Call Center Archives - United World Telecom

6 Useful Ways to Reduce Abandoned Calls in Your Call Center

Posted on September 28, 2020October 8, 2025 by Nadine Sampson

Source: DepositPhotos.com - Lic#75940443 ID#27446420

Is your call center not performing well in terms of customer satisfaction? Then you may need to rethink how customers interact with your call center and how many customers give up and abandon their calls. Here we will look at 6 practical methods to reduce abandoned calls and increase customer satisfaction.

What are Abandoned Calls?

Call abandonment or abandoned calls refer to callers that hang up before receiving service or dropped calls. Calculating your call center’s abandoned call rate—an important call center KPI—can help you identify areas that need improvement. Callers that abandon their calls may do so because it is taking too long for them to receive support or to get a human being on the phone. A high call abandonment rate leads to low customer satisfaction. So, what can you do to provide better customer service?

Here are 6 useful ways to reduce abandoned calls in your call center.

1. Invest in a Cloud IVR System

An IVR is an automated phone system that assists a call center in managing incoming calls. The IVR interacts with callers, identifies the reason behind the call, and proceeds to help either via:

Pre-recorded messages
Transferring the caller to the right department
Or sending the call to voicemail

In some cases, the IVR may even assist the caller in performing predetermined actions such as:

Activating an account,
Processing payments,
Providing common troubleshooting help,
Submitting a support ticket, etc.

A well-designed IVR phone system will effectively determine the purpose of the caller and assist them. This way, it can cut down the number of calls that need an agent for support. And if the IVR can’t help the customer, it can quickly forward the call to an agent. This is a good way to reduce abandoned calls.

2. Try Different Call Forwarding and Routing Options

Next, try different call routing options so calls go to the right agent or department and less time is spent transferring or keeping callers on hold. Some common call forwarding and routing strategies include:

Time of day routing — route calls to specific numbers or lines during set times of the day.
Select country routing — route calls to specific lines based on where the caller is calling from.
Direct routing — callers select their preference of the menu provided by your cloud IVR.
Data-direct routing — route calls to the right agent based on the caller’s data and history.
Least-occupied routing — route calls to agents who have answered the least number of calls.
Simultaneous ringing — incoming calls ring multiple phones or lines so no call goes unanswered.
Failover forwarding — incoming calls are sent to the next agent in line if the first agent is unavailable.

Different routing strategies can help your call center balance incoming calls and distribute them evenly. You can even have calls made over the weekend or during off-hours forwarded to remote agents. This way, there’s always someone available to answer calls.

3. Prepare a Knowledge Base for Online Support

With everything being easily available over the internet, most customers will first try to solve an issue by themselves before they call a company. For this purpose, having an online Knowledge Base or Support section that provides assistance and troubleshooting for common issues can be a blessing.

Web visitors will first try to resolve their concerns via looking up your Support, FAQs, or Knowledge Base tools. If they are still unable to fix the problem, they can then choose to email or call your company. However, users that are able to fix the problem will not need to make the call, thereby reducing the number of calls in a queue and reducing abandoned calls.

4. Offer Multichannel Support

Another way to reduce abandoned calls is to offer other mediums of support. The Knowledge Base is one such tool. However, other communication channels include live chat, ticket tracking software, email, SMS, etc.

5. Train Your Agents for Common Issues and Large Call Volumes

Irrespective of how well you distribute your calls, if your representatives are not trained well and unable to perform under pressure, then your efforts are in vain. Take time out to ensure that call center agents get the training they need to succeed. Have refresher courses, webinars, and workshops on the regular to reinforce good habits. Furthermore, provide them insightful resources and incentives that can help them do their job well even during high volume periods such as holidays. You may even run a rewards program as well as provide quick and easy access to troubleshooting documents and so on.

6. Schedule Agents Based on Call Traffic

Lastly, study your call logs to see when and where most of your calls come in and schedule agents to tackle high-traffic periods. This way, your team is prepared to deal with the load of incoming calls while offering quick service. Plus, having more agents available during these times will help distribute calls better.

How Can United World Telecom Help?

We offer a variety of virtual communication tools specifically designed for call management. You can rely on our call forwarding options, cloud IVR systems, and rest assured that incoming calls reach the right agents on time. Improve your customer service today by signing up for our service. To learn more, call us or chat with one of our experts today!

5 Innovative Ways for a Call Center to Use Interactive Voice Response

Posted on July 1, 2020October 8, 2025 by Luke Genoyer

Source: DepositPhotos.com - Lic#25723807 ID#27446420

Does your call center business use IVR to communicate with customers? A well-designed system offers incredible versatility, which can help your business in a variety of ways. Check out these five innovative ways for call centers to use interactive voice response technology.

How Can IVR Be Used in a Call Center?

Most inbound call centers use IVR systems to provide callers with pre-recorded greeting messages and sets of menu options. Menu options will often be for self-service, sales, and customer support. Callers provide input to a call center IVR system by pressing a key.

After gathering caller inputs, the IVR can help your call center route inbound callers to the right agent or department.

So, what are some ways to get the most out of your IVR system?

1. Skills-Based Routing

It is important to choose the right routing strategy for your contact center.

Effective call routing can boost first call resolution rates as customers are able to speak to the right agents right away. IVR can also help call centers automatically route inbound callers to the right department in less than twenty seconds.

The most effective IVR routing strategies are often based on:

Agents’ skills such as language preferences or experience.
The origination of the inbound call.
The time the call is coming through.
Equal distribution of calls among a group of agents, and more.

These are real strategies that call centers have used over the years. We have helped businesses implement such strategies to improve efficiency.

2. Create Personalized Messages

A customized greeting and menu options provide a great branding opportunity. Studies show that callers are more comfortable when they hear a welcoming greeting message. IVR can be used to personalize your entire caller experience.

