Noise is always disturbing but in contact centers it might impact business since the revenue relies on business calls and if these calls suffer from low quality then the impact on business is immediate. In this post we will cover few ways to cancel noise in call centers and specifically in phone calls.

Prevention

As we know from health, the best way to recover from any sickness is by avoiding it in the first place. The same applies to noise cancellation. If your agents, supervisors and team leaders keep quieter and use a messaging application to communicate instead of shouting then the amount of noise that needs to be cancelled will be significantly lower.

Space

The more space you provide to your agents and less crowded call center you have, the less cross-talk will occur and hence the customers are less likely to hear any other voices in the background. Adding table tops separators can help reduce the cross-talk and might also be useful against COVID.

Acoustic

Using acoustic ceiling and walls, carpets and plants is another good option. All these materials observe the ambient noise and therefore reduce the bounced-back noise and amount of “free” noise that might disturb the calls. This technique is not useful to cancel clear human voice of two agents sitting close to each other since in this case the disturbing noise is coming directly from the agent’s mouth and not a bounce-back from the walls/ceiling.

White Noise

In some cases, adding a white noise can help fight the inconvenience caused by the ambient noise. Adding the white-noise does not cancel the original ambient noise but masks it. This might be a good technique as long as we do not expect it to mask clear human voices of two agents sitting close to each other.

Software

Lastly, there is an option to harness the robust RNR technology to cancel the noise. This technology allows removal of any noise including clear human voices of the agent sitting on the left/right. A software solution like the Noise Firewall provides automatic and transparent implementation of the RNR technology. The Noise Firewall maps the location and disturbance level of each agent and uses this information to remove any type of noise.