Overview
The voice processing industry has a bright future. It also opens vistas for people who take the time to learn how to manage the technology as voice processing technology has been terribly mismanaged. A properly executed voice processing application can guide callers smoothly to their destination without the need to wait for a live attendant. The key lies in application development following a few principles and a lot of common sense. The discussion here is about applications of voice processing technology, precautions to observe in applying them, the most common abuses of the technology, and suggestions for avoiding the abuses.
Voice Mail (VM)
· Recent computers and hard disks have brought the price of voice mail down to the point where almost any company can afford it comparing to the early bulky and expensive products.
· The ports can be either analog (the system digitizes the voice in the interface cards) or digital (the voice is already digitized).
· The manufacture’s voice compression algorithms determine storage requirements – the more highly compressed the voice, the more that will fit in a given amount of disk space (quoted in hours in most cases)
· VM is sized by the number of ports and the amount of disk storage space provided
The system should have:
·
Administrative tools – provided to control storage requirements
in the most systems
·
Reporting port usage to predict how much storage space and how
many ports are needed – Usage measurements (the number of seconds or minutes,
the times that all ports are busy) is to evaluate the grade of service that
the voice mail is providing
Uses and Misuses of Voice Mail
Asynchronous communications with voice mail– people can communicate
without being available on the telephone simultaneously or synchronously. A
few simple rules to on the intelligent usage of VM
·
Answer the telephone when you are available – do not abuse voice
mail by screening calls with it
·
Use personal greetings effectively – provide user’s schedule
in the greetings
·
Leave informative messages for others – save time for both of
parties by bypassing the telephone and going directly to voice mail
·
Provide an escape path for callers – “voice mail jail” is a frustrating
experience that happens when every combination callers choose lands them in
another voice mailbox
Some examples other than a call answering feature
·
Distribution groups — a group that works together can send messages
to all members of the group.
·
Outcalling
·
Recording a telephone call
·
Confirmation of message received
·
Forwarding voice mail messages to others
·
Guest mailboxes – to permit you to connect with outsiders who
have limited access to system features.
·
Prompting callers to leave information – useful for collecting
survey information
·
Integration with the PBX – make the most effective voice mail
systems. Features are:
·
Message waiting light illumination
·
Escape to operator
·
Recognition of which extension was originally dialed if the call
forwards to other stations on the coverage path
·
Distinguished personal greetings
·
Prompting on the telephone set display on how to use voice mail
features
·
Integration between different manufactures
·
May use data link integration
·
May disable some features
Unified Messaging
·
The hottest feature in voice mail today
·
A single mailbox for three type of messaging, voice, fax, and
e-mail, which appears on the personal computer display
·
Voice mail and fax messages are handled in the same way as e-mail
messages are handled (forwarded, saved, deleted)
·
The ability to handle messages out of sequence
·
Message format conversion – use a speech synthesizer to read
faxes and e-mails over the telephone.
·
Speech recognition
Voice Mail Networking
·
Essential infrastructure for the organizations with multiple
voice mail systems
·
Allows users to set up distribution groups across the network
·
Allows users to forward messages to others in different locations
·
User manufacture’s proprietary networking protocol, or the audio
messaging interchange specification standards
·
Achieved by networking PBXs or networking voice mail systems
·
Gives callers access to pre-recorded information.
·
The method
·
The caller dials into the mailbox and steps through menus.
·
When the destination is reached, the voice mail delivers the
information.
·
An example – a computer company uses Audiotex to assist callers
in troubleshooting. Callers select the components (keyboard, monitor, CPU, etc.)
and then the model or type number. Voice mail offers a troubleshooting tree.
·
Guidelines to follow to purchase the right system:
·
Train employees how to use it
·
Set policies on using voice mail beneficially – avoid screening
calls
·
Be certain users purge messages after listening to them
·
Avoid sending first-time callers to voice mail
·
Take all the precautions recommended by the manufacturer to prevent
using voice mail to transfer to an outgoing trunk
·
Collect statistics and reports from voice mail system and review
them regularly to ensure that it is sized properly
· Improperly used, it can give impersonal, confusing, and convey a negative impression of the company.
