As with most commercial interactions between companies and their prospects and customers, call center interactions are bound by regulations regarding their honesty, transparency, and protection of sensitive information. However, because of historical abuse and the increased scrutiny on technology-enabled communication of all kinds, call centers must adhere to myriad regulations – perhaps more than any other customer interactions.
Failure to comply with any of these regulations can have a major adverse impact on the call center’s business. Financial and legal sanctions have stiffened with the proliferation of scams and spam contacts. If the failure to comply results in a material loss to a customer – like a data breach – the effect can be significant for the business.
On the other hand, the tight operations that compliance demands also enable better management and greater efficiency.
Understanding Call Center Regulations
Depending on the nature and scope of their business, call centers are subject to regulation at the state, federal, and even international level. Here are some of the rules that can apply:
Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
This is intended to protect consumers from unwanted communications and covers telemarketing calls, text messages, and even unsolicited faxes.
Do Not Call Registry (DNC)
A Do Not Call Registry is comprised of phone numbers submitted by individuals opting out of unwanted telemarketing calls, and it has legal standing. The United States and Canada each have their own registries, as do several other countries.
Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR)
The TSR lays out detailed rules for contacting consumers, proper telemarketing practices, and prohibitions against deceptive practices.
Call Monitoring and Recording Consents
Every state in the U.S. has their own regulation about what constitutes consent to have a call recorded or monitored, as do each of the provinces and territories in Canada, and each country in the EU.
CAN-SPAM Act
While this law covers email, not phone calls per se, if call agents are generating emails in connection with phone interactions, this can apply.
Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)
PCI is a private information security standard adopted by a consortium of credit card companies. If you’re taking credit card orders, the PCI standard applies. Failure to comply can result in no longer being able to accept payments by credit card.
Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act)
This umbrella law empowers the Federal Trade Commission to prevent unfair and deceptive business practices, including contact center activities.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
This set of protocols regulates handling of the personal data of EU citizens. Even if a call center is not contacting numbers in the EU, if the consumer data is co-mingled with EU records, the stricter standard applies.
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
Similar to GDPR, CCPA regulates how the personal information of California residents is handled. If such data is co-mingled with that of citizens of any other state, the stricter standard must be enforced.
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)
This is specific to third-party debt collectors, protecting consumers from harassment or abuse, including phone interactions.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
As part of a much wider-ranging law, HIPAA includes data protections for medical information and should be a consideration in any healthcare or insurance interactions.
Essential Elements of a Call Center Compliance Program
As you can see, call center regulations are complex. These risks are multiplied by the number of agents handling calls each day. Fortunately, you can follow a few steps to mitigate the risk to your business.
Adequate employee training is foundational. Agents don’t need to deeply understand the law. They need to know how to do their job in a way that will not run afoul of the law. If that is best handled with specific scripts, supply them. Otherwise, prepare agents for the most common interactions and how to behave in each. Empower them to escalate to a manager as soon as a situation goes beyond the usual.
Managers should also be constantly monitoring agents and auditing operations to confirm the training is effective. All these procedures should be documented to ensure a record exists for rigorous oversight and to protect the business in case of a lapse by an individual agent.
For this same reason, calls should be recorded and randomly reviewed to assure compliance by agents with both the law and company procedures.
The most crucial element of any call center compliance program is the same as for every business: data security. All the electronic systems for transmitting and storing data should adhere to the highest standards of protection. This should include encryption of the data itself to protect it even during “in-house” transmission, especially since so many call center operations now engage remote agents. Likewise, take steps to ensure physical security of the workplace and monitor agent behavior.
Together, these steps can strengthen your operations and facilitate greater regulatory compliance.
Benefits of Maintaining a Compliant Call Center
Your business can benefit from compliant operations in more ways than just avoiding penalties.
A tightly structured and carefully maintained operation is likelier to be more efficient. Turning call-handling into a system allows you to standardize procedures. In addition to integrating compliance, you can enjoy faster call-handling and quicker resolution, translating into lower operating costs and often more satisfying customer interactions.
Such standardization also simplifies oversight. Behaviors or individuals operating “out of scope” can be identified more quickly and addressed. This helps agents grow and develop while minimizing the exposure of the company.
This same philosophy applies even more to information security infrastructure and procedures. You can specifically define and monitor elements of data and systems security with strict rigor. Such an upfront investment quickly pays for itself in smooth, efficient, hassle-free day-to-day operations. And it can pay huge dividends when it protects customer data from a potential incident.
Start Your Call Center Compliance Journey Today
Whether you are motivated by wanting smoother call center operations or avoiding penalties for noncompliance, call center compliance is ultimately just better business. Your customers and prospects will appreciate that, and so will your bottom line.
If you want to leave the regulations and compliance requirements to the experts so you can focus on your business growth and success, consider outsourcing some or all of your call center operations to an organized and provisioned resource. Solvo has the people and systems to help.
About Solvo:
Solvo drives business growth by connecting North American companies with exceptional remote workers and AI-powered tools. Our unique nearshoring model ensures efficient collaboration in the same time zone, reducing turnover, and driving cost efficiencies. With a focus on fostering a great work environment, Solvo is dedicated to attracting top talent, ensuring our partners never have to choose between cost and quality.
