These things should be standard in your VoIP system

Very little is certain in the world of business. That quickly becomes apparent to anyone who’s ever started a business or even reached the executive level in a company. There are, however, things that all businesses should be able to take for granted. That...

Why business should care about how virtual agents are used

Businesses everywhere are under pressure to deliver better service at less cost. Most have looked at some form of digital solution, but do they really work? Ryan Falkenberg, co-CEO of Clevva, comments: “Virtual agents are constantly evolving and becoming more...

Virtual agents could free BPOs to cash in on local EQ

Advanced intelligent automation (IA) virtual agents shift the burden of repetitive, rules-based queries and work away from human agents. This should not be seen as a threat to South Africa’s call centres and business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, but rather...

How to design voice assistants for South Africans

South African languages pose quite a challenge to voice assistants. The country recognises 12 official dialects, but these subdivide into many regional, cultural and colloquial accents. Most South Africans speak more than one language, further colouring their speech....

Women can thrive and grow in the BPO industry

One of South Africa’s biggest challenges is creating employment opportunities for people from previously disadvantaged communities, particularly its youth and women. By Lizelle Strydom, MD of CareerBox Africa And, while our thoughts turn to the empowerment of...

Repetitive conversations don’t have to be expensive

In any contact centre, there are some calls (both inbound and outbound) that essentially boil down to saying the same thing over and over again. These repetitive conversations cover everything from human resources functions (such as people calling to ask how much...