The best technique is to welcome callers with a customized greeting message and pre-recorded menu options. These should have relevant information about your business to help callers easily navigate menu options.

3. Provide Self-Service and After-Hours Support

IVR can be used to offer after-hours customer support by adding information about your company, its product and services, and upcoming promotions.

You can forward incoming calls after-hours or during the weekend to remote offices, agents, or voicemail. You can even have the IVR assist callers in completing certain tasks such as making a payment or scheduling an appointment.

4. Call Center Agent Automation

Automation will certainly boost call center productivity. Luckily, artificial intelligence offers a simple way to automate complex business tasks. This will help your business gain greater performance abilities and utilize the talents of your team more effectively.

A contact center IVR operates right along these lines. The main point of having IVR is so your business can speed up processes. Some of the automation advantages it offers include:

Verification and service activation
Payment and renewal processes
Providing product information
Troubleshooting services
Providing answers to frequently asked questions, and so on.

If the IVR can help customers with these tasks, then they are less likely going to need to speak with an agent. This leaves trained representatives with more time to handle more high-value customers.

5. Manage Calls During High-Traffic Periods

By adopting the right strategy that helps organize your calls, your team can effectively handle calls during high-traffic periods. By automating services, most calls can be handled by the IVR system alone, giving your agents and reps more breathing space during such periods.

Learn More About IVR

United World Telecom offers a highly customizable IVR system with tips to help your business leverage its voice communications. To learn more about interactive voice response, please contact us today!

Tips for Running a Successful Virtual Call Center

Posted on February 25, 2020October 7, 2025 by Meryl D'Sa-Wilson

Source: DepositPhotos.com - Lic#11796646 ID#27446420

Thinking of opening a cloud or virtual call center? Well, you are in luck. It is now easier than ever to start and run a full online call center, thanks to advancements in telecom technology. You will business phone service with features and tools that assist your communications. Outbound calling and call recording software are two must-haves for a cloud call center to be successful.

Running a Virtual Call Center

As a virtual call center, you will be working with inbound and outbound calling for different businesses. That means you will engage in making and receiving customer calls. These calls revolve around technical and product support, sales and lead generation, and more. To run a successful call center, you must adopt important virtual communication tools. Let’s look at how outbound calling and call recording, specifically, can boost business dealings.

Benefits of Cloud Call Centers

With a virtual call center, your business can go beyond its immediate location and restrictions and enter global spaces. And, your teams become more equipped to manage calls, assist customers, and maintain productivity even when working virtually or remotely. Here are the top reasons to run a cloud call center:

Mobile and flexible
Scalable and reliable
Low infrastructure and maintenance costs
One unified platform to connect distributed teams
Options for multichannel communication
High cloud communication security
Global reach and coverage
Call analytics and metrics tracking.

Top Virtual Call Center Features

Two of the main cloud call center features include outbound calling and hosted call recording. These features have been growing in popularity recently with more and more call centers switching over to the cloud.

Benefits of Outbound Calling

Outbound calling refers to calls made by a company to its customers. This can be done in-house through a virtual outbound calling service or by outsourcing to a call center. Outbound calls occur for sales and telemarketing, feedback or verification purposes, or to update contact lists and customer data.

You can get outbound calling for your business by signing up online. Purchase virtual numbers from United World Telecom and customize your caller ID to display one of these numbers. For example, you can have local and international numbers for different cities and states. Then, when you call a specific location, you can use a local number instead of a toll free or international number that customers are not familiar with. Unknown numbers are often ignored. Individuals are much more likely to answer the call of a local number. Outbound Calling, therefore, enables you to make long-distance and international calls with that location’s caller ID.

With outbound calling, you can follow up on customers, send them appointment and payment reminders, update customer data, collect feedback, raise funds, and more. This service gives you yet another means of staying in touch with clients and strengthening relations. Here are some tips to improve your outbound calling strategy.

Call Recording for Quality Assurance

It’s simple: you cannot operate an efficient call center without good agents. One way to monitor and train your reps is by recording calls and reviewing them. This is a good way to maintain quality assurance and call center standards. It also enables record-keeping which can protect your virtual call center from business and personal liabilities and misunderstandings. More and more corporations are adopting call recording software to keep records of their customer and contact list.

A call recording service from United World Telecom lets you record up to 100% of your calls and store them as MP3 files for up to 6 years. Additionally, you can add Call Recording to Outbound Calling to record outgoing calls as well. You can add this feature to your cart when shopping for virtual numbers.

This service can also be used to maintain compliance, depending on what sector the business you are representing comes under. For example, the financial services industry functions under the Dodd-Frank, MiFID II, and GDPR regulations and finance companies must keep up with their laws. While using call recording software, make sure you are aware of local and state regulations. Some countries do not allow recording unless one or both parties consent verbally or in their contract agreements. And so, it is important to keep these regulations in mind when choosing to record business calls.

Get Outbound Calling and Call Recording with United World Telecom

Boost your communications and sales by adding Outbound Calling and Hosted Call Recording to your office phone system. Contact us to find out how you can use these services or sign up for a virtual number and start building your virtual call center today!

How To Start a Home Telecom Call Center Business

Posted on November 18, 2019October 6, 2025 by Meryl D'Sa-Wilson

Source: DepositPhotos.com - Lic#211239316 ID#27446420

Thinking of ditching your regular 9 to 5 job for one with more flexibility? A home telecom call center is just what you are looking for. With better work hours and less commuting, this work-from-home job can give you a great sense of work-life balance. So, what is a home telecom call center and how can you start one? Read on to learn more!

Virtual Call Centers

Virtual call centers offer a variety of services: sales, telemarketing, customer service, making reservations and appointments. They are hired by major companies to handle customer communication in an organized and easy manner. For example, these may include customer service for an eCommerce giant or booking hotel reservations for a travel agency. Inbound call centers often have a high volume of incoming calls. On the other hand, outbound calling is when a call center is making calls to customers for sales purposes.

