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Call Center Soundproofing

Call Center Soundproofing: Why Is it Needed?

Many call centers come to Soundproof Cow because their employees are complaining. They can’t hear the customer, miscommunication occurs, and sales are lost. Often, customers only know your business from what can be heard on the call. If customers hear the background noise of other conversations, they’ll feel like they’re not on a private call. They won’t have a good impression of your company. If your employees can’t hear the customer clearly, there’s miscommunication and serious problems occur. These problems cost your company money. If you are not getting the results that you want from your call center, you may want to seriously consider call center noise reduction products from Soundproof Cow. Our sound absorption solutions can help improve your call center results in several ways: First, as a service to your team members. When your employees can hear every call that is going on around them, they may lose focus on their own call. While a call center with an open plan doesn’t allow for complete silence around an operator’s call, we have solutions that can dampen echoes and pull sound so that the clearest sound your operator hears is the sound coming from their phone, with other people’s conversations in the faint background. Second, as a service to your customers. If you do not have adequate solutions in place for controlling call center noise, customers may feel like they are not valued as individuals, which could make them want to end the call sooner, make them lose interest in your product or service or make them less likely to call again. Good call center soundproofing can help you deal with both of these issues and more.

What can Call Center Soundproofing Do for You?

• Reduce echoes and background noise so phone conversations are clear, resulting in better communication between your employees and customers • Decrease distractions for employees, which ultimately increases concentration and quality work • Provide a better working environment so your company keeps good employees

How to Soundproof a Call Center

The challenge when it comes to call centers is that most call centers have relatively open floor plans. Operators are not in private offices where they can close a door — instead, at best, they have an area enclosed by three cubicle walls. How can you soundproof such an environment? Fortunately, Soundproof Cow has a number of solutions for this situation, such as our Hanging Baffles. These squares of soundproofing material have echo absorbing and sound dampening properties and simply hang from the ceiling, where they quietly perform their function of drawing bouncing sounds from the atmosphere away from the ears of your operators. You can also line the walls you do have with Soundproof Cow products like our Quiet Barrier™ HD Soundproofing Composite, Fabric Wrapped Acoustic Panels or Udderly Quiet™ Fabric-Covered Foam. These products can easily fit into your existing design and do a great job of absorbing sound, even in spaces that you are not able to completely enclose. These products also look great and are made from natural materials, so they should not disrupt your call center setup or culture in any significant way, other than to spare your operators and your customers the trouble of excessive harsh, unwanted, distracting sound. To get started, let Soundproof Cow’s experts help determine your personal call center’s specific needs and requirements when it comes to sound control. Contact us today for a totally free acoustic analysis of your set up to get you going on the right track.

Call Center Soundproofing

Even with much of our communication happening online these days, customers still seek out help lines for advice and support. Talking by phone has some advantages over written communication, but when you put a lot of employees together who are all talking on the phone at once, this can create a noisy and chaotic environment.

This is where soundproofing comes in. With the right solutions, you can keep noise from becoming a problem for call center employees and for the customers they serve.

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Call Center Soundproofing Products

  • Top MOOver! A close up of an isoTrax Soundproofing System consisting of an isolation rail, isolation screws and isolation pads

    isoTRAX™ Soundproofing System

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    Quiet Barrier™ HD Soundproofing Composite

    $349.99Shop Now

Call Center Sound Absorption Products

Benefits of Soundproofing Your Call Center

Call center sound dampening comes with some important benefits. However, you can boil these benefits down into two main categories: clear phone communication and minimized distractions.

1. Clear Phone Communication

You don’t want call center employees struggling to hear the customer on the other end of the line, and you don’t want customers hearing more voices than just the customer service representative. A noisy environment can make it extremely difficult to talk on the phone and hear everything clearly. Even if employees are wearing headsets, voices from other employees can come through the microphone and make them difficult to understand. In a call center, clear communication should be of the highest priority. With soundproofing, you can make clear communication possible.

