Contact centers are inherently complex. In today’s omnichannel environment, agents must constantly switch between multiple screens, devices, platforms, and applications to keep up with customer inquiries and stay productive. On top of that, they must handle and protect sensitive customer information in compliance with relevant regulatory requirements.
Monitoring and reporting interactions across channels, from phone calls to web chat, text, and social media, can be challenging, especially for companies operating in tightly regulated industries like healthcare and financial services. However, the failure to comply with data privacy and other industry regulations can lead to steep financial penalties, the loss of market share, and lasting reputational damage.
In this post, we delve into what contact center compliance is and offer practical ways for contact center leaders to manage compliance more effectively. Let’s get started.
Contact center compliance is about more than just avoiding financial penalties. Contact centers also face significant legal and reputational risks if they fail to safeguard customer privacy, adhere to industry regulations, or demonstrate responsible data-handling practices.
Businesses operating contact centers must navigate a complex array of legal and regulatory requirements, which vary by geographical jurisdiction and industry sector. Some of the most stringent regulations include the:
Protecting customer information and ensuring data integrity are essential for businesses to maintain data security and preserve customer trust. One area of risk where missteps can happen on both fronts is the contact center, where agents routinely handle large volumes of sensitive personal data in the course of their work.
Consider this example: An agent working in a credit card company’s call center might have access to extensive financial information about a customer, including their bank account details, credit history, Social Security number, address, and date of birth. If the agent mishandles this information, either accidentally or intentionally, it could result in identity theft, fraud, or other serious harm to the customer.
Later in this post, we’ll cover several ways contact center managers can make call center compliance easier for their teams so they can keep data secure and maintain customer trust.
Noncompliance with certain regulations can expose companies to hefty fines. For instance, fines levied by the state of California for failure to safeguard consumer privacy in line with the CCPA mandate range from $2,500 to $7,500 for each violation, depending on whether the violation was unintentional or intentional.
Beyond financial penalties for noncompliance, businesses may also face the prospect of class action lawsuits and other costly litigation.
Navigating compliance issues can be difficult for any business that handles and manages sensitive customer data. Here’s a closer look at some of the key challenges that contact center operators need to navigate:
Compliance laws and regulations are complex, and they are constantly evolving. Keeping up with changes, even minor ones, can be a full-time job.
Take HIPAA, for example. HIPAA has been repeatedly amended to keep pace with technological advancements since 1996 when the law was enacted — which was long before mobile apps, telehealth platforms, and cloud-based medical records became the norm.
Similarly, California’s major privacy law, the CCPA, was expanded by popular vote in 2020. The added clauses give Californians the right to know the nature of personal data collected about them and if businesses are selling that information to third parties.
For many businesses, especially those in highly regulated industries like healthcare, financial services, and telecommunications, it is generally considered best practice to have personnel (an individual, like a compliance officer or risk manager, or even an entire team) dedicated to overseeing compliance. Depending on your industry, the laws your business must comply with, and the size and structure of your contact center operation, you may want to outsource this responsibility to an experienced third-party consultant.
It’s tough, if not impossible, to manually monitor every agent in the contact center to ensure full compliance. This is especially true in remote or hybrid contact centers operating across multiple regions. In most cases, contact center managers conducting manual reviews only have time to monitor a small sampling of customer interactions, like phone calls. This limited approach rarely provides an accurate picture of whether agents are complying with all regulations or not.
Fortunately, technology can help bridge the gaps. By automating call tracking and transcription, contact centers can use AI to analyze every single call conducted. AI tools for the contact center enable automated quality management, which simplifies compliance monitoring. AI-powered quality management scores every call, creating a complete, auditable record for agent-customer interactions.
As noted earlier, the potential for mishandling customer data in the contact center is high. Agents regularly store, process, and transfer sensitive information, which can open the door for data loss or security breaches. Missteps can result in violations of regulations and erode customer trust. (Note: The EU’s GDPR is particularly stringent about the secure handling of customer data.)
Contact center managers can help minimize the risk of data security breaches by ensuring all contact center technology is up to date with the latest security patches, encrypting data transfers, and closely managing access to sensitive data. Managers should also use employee training to help foster a secure and compliant culture in the contact center.
One major challenge for contact centers handling a high volume of phone calls is complying with state regulations that require obtaining caller consent before recording calls. In addition, there is federal law that governs the interception and disclosure of oral and electronic communications to third parties.
These laws and regulations make it essential for contact center agents to secure the caller’s consent before recording any phone call.
Asking for a caller’s consent to record a call does not have to stand in the way of agents providing a memorable and satisfying customer experience. When crafting call center scripts, consider how agents can weave in compliance language naturally while still personalizing the conversation and making customers feel valued.
So, for instance, instead of designing a script that asks the agent to say:
“This call may be recorded for quality assurance and training purposes. If you do not wish to be recorded, please disconnect now.”