The rules to avoid caller confusion
·
Sequence the menu choices based on the frequency with which they
are selected
·
Restrict the number of choices to five or fewer per menu level
·
Restrict the number of menu levels to no more than three
·
Keep each choice short and simple
·
Put the name of the destination first
·
Avoid using automated attendant for a caller’s first introduction
to the company – AA should not used to answer the company’s main listed number
·
Can replace DID (direct inward dialing)
·
Permit callers to dial an extension number at any time during
the announcement
·
Enable callers to select an individual without knowing the extension
number – the name dialing feature
·
Can be an entry into an ACD (automatic call distribution) group
– AA is a fast and efficient way of routing calls to the appropriate group
·
Can be implemented either through voice mail or through an integrated
announcement board and conditional routing
·
Connects between the telephone network and a host computer either
through the PBX or directly to central office trunks
·
Prompts callers to enter identification digits and to choose
the service they want
·
Financial institutions were the first to adopt IVRs – callers
can check account balances and transfer money between accounts without human
assistance
·
The high end systems include a built in data base such as Oracle
or Informix.
Two ways of translating numbers and text into language
·
Synthesized voice – most versatile, unnatural cadence
·
Stored words and speech fragments – vocabulary is limited
Some examples of how IVR are used
·
Airline crew members can dial into an IVR to hear their flight
schedules.
·
An IVR is used in a call center to announce the expected wait
time and queue position to callers who must wait
·
An employer gives employees access to their personal benefit
information through IVR.
·
Although there are questions only humans can answer, IVRs can
often supply the answer to regular repetitive questions.
· A companion product to voice response, sometimes combined in the same package
The method is
·
A potential customer dials a toll-free number to request some
information
·
Answer a few menu questions by pressing DTMF keys
·
Dial in their fax number
·
The FOD computer retrieves the information from its hard disk,
seizes an outgoing line and sends the information.
·
Information transfer is almost instantaneous
·
A product still in progress (some applications are possible today)
·
While the demand is huge, the obstacles (limited technological
capabilities) are numerous
·
Replace longer automated attendant menus. The examples are:
·
A university could invite callers to say the department they
want. If a caller said “liberal arts”, the system could respond, “do you want
literature, graphic arts, or drama?” This leads the caller to a predictable
response.
·
Can be the supplement of a company’s telephone directory. Callers
can speak the name of the person they want, and the speech recognition equipment
reads back the telephone number
·
Be useful for directing callers to queues in an ACD. In the future,
callers who dial the technical assistance support line can be asked to speak
the name of the product they are calling about. The ACD can direct the call
to the available agent with the most expertise of the subject.
The vender support capability is a prime consideration considering the fact that nearly every application is unique.
What to check:
·
The vendor’s support
·
The vendor’s competitive warranty
·
The vendor’s record of satisfied customers
·
The manufacturer’s record of keeping up with advances in technology
·
The vendor’s assistance with the administration of the product
·
Expandability of the system
·
The level of integration if the same company does not manufacture
the voice mail and switch
·
What the essential features are
·
Since AA is often purchased as part of the voice mail, these
issues may be to be considered:
·
If the system provide any method of determining the number of
times each menu choice is selected
·
If the system can be interrupted by the prompt when a user knows
the menu choice
What to check:
·
What platform (Microsoft Windows NT, a Unix workstation or other)
the IVR runs on
·
What database management system the system comes with
·
The system expandability
·
Who will program the application to emulate a terminal on your
computer
·
Congeniality of the system to callers
·
Reporting capability
·
Backup capability
Check what platform it runs on and how many ports it supports
·
Determine what it is to do
·
Determine from the vendors whether it is practical
Telecommunications managers have two major responsibilities on voice processing systems: identifying opportunities for applying the technologies to save expenses and give the company a competitive edge, and ensuring that users are aware of how to avoid misuse.