When you are dealing with a call center and making a lot of phone calls, you will understand the importance of dealing with the calls professionally and efficiently. The call whisper feature is one of the ways in which you can better your call handling.
Call whispering is an effective competitive advantage that can assist your team in granting a superior customer experience.
We will examine the advantages of call whispering and its necessity to call centers.
What is Call Whisper?
Call whisper is a call processing option that, without the knowledge of the caller, gives agents important customer data (such as CRM data or IVR input) either prior to or during the live customer-agent communication.
This conversation-specific information is delivered to the agents as CTI screen pops or voice recordings prior to them accepting the call (Standard Call Whisper), or as in-conversation coaching on the part of a manager, which only the agent can hear (Live Call Whisper/Manager-Led Call Whisper).
Enabling in-call coaching or pre-call data sharing would make the agent as ready to take the call as possible, allow a very in-depth support experience, increase the First Call Resolution (FCR) rates, and reduce the possibility of customer callbacks or call transfers.
When call whisper is utilized, it provides information to contact center agents.
In case of a call with call whisper, the agent is able to hear a short message and then answers. This message contains important information about the caller which will enable the agent to be ready to talk to the caller. This common information may include:
- Name and contact number of the caller: The agents of the Helps personalize the contact.
- Call source: Indicates the origin of the call (e.g. marketing campaign, site, referral).
- Customer status: Refers to the status of the caller as a new lead, returning customer or VIP client.
- Reason for call: Gives an overview of the purpose of the customer calling (e.g., customer support problem, sales question).
- Past Calls: Displays the history of past calls, purchases, or tickets to eliminate repetitive questions.
- Instructions specific to the agent: Instructions or special handling instructions to the caller.
- Language or place preferences: Helps direct calls to the appropriate agent or department.
- Urgency level: Labels calls that have high priorities as urgent.
How Does Call Whisper Work?
The call whisper feature is integrated with other on-premise or cloud-based call center software features like call routing, campaign management, auto dialer tools and CRMs.
The step by step process of the call whisper is:
- Step One: A call is received into the call center.
- Step Two: This stage is where the customer communicates with the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) menu or auto attendant to refer his/her call to the most appropriate agent/department.
- Step Three: The incoming call is forwarded to the most suitable agent based on routing policies, business policies and customer reaction to prompts of IVR.
- Step Four: The particular agent will be called or issued with a whisper message (hearable only by the assigned agent) or CRM screen pop (only visible on the assigned agent screen) with pertinent customer information.
- Step Five: Once the agent has completed the review of the information a) the agent accepts the call and is linked to the customer to provide live support or b) the agent is linked to the customer and is advised by a supervisor or a manager (only the rep can hear the call) during the call.
- Step Six: The agent closes the call and logs the CRM (sets a call back/transfers/escalates the call as necessary).
Although the call whisper process depends on the size of the business, high call volume, available number of agents and managers, or the particular customer being called, this is the most usual action taken.
On some of the call center software platforms, there are AI-powered bots that retrieve customer CRM data and whisper it to an agent prior to or during a call without the need to involve a human manager.
A second well-liked AI feature is the Agent Assist, which offers automatic in-conversation agent assistance through Natural Language Understanding to identify customer requirements and show relevant call scripts, canned replies, and internal information on agent screens.
Irrespective of the particular method your business employs regarding the functionality of the call whisper, the information provided enhances the quality of support, customer service, and the level of productivity.
Call Whisper vs. Call Tracking vs. Call Monitoring
Various features are provided by VoIP phone systems that are aimed at facilitating the working process of the call and enhancing the performance of the agents.
Although certain features might appear to mean the same thing, there are certain key differences that one should be aware of.
The following is a comparison between the difference between call whisper and call tracking and monitoring.
i. Call Whisper vs. Call Tracking
Call tracking is an option that records and manages important measurements of all inbound and outbound calls, such as the duration of the call, the name of the caller, the date and time of receiving the call, the agent assigned to the call, and the result of the call. The call tracking is also recorded and transcribes an audio recording of the conversation, which can be easily listened to and transcribed by the managers and agents at any time.
Call whisper and call tracking are overlapping slightly.
One of the components of a call whisper process is call tracking, however, two functions have different aims.
The focus of call tracking is highly on analytics, which provides a business owner and call center manager with a birds eye view of operations. Call Whisper concerns more real-time training of agents and support, enhancement of the operating efficiency, and quality of support.
Call whisper has a call tracking feature whose sole purpose is to provide supervisors with as much context as they can before barge in on a call.
ii. Call Monitoring vs. Call Whisper
Call monitoring is an agent call center software option that allows the call center managers to monitor agent calls in order to provide quality assurance and/or agent training (with or without the knowledge of the agent). Call monitoring is a term that is widely applied to refer to a number of call center services such as call whisper.
Call monitoring may also mean tracking communication with other communication mediums in real-time (live chat, social media messages, SMS/MMS, email, etc.)
Call monitoring incorporates such features as:
- Listen: This enables the managers to hear the conversations made by the agents without the other side knowing about it.