What Do You Need?

Before you start your call center, research businesses or call center companies looking for remote help. Depending on the type of home telecom call center you want to run, you will need to invest in some equipment to unify processes. With respect to virtual centers, you will need to consider state and local requirements. And finally, you’ll need marketing tools to promote your service.

How To Start A Home Telecom Call Center

Let’s have a look at the different steps to keep in mind when starting a home telecom call center business.

Step 1: Research Job Opportunities and Fields

Spend time looking at the variety of options available for your industry, product, or service. Is there a surplus of call centers offering the same service as you? How can you stand out and be more resourceful? Consider extending your services to other states and countries. With a virtual set-up, you can reach clients anywhere in the world. The entire world is within your grasp. Here, you can also decide if you want to run an inbound or outbound call center.

Step 2: Check Local and State Requirements

Since starting a home telecom center is a business, you will need to file all necessary new-business paperwork. Review your state’s Office of Finance and Taxation. Then, check for zoning restrictions. Finally, register your business.

home telecom call center — Source: DepositPhotos.com – Lic#119344282 ID#27446420

Step 3: Prepare a Business Plan

An important part of starting your own business, whether large or small, is to have a clear idea of how you are going to run it. This is where a business plan comes in. A strong plan will outline the necessary documentation, market research, and financial projections for the company. This way, you are prepared for what is to come and have options to handle it.

Step 4: Invest in Call Center Equipment and Software

This goes without saying that a call center cannot run without the appropriate equipment and software. Your equipment or software may depend on what your client uses. For a home telecom system, you can choose a call center software that you consider comfortable and resourceful. Call center software is a system that enables easy call tracking and organization. Either way, you want to have the basics: a computer with the latest operating system, broadband internet, wired telephone, and a good quality headset.

Step 5: Get A Virtual Phone Number

Virtual phone numbers can help you create a virtual space enabling you to make and receive calls through the internet. This way, calling international customers won’t be as expensive as calling through a regular phone service. Additionally, virtual numbers such as toll free or local numbers are less expensive for customers to use. Toll free numbers bill the received party instead of the caller and local numbers will have regular, local charges. This way, you are not a burden for your customers.

Step 6: Market Your Skills

Build a website and use social media like career sites, Facebook, Twitter, etc, to promote your skills and talents. Marketing your home telecom business starts with marketing yourself. Tell them what you have to offer: call center experience, fluency in multiple languages, knowledge of call center software, and so on.

Cost-Effective Communication

One of the main items you will need for your call center is virtual phone numbers. United World Telecom has local and toll free virtual numbers in more than 150 countries across the world. Sign up for a virtual phone number with United World Telecom today and develop a cost-effective communication channel for your home call center.

Quality Assurance vs Quality Control: Improving Support Calls in Business

Posted on October 29, 2019October 8, 2025 by Tom Senkus

Source: Depositphotos.com Lic#163064950 ID#13909184

Are you looking to improve the quality of support calls for your business? If so, we’ll cover a number of topics to do so in this article, including:

The difference between quality assurance and quality control
Using quality assurance to improve support calls in business
Using quality control to improve support calls in business

The Difference Between Quality Assurance vs Quality Control

First, there’s a big distinction when it comes to the definitions of Quality Assurance Vs Quality Control in support calls. Quality assurance is process-oriented, which focuses on preventing defects and errors in support calls. Quality control, on the other hand, is product-oriented and focuses on identifying defects.

Still confused? If so, the easier distinction between the two is that quality assurance is what happens before rolling out your customer support. This includes training programs and equipping your staff with functional hardware/software. Quality control is a way of refining your process. This includes debugging and streamlining how your staff delegates problems to different technicians. As a result, you can see that they’re both related to providing support to your customers.

Of course, this begs the question: How do you improve support calls specifically?

Quality Assurance vs Quality Control: Improving Support Calls in Business — Source: Depositphotos.com Lic#163064672 ID#10302425

Quality Assurance Vs Quality Control: Using Quality Assurance to Improve Support Calls in Business

As mentioned, training goes a long way in improving support calls. Those in charge of training employees and new hires must thoroughly understand company policies and protocols. If, for example, a customer calls needing support for their non-functioning device, is there a strategy for handling the call? During the call, your staff discovers the reason for the malfunction is that service was cut off due to non-payment. The phone support staff must know these calls require forwarding to the billing department, not the IT department. This can make your phone communication more optimized, as there’s less time spent transferring calls. This, in turn, is the epitome of quality assurance. All measures of support are in place before the calls come in, ensuring they are handled appropriately.

United World Telecom makes this easy by providing a number of functionalities to upgrade support calls. By setting up a PBX directory (short for Private Branch Exchange), inbound callers can self-select which department they need to contact. Or, inbound calls can automatically reroute to the appropriate department based on their phone number and/or customer identification numbers.

Quality Assurance Vs Quality Control: Using Quality Control to Improve Support Calls in Business

Similarly, when it comes to improving quality control for direct support calls, United World Telecom offers “call recording.” As the name implies, inbound calls are recorded and stored for later use. During the training process, your business can use examples of successful calls and error-laden ones to educate your trainees on what they should do when in the field.

Also, call recording can improve quality control by verifying the service of a particular employee. Suppose your managers review an employee’s support call, only to find out that they were giving redundant information, easily accessible online or through your directory system. By learning from these calls, you can improve the quality of inbound calls, redirecting callers immediately to information by using another popular add-on from United World Telecom called IVR.

Short for Interactive Voice Response, IVR enables callers to use voice commands to access staff, departments, and information. As an example, suppose that you automate a greeting: “Please state why you are calling today. For instance, for access to tech support, say ‘tech support’.” You can then automatically redirect callers to the appropriate department, reducing call times for efficiency and causing less frustration all around.

