Checklist of requirements for professional equipment for contact centers
Dmitry Arkhipov, Business Development Director of JPL Telecom in Russia and the CIS | 07.09.2021
The BYOD (Bring Your Own Device, “bring your own device”) model has long shown its viability in organizing hybrid, remote, and sometimes even classic workplaces. Employees ‘ use of their own devices sometimes helps to increase work productivity, since a personal laptop or smartphone is optimally configured, it has predictable performance and ergonomics. But can this work in the case of professional headset equipment and accessories, for example, when choosing devices for contact center specialists? Most often not.
You can choose gadgets and accessories for the consumer market, but the difference with professional tools will be significant. Some of the functionality can be lost, and an overpayment is formed for some excess ones. And the maintenance and upgrade will be too expensive. We tell you what features of professional headsets and video call webcams for contact centers-you should definitely pay attention to.
1. Cost of ownership and maintainability
When choosing professional accessories, economic expediency should always be in the first place. The ideal option is devices without an obviously inflated cost, with a long manufacturer’s warranty, as well as post-warranty maintainability with the possibility of replacing individual components instead of buying a new device.
When these conditions are met, the device will provide a favorable cost of ownership within its life cycle and will become a good investment in the employee’s workplace. If we compare this with the use of consumer electronics for professional tasks, then it will most often lose at least the starting price and the possibility of repair. This means that it will cost the business significantly more.
2. Modular solutions
The most advanced solutions in terms of technologies are modular solutions for business. They provide a longer life cycle, increased maintainability, the ability to transfer equipment from one employee to another, and they also adapt more easily to changing business tasks.
For example, if we talk about a modular headset, it can have two stereo speakers, and can also be equipped in mono format. In case of a breakdown, it will be enough to replace only one part and not the entire gadget. And if an employee has left the company, a new employee will not have to buy a headset for work again — it is enough to replace the ear pads that touch the ears.
By the way, modularity allows you to contribute to the care of the environment, to use resources more efficiently. Due to the use of a smaller number of headset elements, the volume of material that is subsequently recycled is significantly reduced.
3. Start using without complicated configuration
Professional does not exclude friendly. The easy start of use has become especially important in the context of the pandemic and the transition of many employees to hybrid and remote work models. Connected and used — the best scenario for the current realities.
Downloading and installing additional software, the initial configuration of parameters — all this was appropriate for the office when IT department specialists were available at any time and could help employees. But if you need to use a headset or a webcam at home, or work no longer involves a fixed place, you should choose devices that, at any level of technical literacy of the employee, will not require the participation of technical specialists to configure before use.
4. Security
The absence of the need to download additional software is not only an advantage for the easier start of work and unloading of technical support specialists. In some companies, much attention is paid to data protection issues, so the operation of plug-in accessories without third-party software becomes a big plus, taking into account security policies.
In addition, the devices themselves for business should also have protection where it is possible to implement it by the manufacturer. For example, if we are talking about webcams for calls, conferences, and any other types of communication, a good bonus will be the presence of a removable cover that covers the lens. However, in order to avoid data leakage and accidental demonstration of something confidential via video communication, it is necessary to train employees to use the opportunity to physically close the lens.
5. Functionality and ergonomics tailored to the needs of specialists
When choosing professional devices, great attention should also be paid to functionality and ease of use. Returning to the comparison of a specialized headset and ordinary consumer headphones with a microphone, the difference in voice transmission, sound quality, and ease of use throughout the working day will be significant.
For example, a microphone that is directed and correctly positioned near the mouth will not put you in a situation where the interlocutor may not hear something. It is also worth paying attention to the presence of a noise reduction system so that extraneous sounds are not connected to the communication process simultaneously with speech.
A computer, a laptop, a keyboard, a mouse-all these employees can use at their choice. Quite often, personal equipment gives a higher speed of work and allows you to perform various tasks faster. However, part of the periphery should still be professional. For example, specialized headsets, compared to conventional headphones, provide a much higher quality of speech transmission, have a long life cycle, and have better maintainability. And aerobatics for business is the choice of modular solutions that provide a low cost of ownership over a long distance and are able to adapt to a variety of tasks and even different people.
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