, especially during the rising call volumes many contact centres are experiencing.

This current economic downturn means that customer service is now more important than ever. Customers are quick to react and the strain the world is facing with the pandemic is leading to negative emotions and anxious, irate and worried customers.

While the financial sector may be experiencing higher demand for their call centres, this isn’t always positive. The public is seeking every way possible to save cash and this could include switching providers.

Customer retention is the key to any businesses to make it through the financial crisis and without adequate customer satisfaction levels within call centres, this retention can quickly diminish. 

This article discusses how voice analytics is helping the financial industry get through this tricky period with the use of voice analytics within call centres.

Staying Compliant

Especially during such stressful times, the last thing any business within the sector wants to face is agents who have not followed legal legislation and carried out incorrect procedures or processes, whether consciously or otherwise.

Although rare, if a business is discovered to have done so, there can be devastating repercussions, including hefty fines and damaging the reputation of the organisation.

Voice analytics enables managers to monitor script adherence and terms of contracts correctly explained to and acknowledged by the customer. 

This software can pick out words and phrases used that may not be in line with current compliance rules. Managers can then use this data to retrain agents and rectify any previous issues.

Measure Customer Emotion

Money worries are one of the biggest concerns for the public during this time and this is causing emotions to run high.

Managers need to be able to monitor how often agents are met with angered or distressed callers. Voice analytics can provide a platform to quickly and easily pinpoint these.

This can provide an insight into patterns in customer behavior, for example, there may be teams who handle particular products that are experiencing higher levels of upset customers. This can help to alter these services to provide a better customer experience.

It can also determine how a customer’s emotion changes throughout the call, initially they could be upset but end the call happy and satisfied. It is crucial for management to be made aware of these so the correct praise and attention can be given to agents who are performing well.

Keep Agents Updated

Most spikes in call volume can be anticipated, such as new product launches, changes in guidelines or weekends and evenings.

However, there are occasions when this can’t be predicted. Websites and apps may have crashed or breaking news stories can cause panic within the public, even when there isn’t any to be had.

Voice analytics can pick up patterns with these phone calls that surge in volume and update agents so they are kept in the loop and can anticipate these queries. The more prepared an agent is, the better service they can provide.

Aid Training

One of the best methods for training new call centre agents is to provide real-life examples of call handling.

These example calls are often outdated and may not even be in line with current procedures anymore.

However, crawling through thousands of hours of recorded phone calls to find new training examples and opportunities is something no manager has time for.

Voice analytics can pick out these phone calls, both with negative and positive outcomes, meaning new trainees can be provided with an insight into up-to-date practices and real-life examples from the most recent issues.

Increase Efficiency

Very few members of the public enjoy having to call a helpline but this can’t always be avoided. The information they are seeking may only be available by speaking to another human being with expert knowledge on the matter.

Voice analytics can determine patterns within similar queries that are highly frequent. Businesses can then use this information to determine if these calls can be avoided altogether. 

This can be done by adding the extra information on websites, adding new features on apps or even providing the option to listen to pre-recorded information on phone lines.

Not only does this reduce wasted time for customers, but it also decreases the number of phone calls agents will have to answer, freeing up phone lines for other queries and reducing holding wait times. 

Create A Fun Work Environment

Staff retention is just as crucial as client retention. Businesses want to make sure they can keep hold of their agents and avoid the timely and costly recruitment process as much as possible.

Call centres can become repetitive, creating incentives and games to take part in during a working day can boost morale and inject some fun into the workplace.

Using voice analytics to determine the emotions of customers can help to create scoreboards to identify which agents are ending calls with happy, satisfied customers. High scorers can be rewarded with various prizes at the end of each day.

This will not only lead to employees having a more entertaining experience at work but also provides more encouragement to maintain high levels of customer experience. 

Only a decade ago, software such as this would have been unthinkable and thought of as completely out of reach. Voice analytics is now providing an essential tool to call centres across the world and the financial sector is taking full advantage.