| Speech technology is well acknowledged as the preferred and efficient solution for communication in advanced service centers. The increasing proliferation of cellular/mobile communication has brought with it a rise in the demand for speech services as opposed to menu driven touch tone services. There however exists the problem of the cost of maintaining efficient call center service while overcoming the constraints of sharp fluctuations in call volume coupled with rapid employee turnover. Automated Interactive Speech Recognition is a tool that enables handling a large amount of incoming calls – with emphasis on routine calls while conserving the major organizational resources of time and money.
The first generation of speech technology was the standard Interactive Voice Response system, the IVR, which most people are familiar with. The IVR is quite a clumsy system – it neither hears nor understands the request of the caller, and it is operated by a touch tone system which is menu based with preset scenarios. The user inputs parameters via the keypad in the hope that this will lead to eventual completion of a transaction or access of required information. Despite this being an efficient basic system most callers would prefer to abandon it in favor of a more advanced solution.
The second generation Advanced Speech Recognition (ASR) has improved the user experience wherein there is guided dialog based on supplying answers to questions generated by the system. The answer menu scenarios are at times confusing and unclear and may overlook specific requirements. Basically it is a voice driven IVR – a better user experience, but suffering from the same ills, and since the improvement offered to the customer is minor it has not gained acceptance.
The next generation of speech technology is the Interactive Speech Response (ISR) as offered by QI Communications. We believe that this platform offers the best customer experience coupled with the highest levels of automation at the lowest cost of deployment. |
