Nearly a century and a half ago, the world as we knew it was turned upside down with the groundbreaking invention of the telephone. Originally designed to simply ease communication, the modern day telephone has become far more advanced than we could’ve ever once imagined. In the last 20 years, calling technology has evolved at such a rapid pace. Take landlines for example – although many have gone extinct, the role they continue to play within the business realm, especially within a call center, is significant. As modern day technology continues to advance day-by-day, the telephone has consistently remained at the core of business operations.
The Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was originally passed in 1991 to address the issue of unwanted telemarketing calls. As phone technology has changed over the years, so have TCPA regulations. With the initial rulings seemingly in favor of the consumer, the new amendments prove to be beneficial towards both the customer and company. These new rules have significantly restricted businesses’ use of autodialing technologies, making it even more difficult for legitimate businesses to successfully reach their customers. Although this can be costly for call centers, it is the most reasonable and responsible course of action according to TCPA guidelines. When keeping up with changing laws and regulations, compliance matters. Fortunately, there are a wide range of tools and programs to help that your call center is consistently staying up-to-date and maintaining compliance according to TCPA standards.
Manually Approved Calling Vs. Manual Dial Only
Manually Approved Calling (MAC) allows the most number of calls to be placed within a set timeframe. This method helps maintain efficacy without the fear of violating TCPA regulations. When third-party contact data appears on the reviewing agent’s dashboard, the agent assesses it, then determines whether or not to approve or reject the prospective call. Approved calls are then routed to the outbound-calling agent while rejected ones are segmented into appropriate lists. Manual Dial Only is a basic function of teleservice equipment that has the capacity to dial numbers without the need for human intervention. However, in certain situations, human intervention or manual dialing may become necessary. Introducing a human element into Manual Dialing provides the ability to manually approve cell phones without having to implement separate campaigns. This method also allows agents to view all of the customer’s information rather than simply the phone number, which helps agents receive a better, holistic view of each account to ideally resolve issues in a timely manner.
Cell Phone Scrub
Consumers communicate with a variety of individuals, organizations and businesses on a day-to-day basis. According to data from a recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce petition, there is no single authoritative wireless phone number directory or available tool that can prevent all calls to phone numbers that once belonged to a customer or other contact. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act forbids calling a cell phone using an automated dialing system without prior consent. This rule applies to all uses of auto-dialers including interstate, intra-state and calls from outside of the United States. A cell phone scrub service identifies cell phones and imported numbers and keeps agents from contacting them per TCPA regulation. This service ensures a clean calling list and eliminates the time-consuming task of manually deciphering which numbers are usable.
Call Recording
If you’ve been on the phone with any automated service, you may have heard the phrase, “Your call is being recorded for…” This is done to protect the interest of the call center and the consumer. With the recent amendments to TCPA, calls are almost always recorded. There was once a time when telemarketers had difficulty complying with this regulation. However, with the new pause/interrupt feature, you can record all conversations and simply pause the call when the customer is sharing personal identifying information. Per TCPA, personal identifying information such as credit cards and social security numbers should never be saved.
IP Address Lockdown
As technology continues to evolve and cloud data is increasingly becoming the preferred method for data storage, there is also an increase in privacy and security concerns. Cybercrime affects customers and businesses across the globe. It is estimated to costs the economy about $557 billion annually, specifically costing the U.S. $100 billion each year. IP Address Lockdown protects agents and customers by controlling when, where and how individuals can access information. The IP Address Lockdown method provides an increased sense of protection for sensitive and confidential information.
These are a few of the many innovative approaches to dealing with TCPA regulations. These methods help overall compliance and increased efficiency within the call center by keeping these organizations up-to-date and aligned with changing regulations.