In Closing

As you can see, we are just scratching the surface when it comes to improving quality assurance and quality control in your business. Above all, these measures should be in place to ensure your phone staff offers the highest level of customer service. With the right tools, your business will have no problems ensuring optimal communication. Contact United World Telecom today to speak with a telecom expert to optimize your business’ support calls today.

Sales Management: Building a Global Call Center Sales Team

Posted on October 14, 2019October 2, 2025 by Magaly Fuentes

Source: Depositphotos.com Lic#161512962 ID#88021484

A sales team functions as the core of any sales-oriented business. In order to have a successful sales team, the business must have a focused and effective sales management system in place. Similarly, management systems include systems and metrics to track sales. The sales management plan should also include follow up and periodic reviews. Above all, these components are necessary for a sales team to grow and thrive in a consistent manner.

What is Sales Management?

Sales management involves developing a sales force, coordinating various sales operations, and putting sales techniques in place. Therefore, the ultimate goal of sales management is to allow an organization to consistently meet and surpass sales targets. So, for any business that brings in revenue, a sales management strategy is extremely important.

Sales Management Processes

Research shows a clear split between organizations that establish well-defined sales management processes and those that don’t. A few of the most critical sales management processes include systematic hiring, coaching the sales force, business planning, establishment of common goals, and performance management.

Systematic Hiring: It is extremely important to hire top-level sales staff. An effective hiring process includes methods to examine whether a candidate is fit for the position from many different angles. Using the same list of questions for interviews allows for a systematic and focused process.
Coaching: This is the number one activity that drives sales. Companies that have a well-understood coaching program in place consistently outperform those that do not.
Business Planning: Business planning at the sales manager level means identifying key customers within the region and creating customer plans accordingly. Business planning allows for better targeting of sales efforts.
Common Goals: A sales manager makes sure the sales team aligns with the company goals.
Performance Management: Setting objectives and reviewing performance, both periodically and annually, is imperative. Figuring out how the organization will deal with non-performance is also key.

Sales Management: Building a Global Call Center Sales Team — Source: Depositphotos.com Lic#161514956 ID#8771371

Running the Call Center

Many organizations find that allowing their call center specialists to work from home is a win-win for everyone involved. This allows the staff flexibility and allows the organization significant cost-savings.

Taking the Call Center Global

Particularly when forming a global call center, allowing for sales staff to work remotely is typically the best option. A business owner with a well-trained, knowledgeable staff that is familiar with the company policies and the product or service they sell can operate a call center from anywhere.

What is a Virtual Number?

A virtual phone number is a number that works through the use of the Internet versus the use of a hard-wired phone line. Virtual phone numbers offer many benefits. For instance, they give business owners flexibility and mobility unmatched by traditional phone lines. Calls made to virtual phone numbers automatically forward to any phone number, depending on the changing needs of a business. Virtual phone numbers also allow for a business to meet global needs, such as offering services in various time zones.

How Do I Get a Virtual Number For My Business?

Getting a virtual phone number for your business is simple. With a simple search, you will see that various providers offer virtual phone numbers. Therefore, it is important to go with a provider that has experience and a reputation for offering a great product along with excellent customer service. United World Telecom has been offering global communications solutions to businesses for over two decades. Along these lines, UWT also offers many features and virtual numbers in over 150 countries worldwide.

“Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out.”

When focusing on sales management and building a successful global call center sales team, careful planning must take place. Above all, with proper systems employed and everyone on the same page, an organization is well prepared to take the success of the business to great heights.

Signius Communications

Signius Communications has been based in the United States for almost a century. Their service enables your organization to benefit from highly-trained staff equipped with state-of-the-art technology. Helping clients both large and small, Signus offers 13 locations and a staff of over 200 agents. Their services can save on operational costs and make your organization exceptionally efficient at processing inbound calls.

Stericycle

Looking for a B2B medical answering service? If so, Stericycle, Inc. provides telecom solutions for commercial companies. With over 25 years of experience, Stericycle has grown from a small medical waste management company to an industry leader. Their offerings encompass complex and highly-regulated areas in the medical industry, including patient access services, customer contact, and much more.

Sound Telecom

Founded nearly three decades ago, Sound Telecom provides 24/7/365 telephone medical answering services. They serve customers throughout the United States and British Columbia, Canada. What separates Sound Telecom from its competitors is the sheer diversity of its state-of-the-art telecom services. Among these are online chat, email response, voice logging, and a web-based portal for easier access to account data. Some of Sound Telecom’s clients include American Red Cross, Blue Cross, Siemens Medical Solutions, and many more.

Top Medical Answering Service Comparison Review — Source: Stockphoto.com O#100048065961- ID#100067081677

Creating Your Own Medical Answering Service with United World Telecom

If your organization wants to keep its medical answering service in-house to save money and create a more customized service, United World Telecom is the perfect service provider for your virtual answering service needs. By using virtual phone numbers of various types (i.e. toll free numbers, vanity numbers, geographic numbers) and customizable functionalities, your organization can specifically tailor how inbound calls are received, processed, and answered.

The first step is to choose virtual phone numbers that enable your clientele to reach your business without incurring long distance fees and service blockages. Considering that United World Telecom offers virtual phone numbers in over 140+ countries worldwide and nearly every city/geographic region, your organization can accommodate callers no matter where they’re located. At www.unitedworldtelecom.com, you’ll encounter a series of dropdown menus that enable you to choose the country code and number type, as well as determine the destination number where calls can be routed to. Setup is easy and virtual answering services can be used almost immediately after placing an order.

Furthermore, United World Telecom’s service enables endless functionality depending on your business model. For instance, if you’re looking for an after-hours answering service, the add-on “time of day routing” can be used. This enables your business to route calls outside of regular operating hours to a call processing facility in another location. Also, by using a PBX (Private Branch Exchange), inbound callers use a directory system to navigate through your company’s various departments and personnel. This enables them to obtain the information they need and speak with a company representative. Overall, these medical answering service features can make your medical organization substantially more efficient.