- Barge in: Barge in allows supervisors to interrupt an agent call, which is virtually reduced to a three-way conference call.
- Take-Over: This gives the managers the option of taking over the call and disconnecting the agent.
- Call recording
- Sentiment analysis
Advantages of Call Whisper Usage
Application of call whisper in a call center may be very effective to increase efficiency, customer interactions, and simplify processes involved. Offering an insight to the agents in real-time prior to receiving a call empowers businesses to provide an improved service and easy-going conversations.
We will discuss the major advantages in the case of managers of the contact center and the agents below.
i. Contact Center Managerial Benefits
Call whisper is an effective tool for managers that aids in better overall performance, shortened call handling time, and improved experiences with customers.
A- Call Routing Efficiency
Call whisper ensures that the agent knows what the caller wants once he/she pick up the call; hence/they can deal with the inquiry better. This minimizes call re-routing and enhances the rate of first call resolution.
B- Improved Quality Assurance and Performance Monitoring
Call whisper allows managers to prioritize the provision of agents an appropriate background on the call. They can also evaluate the responsiveness of the agents to various types of callers by combining it with call monitoring.
C- Higher Customer Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction will be increased because agents will be equipped with important information at the beginning of the process and can provide a more personalized and informed experience. This makes the customers less frustrated and the satisfaction scores increase.
D- Quick Onboarding of New Agents
New agents find it difficult to cope with calls they are not familiar with. Call Whisper provides guidance aiding them prior to picking up the phone and navigating various customer enquires with greater confidence.
ii. Contact Center Agent Benefits
Call whisper gives the agent immediate caller information so that they can better deal with the calls and be confident.
A- Less Stress and Uncertainty
Through the lack of call whisper, the agents make calls without any clue and as a result, they become uncertain and hesitant. They are informed of a brief pre-call message to prepare them on what to expect.
B- Better Turnaround Time and Efficiency
With prior knowledge of what the call entails, the agents will be able to jump directly into the conversation rather than use the initial several seconds to better understand the needs of the customer.
C- More Human and Relevant Discussions
In case an agent is aware of whether the caller is a VIP customer, a repeat user or a member of a certain marketing campaign, the agent will be able to adjust to the situation and the customer dialogue will be more effective.
D- Stabilized and Increased First-call Resolution
Call whisper can offer a context; therefore, the agent can efficiently respond to the needs of the caller rather than transferring them or asking questions repeatedly. This would imply reduced call backs and an effective call center.
Call Whispering Use Cases
Now, we will consider some of the various call whisper application examples that demonstrate how it can be taken advantage of in order to solve various issues, assist your agents in various scenarios, and achieve end results that will ultimately benefit those who your customers are as well as your business:
i. Sales Training and Guidance
The real time advice and strategies given to new or less experienced sales reps by experienced managers can be in the form of advice on how to deal with objections, positioning or closing deals effectively.
ii. Customer Support Troubleshooting
Customer support agents will be capable of receiving instant assistance in technical problems of a complicated nature and giving accurate replies to customers.
iii. Upselling and Cross-selling Hints
Reps may be instructed on how to introduce other products or services that are useful to the current needs of the customer without interruption the conversation cycle.
iv. Crisis Management
Supervisors can offer information on de-escalation strategies and handling processes in highly-stressful or sensitive circumstances.
v. General Performance Improvement
Supervisors will have the opportunity to provide real-time feedback on the ability to handle calls, which will assist the agent to enhance their performance and observe the best practices.
vi. Compliance Adherence
Agents may get advisory on matters of compliance, and they may follow the company policies and legal matters when making calls.
Final Words – Call Whisper
Call whispering is one of the useful attributes in any contact center that allows both new and experienced agents to seek the necessary help when communicating with customers.
With call whisper used to direct agents on complex conversations, the supervisors are able to ensure that they are upholding the performance of the contact center, solving problems in a timely manner, and resolving problems to their customers in the most efficient way possible.
FAQs – Call Whisper
Q1. What is meant by Call Whisper?
Call whisper is a type of message that the call center agents and customer service representatives receive in real time to offer them pertinent information, suggestions, and tips on how to make a first call successful and enhance customer satisfaction.
Q2. Can the customer on the other end hear the Call Whisper?
No, the call whisper does not sound to the customer. Only the agent receives the prompts as a separate audio channel, in the form of a whisper. The customer just listens to the regular talk with the agent.
Q3. Does Call Whisper work with a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) environment?
The answer to the question is yes, the implementation of call whisper in a VoIP phone system environment is possible. The whisper voice can be injected into the VoIP phone call of the agent independently and without the customer hearing it. Call whisper is enabled by the leading VoIP providers, such as DialerHQ, so you do not need to buy it separately to use it.
Q4. What is the difference between Call Barging and Call Whisper?
Call barging enables a supervisor to enter a call that is already in progress with the hearing customer. Nevertheless, call whisper offers training instructions to only the agent. The client is not aware of the whisper that is helping the agent.
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