2. Minimized Distractions

A quieter environment is also an easier environment in which to stay focused. Being surrounded by noise can make employees feel distracted and even stressed. In a call center, noise can easily become a big, distracting problem. With soundproofing, you can enjoy a quieter environment in your call center, so employees can remain focused on their work without losing their train of thought or being distracted by the conversations going on around them.

3. Improved Employee Retention and Satisfaction

Sound reduction in call centers is essential for maintaining a comfortable work environment for employees. When employees face daily complications while working, they might get frustrated or burnt out. You can experience higher turnover rates or absences, reducing the call center’s productivity and effectiveness. Sound reduction can manage employee needs while helping customers.

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How to Soundproof a Call Center

To reduce noise problems in your call center, you can mask, distribute, block or absorb sound. By using white noise, strategic spacing, soundproofing materials and sound-absorbing materials, you can reduce noise and improve employee communication with customers.

1. Sound Masking

If call center employees are struggling to hear over the sounds of each other’s voices, one solution is to install sound masking systems. Adding to all the noise may seem counterintuitive, but white noise in a call center can help mask the sounds of voices. Even if you have to increase the volume of the sound masking system, your employees will have a better chance of hearing because sound masking frequencies are less disruptive than the noise of nearby voices.

2. Distribute Sound

Some companies may have the option of spreading out their employees to reduce noise disruption. Even if you don’t have extra room, you can seat employees strategically, putting employees who don’t speak on the phone regularly between those who do. This can work if you have some employees who focus on online communication, for example. You can also move noisy machines like printers to other areas, so they aren’t disruptive to call center staff.

3. Block Sound

You can also install partitions to block call center sounds from traveling between employees or to block sounds from other areas from entering your call center room. Soundproofing materials come in varying sound transmission class (STC) ratings, including some that can completely block even loud speech from bleeding through from one room to the next. Installing call center walls that have a high STC rating can be one of the most effective choices for call center noise reduction.

Install partitions to block call center sounds

4. Absorb Sound

Many types of materials found in a typical office building are smooth and nonporous, such as glass, wood or concrete. These materials generally cause sound to bounce off and travel around the facility. Some materials can absorb sound more effectively and keep sound from spreading. These materials tend to be soft and porous or fibrous. By installing acoustic panels or other absorbent materials, you can prevent sound from bouncing around and disturbing employees.

Tips Reduce Call Center Background Noise

After understanding the different ways your call center can reduce noise, you can implement techniques through various changes and tips. The methods you adapt can help you better manage your call center’s noise levels to create a more comfortable and productive environment for your employees, so they can focus on helping your customers.

1. Increase the Space Between Agents

If you have room in your call center, consider putting more space between each employee. When employees can spread out, agents might be out of the microphone range, decreasing noise for your customers. Your employees can better focus on tasks when they have more space between themselves and coworkers, reducing auditory and other distractions.

employees in call center

2. Add Partitions Between Agents

If your company lacks space to allow employees to spread out, barriers can help you maintain closer configurations while blocking noise. Partitions and cubicles can block and absorb sound waves, creating fewer distractions in the call center.

3. Invest in the Right Equipment

Call center employees need various tools to help them work efficiently and effectively, from ergonomic furniture to monitors. When you want to reduce sound in the call center, you can eliminate noises at the source by investing in quiet equipment like silent keyboards.

Your employees need keyboards to type reports, send messages and emails or manage online chats with customers. With several call agents all typing simultaneously in one space, the sound can build and create significant background noise that becomes distracting for customers and employees. Silent keyboards get rid of the clicking noise, allowing your employees to operate without adding to noise levels.

Your equipment investments can also help you manage surrounding noises you can’t eliminate. Regardless of your setup, employees will be talking while another is on a call. You can help manage noise reduction with powerful headsets that block background noise. Noise-canceling headphones can eliminate sounds for your employees, ensuring they can hear your customers and address their concerns. Cardioid microphones only pick up sounds right in front of the mic, so your customers can clearly hear their call agent.