How To Create a Call Center Business Plan

Posted on July 2, 2019October 6, 2025 by Becki Meerbeek

Source: Stockphoto.com O# 100221373798 - ID#100067081677

Starting your own business can be an exciting but frightening endeavor. You know that you want to be your own boss, manage your schedule, and may even want to work from home. But you may feel challenged in choosing a successful way to write a business plan that allows for all this. Creating your own call center gives you the business opportunity to make money from any setting, whether home or office. And allows you to create your own schedule to manage your income how you see fit using various call center solutions. So, how does one get started on writing a business plan to open a call center? Additionally, what does one need to ensure success right off the bat?

Determining What Your Call Center will Do

Call centers are used by many industries for a number of things. Call centers can help to increase sales production, offer customer service, set appointments, provide debt collection, and more. Call center agents can pick up inbound calls or may make hundreds of cold calls a day. To best determine how to go about starting your new call center business, you’ll first need to decide what your center will do by determining what you’ll offer.

Considering the Number of Employees You’ll Need

Before opening a call center of your own, you’ll need to determine the number of agents needed to manage the business successfully. There are centers of all sizes, but you don’t want to begin with too many agents, as you’ll quickly drown in overhead. On the other hand, you don’t want to hire less agents than you need, as you’ll struggle to accommodate all of your client needs. Think about your customer needs, how many consumers you plan to help on a daily basis, and how long it takes to help one customer on average to best determine how many agents you may need.

Furthermore, consider employment numbers in the future. So, if you plan for your call center to grow substantially, make accommodations for this before the hiring process begins. You don’t want new employees getting to your workspace to find they don’t have desks or phone lines. So, if it’s in your business plan to add agents down the line, make sure that’s something you can afford and are prepared for.

Business plan for call centers — Source: Stockphoto.com O#100174295798 – ID#100067081677

Choosing an Office Space or Home

Whether or not you’ll be hiring agents who work from home or accommodating them with a business space is important when determining a call center business plan. For example, if most of your agents have offshore contracts, you may not need the office space you initially planned for. Choose your office space based on the number of employees you know you’ll need to work in-house. On the other hand, if you know you want to provide your employees with a place to work, make sure you consider the location. Opening an office near the company brand can help to promote brand fluidity and trust in employees. Furthermore, it’s obviously helpful to choose an office space that’s near more employees. A shorter commute makes things easier for all.

Determining Call Center Solutions

Call companies have their own needs as they provide specific services. So, one of the final things you’ll need to consider when determining your business plan is your solutions. Choose solutions which can best help provide for your consumers. For example, if you’re opening a call center business that provides customer service support for a third party, you might want to implement call recording. This allows you to record all company calls to determine if your customer service strategies are working. Another example is if your company is an outbound cold calling center, you may want to purchase virtual toll numbers. This allows consumers to answer calls for free and forward them to any type of line!

Closing: Help with Starting Your Call Center Business

United World Telecom offers a number of call center solutions which can help to take your business plan to the next level. If you want your new business to succeed, you can help prepare yourself for success with our top-rated phone features and virtual phone number solutions. To learn more about how we can equip your new call center business with the solutions you need, contact us today.

Starting Your First Virtual Call Center Business

Posted on June 24, 2019October 6, 2025 by Becki Meerbeek

Source: Stockphoto.com O#100057623455 ID#100200144052

Looking for a way to reach more potential customers? Or, wanting a better way to offer customer service to the customers you already have? A virtual call center allows you to operate a call center from anywhere in the world. And, this gives you the opportunity to create and run your own business affordably without having to take high risks.

What is a Call Center that is Virtual?

Basically, a virtual call center works to perform the same call center duties you imagine, but uses virtual phone numbers. This means they use phone lines that connect with the internet, so they can be used anywhere in the world an internet connection is found. The benefit to this is that you can establish a call center to reach individuals across the world from the comfort of your own home.

Whether you’re looking to start an outbound or inbound call center, a virtual phone allows you to contract with other companies to form a business relationship. Many companies don’t have the room or overhead to develop call centers for themselves. Instead, they rely on virtual phone centers run by individuals in all areas of the world to help better serve their customers and increase lead closure levels.

Benefits of a Virtual Call Center

Because virtual call centers provide such flexibility with location, they offer a number of business benefits that are hard to ignore. Some of these advantages include:

Flexibility: This allows a call center’s company employees to work from home: While virtual phone centers can certainly be housed in a number of settings, many choose to let their virtual call employees work from home. This allows for reduced turnaround as employees are usually much happier when working from home.

The Right Setting: No outgrowing or undergrowing a workspace. When a call center leases a building, there may be a concern for how to house employees for work when business grows. On the other hand, if business dies down, the owner may still have to cover the cost of building leases, insurance, and other fees. However, virtual phone centers allow for a business not to be one size fits all. For example, during busy months, virtual phone centers can easily add and subtract service representatives to their employment team without having to worry about physical space for employees.

Expand Business Hours: Many businesses want to offer customers 24/7 support with a customer service call center. Better customer service often relates to better customer-business relationships. Virtual call centers allow for this ongoing support with local numbers from a specific geographical location.

starting outbound call center — Source: Stockphoto.com O# 100174296076 ID#100200144052

Some Niches of Virtual Call Centers to Consider

Once you understand the cost-saving benefits of owning a call center business, you can decide on the type of virtual call center you want to invest in. Since phones are still one of the best ways to reach consumers, there are a number of industry niches to consider for a virtual call business including:

Telephone answering and forwarding services for other companies
Contract telemarketing with third parties
Wake up calls
Voicemail forwarding services
Mobile solicitation
Message receiving services
Customer service lines
Technical support services
Debt collection

Starting a Virtual Call Center Yourself

No matter what type of service you want to offer, call centers are a great way to provide support and maintain connections with consumers on a daily basis. And, virtual phone centers are the way to do so without high starting costs, overhead fees, and increased employee turnaround. Once you’ve chosen your niche, you can start looking for companies who invest in virtual call centers for yourself.

