“Now Hear This” (NHT) traditionally signals an important announcement that commands attention. This especially relates to the U.S. military where it is a nautical staple. But, as with many idioms, NHT has evolved beyond its original context—music appearances, a PBS classical series, and even a quirky 1963 cartoon film. Now I propose its next great role: NHT as a spectacular framework for illustrating Contact Center needs.
Let’s explore the factors to consider for your own NHT program. “Now Hear This” can serve as the rallying cry for addressing key friction points in the Contact Center experience and for tackling obstacles to seamless digital access. Let’s face it. The Contact Center cannot depend on other departments to solve problems that only it truly understands.
Take system design for example. Most departments deal with a handful of tools tailored to their specific needs. The Contact Center? It juggles an entire circus of applications just to complete a single task. And IT? It designs systems primarily for the “main” user, with the Contact Center’s needs coming in as a footnote (if it’s lucky).
Let’s break down some challenges and demonstrate how an NHT program can help your Contact Center to be heard—loud and clear.
Holding in the Queue: The Slow-motion Waiting Game Nobody Enjoys
Let’s start with an easy exercise first told to me by a Contact Center Director. Make a call to your Contact Center, preferably during the busiest time of the day. If your first thought is, “I can’t call when it’s busy; I don’t have time to wait on hold!”—congratulations! You have just uncovered a major problem! This example is one of my favorite illustrations of “missed awareness.”
When you do call, pay attention. How is the queue configured? Has your company invested in marketing messages, and if so, what tone do they strike? Does the narrator sound like they’re hyping a Ford F-150 though you are calling an orthopedic clinic? And let’s talk music. Does it soothe or raise your blood pressure?
The real culprit here isn’t the music or the voiceover; it is those endless interruptions. You know the ones: “We’re sorry for the extended delay, blah blah blah.” This is repeated every 20, 30, or 60 seconds, regardless of how long you are stuck on hold.
If hold times exceed five minutes, program the system to “go to music” and spare your callers the repetitive nonsense of the “Your call is important to us” interruption. When these annoying messages break into marketing messages it makes me wonder why any organization would want this! Sadly, they likely DON’T want this; they just have a “missed awareness.” YIKES!
The Contact Center cannot depend on other departments to solve problems that only it truly understands.
This kind of experience is archaic and a relic of the 1990s, before multiple recording sources were an option. It is also a glaring example of organizational dysfunction. No Contact Center in the 21st century should interrupt marketing messages with repetitive hold announcements. Yet, it happens because the people making these decisions—whether IT, Telecom, or another department—do not fully grasp the Customer Experience impact of their choices. And Marketing? Well, it also appears blissfully unaware.
What is worse is that fixing the problem is simple, and definitely not rocket science. It is just nobody’s job! This is a perfect starting point for your NHT program. Shine a light on these issues, call them out for what they are, and start creating a queue experience that doesn’t make customers want to scream.
Cluttered Desktops: The Silent AHT Killer
Let’s talk about the cluttered desktop. It is often a chaotic landscape of multiple applications, each with its own set of quirks. Timeouts, password resets, and navigation challenges can feel like the unraveling of a nautical knot. For Contact Centers, this mess isn’t just a minor inconvenience; it is a process and training nightmare. And when you factor in remote agent environments, the complexity skyrockets.
Remote agents often work with a patchwork of internet providers, varying connection speeds, and—brace yourself—their own equipment. Yes, some organizations require agents to supply their own computers and internet access. What a risky and short-sighted practice this is!
Now imagine trying to share all those cluttered desktop applications across this maze of remote setups. Latency issues inevitably creep in, turning a smooth workflow into a sluggish crawl. The organization is laser-focused on tracking an individual agent’s Average Handle Time (AHT) like it is the Holy Grail. But they often brush aside the role IT latency plays in bloating these numbers. As part of the NHT initiative, consider documenting the number of calls where agents apologize for the system (“My system is very slow today.”). Include this information in any reports regarding AHT. And, since most recording systems today capture the screen, create a “reel” or two showing the latent system response. This can be powerful in influencing and persuading investment to fix these key areas.
Organizations need to shift their focus and stop obsessing over agent AHT. They must identify and report on all tasks, tools, and activities impacting handle time. A global fix to latency and cluttered desktops delivers far bigger wins and a much smoother Customer Experience. This is where the real impact lies.
Remote Agent Latency and Voice Quality—“Can You Hear Me Now?” is not a QA Strategy
And let’s not forget voice quality. Remote setups often rely on suboptimal connections which can lead to poor audio. This further hampers productivity and frustrates customers. This is a textbook “Now Hear This” moment!
Fixing the transport mechanisms and streamlining cluttered desktops impacts every single agent. It is a game-changer for AHT and one that benefits the entire operation, not just individual performance metrics.
Process Alerts for Digital Access: From Handoffs and Transfers to Clicks and Completion—Decoding the Mess
Digital access is expected to be a smooth journey. But too often it is a maze riddled with handoffs, transfers, and excessive clicks. Each step is a potential stumbling block, where customers and agents alike get stuck navigating disjointed systems. Handoffs between departments frequently lack the context needed to continue the interaction seamlessly. This leaves customers to repeat their story—again (and sometimes, again). Transfers pile on frustration when they bounce customers to the wrong department or fail to resolve the issue entirely.
And don’t even get me started on “clicks to completion,” where convoluted workflows and unnecessary steps slow down what should be a simple process. This chaos not only frustrates customers but also drags down agent efficiency. It is time for a “Now Hear This” approach. Audit these digital pathways, identify the choke points, and streamline the process. Fewer clicks, smarter handoffs, and seamless transfers mean happier customers and more empowered agents. It is a win-win worth the effort!
The reality is that Contact Centers are full of operational blind spots. Some have just been accepted as “the way things are.” Others we have fought to fix, but with limited success.
But what if we changed the conversation? What if we stopped playing defense on AHT and QA scores and instead used “Now Hear This” to proactively call out the systemic inefficiencies that impact every agent, every call, and every customer? Whether it is outdated queue configurations, desktop chaos, or digital handoffs that don’t actually hand anything off, it is time to rethink what we measure and how we advocate for change.
Think about the inefficiencies that are staring you in the face and that need a new, louder approach to being heard. Create a “Now Hear This Report” that spotlights real issues and solutions in a way that commands attention and drives action. If no one is listening, maybe we are just not making enough noise! NHT program can help your contact center be heard—loud and clear.