Consider using more engaging language, like this:
“Hello, and thank you for calling National Healthcare. Ms. Wright, before I get to your question, I must advise you that this call may be recorded for quality assurance and training purposes. Do I have your permission to record the call?”
To allow your agents to deliver the level of personalization in the example above, you’ll also need the right technology tools in the contact center. We’ll discuss this more in the next section.
Navigating contact center compliance challenges isn’t easy, but the following five best practices can make the work easier for you and your agents.
Automation and AI are excellent tools for conducting mundane tasks in the contact center quickly and efficiently. For example, AI can be trained to note compliance keywords and phrases in call recordings and transcripts to make sure your agents are meeting regulatory requirements. AI can also spot compliance violations and flag risky interactions.
With automated quality management enabled by AI-driven tools like Invoca, you can record and monitor calls at scale. Every call your contact center handles can be stored and reviewed for compliance. With Invoca, gone are the days of managers performing manual compliance reviews and reviewing only a small sample of calls.
Set your agents up for success by providing comprehensive training that is regularly updated to reflect changes in relevant regulations. You can even use call transcripts to identify and highlight coachable moments related to compliance and consent.
Equip your agents with standardized scripts that seamlessly incorporate required compliance language but also feature a natural, conversational tone. Encourage agents to personalize the dialogue wherever possible to help enhance the customer experience.
Always collect and store customer data securely using strong encryption tools. For instance, payment card providers are required to encrypt cardholder data whenever it is transmitted across open public networks.
PCI DSS compliance also requires providers to protect and restrict physical access to stored data and maintain strong network security. These requirements extend to vendors and suppliers, too. So, if you’re a payment card processor, always use PCI DSS-compliant tools.
Invoca’s AI-powered tools automatically redact sensitive data, such as financial details and PHI, from call recordings and transcripts to help ensure secure storage at scale.
This point was touched on earlier, but it is worth underscoring: Obtaining clear third-party consent to record calls is essential for contact center compliance.
Train your agents to follow consent procedures to the letter before beginning recording. You can hammer this point home by providing agents with a simple introductory script, such as:
"Hello, and thank you for calling Acme Travel today. Before we begin, I must advise you that this call may be recorded for quality assurance and training purposes. Do I have your permission to record the call, [Name]?”
If you are using an AI tool like Invoca Presense, which can surface caller details by tracking online activity in real time, agents can make the conversation with a caller flow more naturally and feel personalized by inserting that person’s name into the script.
See how Invoca PreSense works in the short video below:
Finally, review your compliance program regularly to confirm it is effective and make adjustments as needed to strengthen your contact center compliance efforts. Consider using call center compliance management software to automate compliance monitoring. Or, conduct routine checks and regularly report your results back to the appropriate business stakeholders.
Using Invoca to automate call QA can also help support a thorough and reliable audit and reporting process that allows you to catch potential compliance issues early. For example, Invoca helps you identify which agents are struggling with compliance issues so you can provide them with training to improve their performance. Invoca can also help you determine whether your current call center scripts might be a factor for compliance violations so you know exactly where to make strategic improvements.
Following these best practices will help you and your agents adhere to relevant contact center compliance requirements, keeping your business on the right side of auditors and regulators. Strong compliance also helps you maintain your customers’ trust — and protects your company’s reputation.
With Invoca, you can enhance your compliance efforts in the call center with AI capabilities that simplify and automate monitoring. Invoca works with companies across several major industries, from financial services to healthcare, to help them strengthen their compliance.
Rather than relying on manual QA for a small sample of calls, Invoca’s AI automatically analyzes every second of every call. You get instant access to detailed reports, allowing you to spot compliance risks in real time, document issues, and make rapid adjustments to keep your agents on track.
To learn more about how automation and AI can improve contact center compliance and efficiency, check out these resources from Invoca:
Why not book a free demo with our team to learn how Invoca can help you maintain compliance in your contact center operations?
DNC compliance is short for “Do Not Call” compliance. It refers to the rules the FTC established in 2003 under the National Do Not Call Registry. Companies that conduct outbound telemarketing must check the registry at least once every 31 days and avoid calling any phone numbers listed there. In short, consumers who have registered their numbers should not receive unsolicited sales calls.
Customer service compliance refers to a company’s responsibility to follow all applicable laws, regulations, and industry best practices governing customer interactions. This broad term covers compliance with laws like HIPAA, TCPA, CCPA, and GDPR, as well as regulations like PCI-DSS and the National Do Not Call Registry and industry best practices.
Yes. DNC compliance applies specifically to outbound call centers engaged in telemarketing or sales calls. However, both inbound and outbound contact centers must follow broader regulations, including:
The key difference is that DNC rules only govern outbound telemarketing, while the other regulations can apply to both inbound and outbound operations, depending on the type of data being collected or the nature of the calls.