Need Virtual Phone Numbers for Your Call Center Business?

Because virtual call centers require the use of internet phone connections so they can do business from anywhere in the world, they require virtual phone numbers. These numbers can be customized by prefix and area code so they’re more trustworthy to potential phone customers. And, they can be forwarded to any type of phone line. To learn more about getting virtual phone numbers for your call center business, contact United World Telecom today.

Achieving First Contact Resolution

Posted on March 22, 2019October 6, 2025 by Magaly Fuentes

Quality customer service is a necessity to run a profitable business that continuously attracts new customers and retains the loyalty of past buyers. Every entrepreneur values customer service, no matter the size of their business. Yet, new business owners and established professionals often hear the same advice about customer service management.

Call center employees must be well-trained. Agents should also be friendly and patient to show customer appreciation while also making callers feel more comfortable when speaking with team members.

What is First Contact Resolution?

What about repeat calls from customers? Finding a solution for customers during the first conversation is ideal. When a customer calls back to discuss the same problem, this is often negative and not the desired result after the first call. When you can fully satisfy the customer during the first call, this is known as achieving first contact resolution (FCR).

A Solutions-First Approach

FCR greatly elevates the customer service experience and prevents upsetting delays. Furthermore, it shows how knowledgeable your team is in your industry. Negative callback experiences lower staff morale and can frustrate callers. Resolve customer issues and they don’t have to call back to ask similar questions or inform you that your help was ineffective.

Achieving the first-contact resolution at your call center is a unique process for every business. Use these four tips to help increase it.

Track FCR In Your Company

The first step to achieving first contact resolution is knowing your company performance by tracking metrics. Gather data to find areas where first-contact resolution is easily achieved and where more work needed. Tracking performance allows managers to see where employees need additional training and support, increasing the likelihood of solving customer problems on the first attempt.

Areas of poor performance require special attention in the process of achieving first contact resolution. Understanding why FCR was not achieved by knowing why customers needed to call back is key for management to modify their training approaches and strengthen all aspects of the customer service approach.

Know Thy Customer

Knowing the customer is essential for achieving first contact resolution, and the best customer service agents understand customer behaviors on a deeper level. Understanding spoken and unspoken behaviors allows reps to better analyze individual needs and the most effective strategies during the call. Effective customer service agents often go off-script because they can notice the caller’s tone of voice and word choices. These observations help customer service agents address hesitation and confusion by providing more assistance during the first call.

Understanding customer behavior while achieving first contact resolution does more than impress the caller. Customers will feel genuinely understood, and this strengthens their personal connection with your brand. A true sense of connection will naturally inspire buyers to continue investing in your business and recommending your services to others.

Set Specific Goals For Team Members

Setting FCR as a priority means setting clearly defined goals. As these goals are being set, supervisors must explain why these guidelines are in place and the positive impact achieving first contact resolution would have on the company.

If call center agents are only achieving first contact resolution, they might think this is a good sign without realizing FCR should be a frequent occurrence. FCR adds more value to the company, resulting in more calls and sales.

Let employees know the importance of achieving first contact resolution at team meetings (or individually). Agents are communicating with customers every day, which provides an understanding of customers in a more personal way.

Let your customer service agents tell you about their experiences with callers for a deeper level of insight. Then, show your team that you value their knowledge by incorporating their suggestions as you continue setting guidelines for achieving first contact resolution.

Ask The Customer

After achieving first contact resolution is set as the priority that everyone in your business understands, data should also be gathered from the customer directly. Provide the option for customer surveys to allow customers to openly voice their opinion on your service. Management and agents can use customer input as a resource to determine the best course of action moving forward.

Achieving First Contact Resolution Is Profitable

Today running a successful business means finding a way to stand apart from competitors. Operating a business that customers enjoy connecting with leads to more purchases as callers speak directly with team members for assistance.

Strengthening your first contact resolution is an important part of setting your brand apart as an expert in your market as well as a leader in customer service. Leaders in the customer service field are among the best assets for a business looking to grow. Your customer service agents are imperative to the efforts of becoming a more reputable business. Empowering your customer service teams will help them to be confident and impactful when speaking during phone calls. Keep in mind, you also have the option of using software and additional resources to help your customer representatives achieve first contact resolution goals.

Call Center Compliance and Security

Posted on March 5, 2019October 8, 2025 by Ilsa Morales

Call center management knows that there are risks and rewards when it comes to running a business. However, some things, such as compliance and security are things that should never be risked. Information on your customers is sensitive data and needs to be continuously managed. Your business needs to find the leaks in security and implement security policies before any con artists can break in, which unfortunately is becoming a common practice today.

Due to a streak of data breaches, the Federal Trade Commission has created new rules and regulations for security that your business needs to be up to par with. If your business is not up to the standard, you will find yourself dealing with huge fines and legal battles.
In order for your business to stay compliant, you need to make sure that the following compliance acts are satisfactory.

1. Encryption

VoIP encryption is a useful tool that allows companies to gain access to customer information by using coded messages that unauthorized users cannot get hold of. This can be used through call center interactions over the phone or through emails and chat. These encryption codes need to be adequately managed by your IT employees.

2. Login

Many call centers have a variety of login systems that can timeout very quickly. This can frustrate customers and agents alike, but there is a solution. Single sign-on is standard for the FTC and can work with several systems at once.

3. Storage

Storing data is an essential piece of managing all data that is unfortunately overlooked by many companies. Ensure that your company has enforced multiple backups to your data storage and that old data is being disposed of when it is no longer necessary. When your storage becomes compromised, it can become a massive headache for businesses. Therefore, it is best to plan ahead and have good recovery software in place.

