Studies have confirmed that too much noise in the workplace can be distracting and stress-inducing, and even cause physical pain. In customer service centers, noise can also be bad for business in a number of ways.
For example, a 2015 study commissioned by the audio communications technology company Plantronics found that a vast majority of office workers said noise had an adverse effect on them and the quality of their work. Noise problems have been exacerbated by the trend toward open-space office designs, the company also found.
Growing concerns about the impacts of workplace noise have led to such laws as the Control of Noise at Work Regulations that went into effect in the U.K. in 2006. The issue has also been the focus of scientific research, government summit discussions and other actions in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere.
Workplace Noise Raises Privacy Concerns
In addition to being distracting to employees and callers, noisy contact centers can also create problems around information privacy and security, Plantronics spokesman Woody Mosqueda told us. Those concerns pose particular challenges for businesses that handle information related to healthcare or finances, he said.
A February 2015 Opinion Matters survey commissioned by Plantronics found that office workers agreed the toughest task to deal with in noisy environments was handling telephone conversations. Such challenges have increased as more people find themselves in flexible work environments and open-office layouts without traditional fixed-desk and office spaces.
For instance, last year Facebook opened what is considered to be the “largest open floor plan in the world” — a 430,000-square-foot collaborative space in Menlo Park, California, that can accommodate up to 2,800 engineers and other employees.
Such spaces represent a “shift among businesses large and small to ditch cubicles with high walls and private offices in favor of everyone sitting side by side out in the open or in very low-walled cubes,” wrote Plantronics’ Judi Hembrough, who leads marketing and strategy efforts for the company’s small and midsize business customers.
The rise of mobile work on the road and in cars, train stations, airports and elsewhere have also contributed to more noise issues for workers, Plantronics found. In response, the company has come out with several new products, including the Blackwire 725 (Images: Plantronics), its first unified communications-designed stereo headset with active noise cancelling.
IoT Tech also Driving Mobile Work
Mobile customer engagement is likely to continue growing in the coming year, according to Lisa Durant, a Nemertes Research Group analyst who focuses on contact centers and customer engagement.
“I absolutely expect to see mobile grow in importance in 2016,” Durant said recently in offering her predictions for the new year. “I expect IT leaders to encounter challenges as a separate department from contact center/customer engagement typically handles mobile engagement, and I don’t expect that to change in 2016.”
She added she also expects to see conversations about mobile customer service evolve as more people adopt Internet of Things technologies. “I’m absolutely watching this space as I continue to see more people buy new ‘smart’ and connected devices,” Durant noted.