4. Consider Your Flooring Solutions

Your building’s materials and features can support your noise reduction initiatives. Carpeted spaces work well for call centers because plush materials better absorb soundwaves for excellent results and acoustics. Alternatively, tile, wood and linoleum flooring can create added noises and distractions, like shoes clacking, chairs moving and items dropping. They also exaggerate sounds and cause things to echo.

If you have the opportunity to renovate spaces, advocate to add carpet flooring. You can also integrate several rugs to help absorb sound for periods between space improvements.

5. Use Internal Messaging Systems

How your employees communicate with each other can impact call center noise levels. Socializing is a great way to reduce stress and prevent burnout throughout the day, but it can also increase distractions and noise for others working with customers. Other employees might have questions or concerns they need to discuss with more senior employees or supervisors.

Apps and online messaging systems can help manage employee communication without adding to call center noise. Employees can individually message others or groups, supporting different communication needs and types in one place. Department heads can efficiently share widespread information while supervisors can provide feedback to individual employees.

When trying to manage and streamline call center communication, you can also designate functions to different areas. For example, you might limit the call center to only calls while encouraging employees to take breaks and socialize in kitchens or lounges. Conference rooms and other spaces can support group and department meetings.

Best Products to Soundproof Your Call Center

Soundproof Cow offers a wide range of products to help call centers address the issue of noise. Here are some of the best products that can provide effective call center noise solutions:

  • IsoTraxâ„¢ Soundproofing System: This is one of the best systems you’ll find for soundproofing. You can build the soundproofing system into walls as part of a new construction or add it to existing walls. The kit includes sound isolation rails and sound-deadening spacer pads.
  • Quiet Barrierâ„¢ HD Soundproofing Composite: This soundproofing composite is made from a heavy-duty soundproofing barrier along with an inch-thick layer of polyurethane foam. This product is thin enough that it can fit nearly anywhere, and it is effective at keeping noise from going through walls.
  • Hanging baffles: Hanging baffles are a type of acoustic panel that you can hang from a wall or ceiling. These panels come in a wide range of sizes, and all of them can help absorb noise in your call center.  Dispersing these throughout your facility can keep noise from traveling.
  • Art acoustic panels: You can also install acoustic panels that look like works of art in your call center. You can customize the graphic on your acoustic panels, so your panels can blend right in with the rest of your decor or serve as a pop of artistic appeal. All you’ll see is artwork, but inside the core material will absorb sound.
  • Udderly Quiet® Acoustic Panel 200 series: These acoustic panels are covered in fabric, which comes in 20 different color choices. You can also choose from several size options. These panels don’t feature custom graphics, but they still have visual appeal and give you the opportunity to choose a color that will look nice in your call center.
  • Echo Absorber Acoustic Panels: These panels are one inch thick, the thinnest and most affordable option we carry at Soundproof Cow. Because they’re so thin, they’re a non-obtrusive way to reduce sound in your facility. They can absorb 65% of sounds in your facility. You can buy these panels in sheets and cut them to fit your space.
  • Udderly Quiet™ Fabric Covered Foam panels: These thick panels are covered in fabric and contain foam that will absorb sound effectively. These panels have a Class Aâ„¢ flammability rating. Even though they’re thick, they are flexible, which allows for easy installation.

Call Center Soundproofing Solutions From Soundproof Cow

At Soundproof Cow, we understand that every facility presents its own noise challenges. Fortunately, we’re all about solutions, and we can soundproof any space in a variety of ways. Explore our range of soundproofing products to learn more about the ways you can make your call center quiet and focused instead of noisy and chaotic.

Call Center Soundproofing Solutions From Soundproof Cow

 

 

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I just wanted to let you know that in the end, sealing the air spaces on this door worked just fine and took care of the problem.

I really appreciate you taking so much time to share your expertise with me, and in particular recommending I try the simpler solution before investing in more expensive noise barriers. That is a big credit to you and your business.

- Mike

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