4. Recording

Call centers use recording as a means to learn from mistakes and to look back on calls during disputes. However, recording important information can cause issues. In the past, call centers have had their agents turn off their recordings while being given important information, but that is not up to regulations anymore. What call centers can do is use an IVR to secure important data like credit card information and social security numbers. Also, in order to stay up to standards by the FTC, all callers must be notified that the call may be recorded.

5. Do Not Call

All call centers must be up-to-date on those consumers who have added their number to the do not call registry. Failure to stay up to date can result in massive fines.

6. Debt Collection

If you work for a debt collecting agency, the FTC is cracking down on those who do not follow the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act. Therefore, if your agents are using threatening language or shady collection practices, you could find your business in the midst of litigation.

7. Truth in Lending Act

All call centers must provide crucial information such as interest rates and late fees to their consumers before a customer agrees to purchase a product.

8. Equal Credit Opportunity Act

This act forbids companies from denying loans or credit to consumers based on their race, religion, marital status, age, gender, etc.

9. General Data Protection Regulation

GDPR is a relatively new regulation that call centers must accede to. This rule is for companies that store information for European residents whether or not the business itself is located in Europe. European customers can ask for their data to be erased. Businesses must grant their consumers their requests in a timely fashion in order to remain compliant. Therefore, if you have European customers, you must have a plan in place that can quickly erase data.

If your call center is not fully compliant, you could face some serious headaches in your future. The truth is, your company can not afford to wait to become up to standard because of the mounting security risks and in light of the critical data breaches that have already happened to several major businesses. Be sure that your vendors and IT staff are aware of all new regulations as they both play a significant role in call center compliance and security.

Authentication and Fraud Prevention in Call Centers

Posted on March 5, 2019October 7, 2025 by Ilsa Morales

Source: Stockphoto.com O#23559 – ID#100115688898

The best way to combat authentication and fraud in call centers is to prevent it. Understanding is critical in the process of prevention. There isn’t just one way to prevent fraud in a call center; there are several ways that must all be used together in order to authenticate fully.

An image of a man ensuring authentication and fraud prevention in call centers. — Source: Stockphoto.com O#23559 – ID#100152507320

Dirty Tactics Used in the Hunt for Authentication

A variety of things are being used to authenticate callers, such as an account number. A social security number is often an easy way for scammers to get valuable information from customers. You must be on high alert against any compromised data, and even then, these essential pieces of information are still vulnerable. This is primarily because companies usually ask for information to authenticate, like their customer’s mother’s maiden name or first childhood pet when people inevitably lose their passwords. Asking these personal-knowledge questions are also easy ways that scammers can get through to find out more account information.

There are many authentication approaches for companies, including Knowledge Based Authentication and Multi-Factor Authentication. Most call centers revert to Knowledge-Based Authentication, or KBA, as their main bases for identification. But KBA is one of the most vulnerable authentication methods to fraud. This method can be compromised very quickly by users with untraceable software or by cunning people who can trick others into providing information to them. The people who procure this information through these means can then use this information to call your customers or your customer service agents to commit fraud. Not only are these threats a reason to skip knowledge-based authentication, but it is also very frustrating and bothersome for your customers to be subjected to a series of questions before they are able to get to what they need from your site. Since it is not a foolproof way to prevent fraud, what else can a company use to guard their customers’ information?

Multi-factor Authentication VS Knowledge-Based Authentication

Multi-factor Authentication, or MFA, is a superior choice to KBA. The MFA uses an approach that provides each caller with their own one-of-a-kind identity token. This token is taken from your phone device and carrier information. Another way MFA is useful to companies is that it can understand the characteristics of certain sounds which can be translated into a voice print. By collecting all of this information, you can then enter it into a database. The computer then scans all the information to send fraudsters into a database that will then blacklist them from the company and customers’ data.

Using these tactics and tools, a call center will then be able to assess the risks through authentication. Then it will be up to the representative to use this useful data and decide whether or not it is a risk. Their decisions will be informed and based on several factors such as what kind of account it is and which transactions, and for how much, are taking place.

The top providers of authentication are TRUSTID and Pindrop. Each one uses an MFA method. Both have numerous important clients on board, such as banks, credit card companies, and insurance agencies. However, they can both offer solutions to companies in other markets such as retail, telecom, travel, or healthcare. These solutions also work best when paired with an IVR, which can automatically prompt the caller to enter their authentication.

These solutions to fraud and authentication have worked for very large call centers that employ hundreds of agents that work for millions of callers, but what can a smaller call center use? Small call centers can still benefit from these authentication strategies through Value Added Resellers. These VARs can bundle up different types of outbound calling services and sell them to call centers. That way, you can get what your call center needs on a scale that you can use to your benefit.

Fraudulent issues are becoming more commonplace in the market and companies need to be prepared for dangerous situations before they arise. Don’t let your company get caught unaware by scammers; use secure VoIP along with the top prevention methods in order to avoid putting your company in debt and frustrating your customers.

Wellness for Employees in Call Centers

Posted on March 4, 2019October 2, 2025 by Ilsa Morales

The best way to benefit your company is to improve the quality of life of the employees that help you run your business. If employees have access to wellness programs that enhance their performance and reduce their health risks, your business can, in turn, mirror the happiness and healthiness of its employees.

wellness for employees in call centers — Source: Stockphoto.com O#23559 – ID#100228678088

Employees who are happy with their companies generally have more energy at work and take fewer sick days. Creating a wellness program for call center employees is essential to creating a healthy workplace environment. Because call center employees must be seated at their desks throughout the day and generally have strict schedules to follow, they are at risk for a variety of health issues.

Investing in your call center employees can have a significant impact on your business if you are willing to make the investment. These ventures can include a fitness center, education on wellness techniques, company health fairs, access to free or low-cost flu shots, weight loss programs, providing healthy foods and snacks, and programs to help employees quit smoking.

