Contact Center Software Features

By Neil Zawacki
Updated: February 21, 2011

Contact centers have become an important part of the modern business world. They provide multiple means of communication between a company and the public, be it through phone calls, emails, faxes, or instant messages. They also have access to a wide variety of software features that offer notable benefits to small and large companies alike.

Popular Contact Center Software Features

Skill-Based Routing – This helps to direct calls and emails to the person with the greatest knowledge of the issue. If your company offers different service plans, you can use this feature to make sure that your top tier clients are always provide the highest level of customer care. It can also lessen the frequency of customers being transferred back and forth between different representatives.

Interactive Voice Response – This feature helps to automate voice communication with the public. It provides self-service options on a phone tree that can let customers check the status of an order, find out information about the company (such as hours, location, etc.), and process payments. It can also be used to remind customers of appointments and provide follow-up surveys on previous interactions.

Automated Outbound Dialing – This allows your company to perform agent-less power dialing and preview dialing. This can help to control the abandon rate for outgoing calls, as well as reduce idle time and improve the data accuracy of your phone communications. It also lets you detect answering machines ahead of time and ignore them if you prefer.

Desktop Sharing – Your contact center agents can use this feature to remotely take over another person’s computer. They can install software, solve technical issues, and direct the individual to documentation . The question is thus more likely to be solved on the first interaction and not require additional time investment.

Computer Telephony Integration – This feature helps to synchronize phone and data delivery to your contact center agents. Transfer and mute functions can be controlled directly from the desktop, and information can be added in real time to ensure that priority customers are contacted as soon as possible.

Web Centralized Administration – The contact center manager can perform their duties through a specialized web interface. This platform can be used to adjust the current level of IVR, deal with potential call overflow, and make necessary changes to predictive campaign settings.

Real-Time Monitoring – You can use this feature to discretely monitor interactions between contact center representatives and the public. Supervisors can “whisper” in to the agent and provide answers as needed. You can also see the number of calls in progress, how many are in the queue, and how long each customer has had to wait before receiving assistance.

Call Recording – This feature allows your company to record, store, and manage all phone conversations. These recordings can typically be saved as a MP3, VOX, or WAV file, depending on the administrator’s preference. A FTP site is also generally provided to download recordings in large quantities.