Key Features Every Call Center Software Should Have

Call center software is a specific type of VoIP software that’s made for businesses with a high volume of incoming or outgoing calls. It’s more feature-rich than a standard VoIP service so it can accommodate the needs of larger company’s customer service or sales departments. 

You can compare different services using GetVoIP, but what exactly should you be comparing? To know that, you need to know what features call center VoIP software usually has. 

Key Features of Call Center Software 

Beyond the basic VoIP features that every service will offer, call center software needs some specific features. Full functionality means offering these specific features: 

Call Management Features 

• Call Routing 

This is a feature that tells the software where to route the call. You can base this off of where the caller is calling from, what they’re calling about, or other criteria. If your business operates with different language options or in multiple countries that have different services offered, this is a necessary feature. 

• Self-Service Automation 

Diverting simple, monotonous requests away from agents is a big cost-saver. If you can handle your main repetitive questions or concerns with self-service automated prompts, you can save time and money. 

• Call Queueing 

If too many calls come in for the number of available agents, call queueing should be used to keep those customers waiting in the same order they called. It’s helpful if the call queueing feature alerts callers about their position in the queue, with updates when their position changes. 

• Single Number Call Receiving 

All call center software should allow customers to call in on a single number to reach any of the agents using the company VoIP phone. Any number of customers should be able to call the single number without getting a busy tone or being disconnected. There shouldn’t be a need for multiple numbers to reach different parts of your customer service department. 

• Automatic Call Volume Distribution

Businesses that receive a large number of calls need a software that can automatically distribute those calls to agents based on any specific criteria. Automatic distribution can be based on agent availability, specialty, skill level, or other characteristics. The goal of this feature is to reduce the wait time for customers and to improve the service provided. 

• Simultaneous Calling 

If you’re running an outgoing call center, you need the ability to place multiple calls at the same time to different numbers. This is a standard feature for most call center software. 

• Reconnection 

When a customer is disconnected and has to call back, they need to be reconnected to the agent they were already speaking with to continue their service. Reconnection makes this easy by doing it automatically. If the agent is already busy, the person will be put as a priority in that agent’s queue instead. Reconnection service may also give the agent the opportunity to call the customer back directly. 

• Voicemail 

If your call center won’t be available 24/7, you should have a voicemail system for customers to leave a message about their issues. This is a useful feature if you plan to have a call-back service. You can call customers back with some idea about what kind of service they need, and they won’t have to wait in a queue to reach your agent. 

• Call Recording 

For training and quality control, call recording is essential. It’s a feature that helps you track when a mistake happened, how employees are doing on their calls, and what kind of service is being provided overall. Whether you’re going to be recording every call or not, it’s definitely a key feature to have. 

Profile Management Features 

• Caller Profiles

Every call center software should have caller profile capabilities. These allow agents receiving a call to gather and store some basic customer data. The agent can find out who the caller is, bring up their profile, create a new profile, and make adjustments or information entries as needed. Without an integrated caller profile system, it’s harder to solve customer problems on first contact. 

• Agent Profiles 

If you want to include agent profiles, it’s a nice way to help introduce your customers to the people who will be serving them. You can include basic information like the person’s expertise, ratings, languages, and name. 

Data Management Features 

• Real-Time Reporting 

Most call center software allows you to track call stats and data in real-time as it’s collected. This is particularly valuable if you need to check on progress throughout the day or if you’re trying to monitor specific performance metrics. You can’t make good decisions without data. 

• Status Monitoring 

In addition to real-time data reporting, you can narrow it down to seeing the status of every agent on your system. You can see who’s engaged or free at any time, how many calls each agent has placed or received, and what their call times are like. 

• Information Gathering & Storage 

All the data that you’re able to view can be gathered and stored for use and reference later. Don’t worry about missing some valuable stats if you’re not constantly paying attention. It’s all stored away for your convenience to access it whenever you need to. 

• Insights & Analytics 

From that stored data, a good call center software can present information in a useful way. You can get basic analytics, comparison charts or summaries, and other valuable insights into your company’s performance based on the data collected.

Software Integration 

If you’re using a VoIP call center software alongside other third-party software, integration is a potentially useful feature. Some VoIP providers make third-party software integration easier than others. Find a service that allows integration without overcomplicating the process, so you can scale up and improve your service in any way you see fit.

VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol.

Updates & New Features 

Good VoIP providers should be updating their content regularly, when new features are introduced and even when they’re not. Regular updates keep software users protected against hackers and malicious attacks by covering up vulnerabilities in the software code. Hacking methods evolve quickly, so your VoIP plan should be evolving equally to keep you better protected. 

It’s never been easier to find a Voice over IP plan for your business. With new companies popping up into the space constantly and keeping the market competitive, you’ll never be short on options. Just make sure the options you’re looking at are offering you all the right features.