A Sponsored Article by Connect First
In June 2015, the FCC approved a declaratory ruling that addresses several issues related to TCPA requirements—leaving contact centers feeling the pressure.
The ruling included: an expansion on automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) requirements to include any equipment that can be modified to have the capacity to dial numbers without human intervention; holding companies liable for calls to reassigned phone numbers; and holding text messages to the same requirements as phone calls. The new ruling also states that people can revoke previous consent to receive calls at any time and through any means, and that phone service providers can now offer “robocall” blocking services and technology to their customers.
Changes in regulations often trigger compliance failures, which can lead to data exposure, fines and fees, security breaches, loss of customers, impact to reputation and civil action. But there are steps companies can take to remove the stress of compliance upkeep.
Implement TCPA-Compliant Solutions
Look for contact center dialers and outbound notification solutions that come with features that help companies adhere to these expanded TCPA requirements. Ensure that these solutions have the capacity to:
- Run all call lists against the National DNC Registry and an internally maintained DNC list
- Detect answering machines and leave a message that includes a toll-free number to access an opt-out mechanism for future calls
- Include an opt-out option on an IVR menu, which will automatically capture the customer’s choice, immediately disconnect the call, and place the customer’s number on the DNC list
- Restrict outbound campaign call abandon rates to 3% or less, and configure the IVR to maintain that rate over consecutive 30-day periods on a per-campaign basis
- Pace automated calls to comply with the greeting, identification and 2-second opt-out rule
- Capture and document express “written” consent via voice or other accepted electronic methods
- Make sure that customers or prospects who have not given explicit prior consent are not contacted
- Provide detailed audit trail reports that capture, report and archive all manual and automated DNC-related activities
- Offer a manual (non-telephony) method for calling customers/prospects
- Outbound Dialer without potential to perform requisite autodialing functions with zero tolerance for modifications by either the client or the vendor
Connect First Safe, for example, is a safe mode account built on top of a true non-ATDS architecture and uses an outbound server that doesn’t have access to Predictive, Preview or Power Dialing and, therefore, is able to safely dial cellphone numbers via an Agent Click-To-Dial request. List-loading and Campaign Management for this mode are almost identical to a normal preview dialer, but are completely separate from the Predictive Dialer platform making it a safe application.
To reduce costs, work with companies that leverage considerable scrubbing volume with the National DNC Registry. Doing so removes the need to monitor and regulate how often you scrub against DNC/cell databases and eliminates the risk of regulatory fines—all while providing a simple and cost-effective option for meeting compliance.
Keeping up with ever-changing regulations can be frustrating and time-consuming. Working with knowledgeable vendors and implementing solutions that adhere to TCPA requirements ensures that your contact center stays up-to-date without added stress.
Need Personalized Advice and Help?
Geoff Mina is the CEO of contact center platform technology provider Connect First which has achieved Level 1 PCI Certification. Connect First and partner Compliance Point work closely with customers deploying cloud-based contact center platforms to evaluate and implement strategies to help meet PCI requirements.
You can also access an archive of a webinar with Geoff and Compliance Point with more hints for PCI management with cloud platforms at:
http://bit.ly/CCPCFcompliance