"Speech analytics" is the process of deriving data from any voice recording. With AI-based tools — automation plus machine accuracy when programmed with the right algorithm — you get a wealth of insight across a variety of data points.
Call centers, set up primarily as voice-interaction portals between business representatives and (potential) customers, aim to meet and improve on the needs of their customers — and to find avenues through which a greater return on investment can be arrived at. With these two factors alone, there are at least five reasons to use AI-powered speech analytics.
1. It analyzes 100% of calls
You've heard it before, haven't you?
"This call is being recorded, for security and training purposes."
All calls coming through to a call center do get recorded. But only a shocking 3% or less get analyzed by in-house quality analysts — leaving vast amounts of room for learning what could improve customer experience and business revenue.
It's practically impossible to assign people to listen to every phone call and expect them to sift out the same data as an AI platform would. Aside from the recordings chosen through random criteria — unless you, as the manager, get a tingling in your bones about a specific recording — each one becomes another drop in the ocean of untapped data.
With AI-powered quality monitoring, no customer interaction escapes the QA check. Calls are automatically recorded and transcribed. Sentiment and emotive language from both customer and agent are surfaced. On-screen cues and adjustments help staff tailor their delivery to various client demographics, without leaning too heavily on the agent's memory.
Especially with newer agents, a modernized AI-driven call center has all the bells and whistles for optimum customer satisfaction — plus the ability to identify revenue opportunities that would otherwise cost a fortune in time and manpower.
2. Shorter feedback loops
With AI voice analytics, feedback can be gathered in real time and relayed to the agent, their acting supervisor, and the manager. It detects speech patterns, keywords, voice tones, fluctuating conversation volume, and other metrics that fall beyond human cognition.
This allows product and service improvement on the fly — without time-consuming, increasingly dated post-event surveys and questionnaires that, let's be honest, most of us don't bother filling out.
3. QA is cheaper with speech analytics
Speech analytics software comes in many packages. Depending on the vendor and grade you pick, you'll enjoy core features alongside quality monitoring. Once purchased, it accounts for 100% of calls coming into your call center.
When you hire a quality assurance analyst (QAA), it's for data-analysis skills. According to PayScale, QAAs are paid around $17.49 per hour — and they only get through around 3% of recordings. One QAA on a 40-hour contract earns roughly $2,798 per month gross, not accounting for overtime. One person cannot wade through the depths of analytical data being recorded daily. You'd have to hire more, and the bigger the company, the more you'd need.
Compare that to a platform like CallFinder, which according to SoftwareAdvice starts at $999/month. With reviews from companies employing 200+ and dating back to 2019, executives at these companies are clearly getting their money's worth. Even if the starting price doubled, you'd still get more bang-for-your-buck than hiring a battalion of QAAs to shoulder a job that's no sweat for an AI platform.
4. Insights that are manually impossible to collect
Call centers have long settled on metrics that signal success or the lack of it. The current standard includes:
- Average handling time (AHT)
- First-call resolution (FCR)
- CSAT
- Compliance
With AI speech analytics, these can be measured 100% of the time — which simply wouldn't be possible manually. The result: a detailed and nuanced report of every programmed facet, leading to clearer understanding and a more constructive, productive strategy at the management level.
Between these reports and the strategies they inform, correlations emerge that guide further coaching of agents and tweaks to the techniques used in product pitches and sales conversions.
5. Easier rollout of QA processes
When you work closely with your voice analytics vendor, a tailored algorithm is put in place. The result is a priceless bank of intelligence that reveals your customers' attitudes, your agents' aptitude, trending issues, and the effectiveness of the processes you have in place.
Armed with this knowledge, your experience, your staff's skill-set and the automated accuracy of your speech analytics software — you have a formidable tool that can be leveraged to gain new clientele by the troves and keep existing ones loyal to you.