You might be thinking that the costs for these programs are too high, but in truth, they are worth it in the end. Call center representatives become the face of your company when a customer has a question or a problem. If your call center employees are unhappy and unhealthy, they will become irritable over the phone or forgetful. Because your clients are the most essential part of your business, it is vital that the person they speak to is helpful and friendly. Once you create an environment where employees enjoy coming to work, you can stand back and watch as your business grows.

Some businesses make budget cuts to their employees’ healthcare because of rising costs and unstable economies. However, cutting back or eliminating these incentives will not benefit your business in the long run. Giving your employees the opportunity to see a doctor the moment they get sick or providing a place for them to workout before or after work keeps insurance premiums at lower costs. Research has shown that businesses who cut these from their budgets will eventually see their premiums rise by 10% each year. Providing healthcare onsite or on-demand can also reduce the spread of illnesses. This is essential because employees who work in a call center are in very close quarters, so if one person gets sick, eventually everyone will catch it as well.

Once your business begins to provide these incentives to your employees, you will find that employees are more likely to be motivated to get in shape. You can encourage this motivation by doing company-wide fitness challenges with monetary incentives or prizes.

If you are thinking of beginning a wellness program for your call center employees, but you have a limited budget, take note of what your employees would like to see from you. This will reduce the possibility of wasted money on a program that won’t be used. If you were thinking of adding a yoga studio to your building, find out if the majority of your employees would be interested in participating first. A small way to boost wellness in your employees is to encourage standing up and stretching between calls. You can also print out an infographic of different stretches that can easily be done at a desk and hand them out for those who might feel silly starting this practice. To encourage your employees to eat healthier, provide healthier snacks and plenty of water and tea instead of soda and juices. You can also organize a group walk during lunch breaks or offer to subsidize fitness memberships.

Another low-cost option is to utilize a spare room and turn it into a meditation or nap room where employees can recharge their batteries. Encourage wellness to all of your employees and celebrate employees who reach healthy milestones, too. If a call center employee takes on an office-wide weight loss challenge and returns with significant results, be sure to reward them for their hard work! Other employees will see these results and might be inspired to try it out for themselves.

Providing wellness programs is a logical business decision with a high ROI. After all, when your employees are happy and healthy, they’re going to work better for your company overall.

The Largest Call Centers in the US

Posted on August 27, 2018October 7, 2025 by Ilsa Morales

Source: Stockphoto.com O#23559 – ID#100174291746

Call centers can handle inbound and outbound calls for your business, and can be within your company or you can outsource the call center to other companies that specialize in customer service.

These call centers are departments where your current and potential customers will be directed to when they have an inquiry or comment.

Call centers can be used by telemarketing companies, online retailers, help desks, charities, and more. Any organization or company can use the telephone to sell products, answer customer questions, or provide services.

There are two types of call centers, inbound call centers and outbound call centers. Inbound call centers handle phone calls from customers and may have to take many calls at the same time, and will therefore need services like call forwarding and interactive voice response. The inbound call center usually handles technical support, accounts management, complaints, questions, scheduling appointments, and sometimes purchases can be made over the phone as well.

Outbound call centers usually utilize an agent to represent the company or a client. This agent will carry out tasks including, telemarketing, fundraising, debt collecting, surveys, and lead generation. To maximize the amount of calls that will go out, the outbound call center will usually use an automated dialer that can transfer to an agent when the phone call is answered.

the latest call centers in the us — Source: Stockphoto.com O#23559 – ID#100204682278

Outside of inbound and outbound call centers, there are four additional classifications of call centers. Theses are in-house, outsourced, offshore, and virtual call centers.

In-house call centers are part of the company in which that they represent, meaning that the company itself has its own call center and finds and hires its own agents.
Outsourced call centers are third party organizations that handle the inbound and outbound calling of any company that it has been hired by. This organization hires and trains the agents for the company on its own. Many businesses opt for this call center if the business is smaller and cannot accommodate its own in-house agency.
Offshore call centers are basically outsourced call centers but the outside organization is from another country. The costs are usually cheaper to use a call center from abroad, however customer complaints often go up because of language issues or lack of knowledge about the products or services.
Virtual call centers use cloud call center technology to answer calls, which means the agents can work from anywhere in the world. Virtual call center agents work from small offices or their own homes.

As companies expand, their call centers grow alongside them. The largest call centers are in-house operations that employ thousands of people with different positions. These employees are divided into customer service, technical support, claims processing, and more. The biggest call centers can carry out tasks from both inbound and outbound services.

The majority of these huge call centers are owned by Fortune 500 companies that can afford huge facilities to house all of their agents and the latest call center technology. The majority of companies prefer to use states in Southern region of the United States such as Georgia and Texas.

The following are the top companies with the largest call centers in the United States.

State Farm- State Farm owns three high-tech call centers around the US. Their largest call center, and the biggest one on this list, is located in Atlanta. Georgia and employs 10,000 people. The next two call centers are located in Richardson, Texas and Tempe, Arizona and each employ around 8,000 people.
Geico- Geico’s call center is fourth placed behind all three State Farm Insurance centers. Their call center is located in Macon, Georgia and employs 5,600 people.
Fidelity Investments- Fidelity Investments call center is located in Westlake, Texas and employs 4,400 people.
Humana- In Louisville, Kentucky Humana employs 4,000 people at their call center.
Citibank, Verizon, and Progressive Insurance- Each of these companies employs 3,500 people. The call centers are located in Irving, Texas; Alpharetta, Georgia; and Tampa, Florida, respectively.

The majority of companies looking to outsource their call centers or create their own tend to find places within metro locations or nearby larger cities. The reasoning behind these decisions is that they want to make access easier for their clients and they want to pick from a larger labor market. However, companies rarely go above metro areas with a population over 1 million. If you’re looking to expand your operation to include call centers, look to some of the biggest companies and their call centers for the right strategies.