IT security and risk managers divided over role of compliance within customer contact operations

Initial findings from a recent Sabio series of interviews with senior Information Security and Risk Management officers highlighted the growing impact that compliance is having on the customer experience provided by organisations. The interviews identified a clear split between those seeing compliance as a policing role, and others who felt that it could deliver a more supporting function – helping organisations to achieve their business goals while still addressing compliance requirements.

Respondents talked of increased complexity from a contact centre perspective, particularly in key areas such as multi-channel contact and managing compliance internationally. When asked to list their top three challenges for compliance within the contact centre, the following major issues were highlighted:

· Underpinning the contact centre business with the confidence that security brings – particularly in terms of validating role-based access and supporting regulatory requirements such as the PCI-DSS payment card standard
· Helping customers leverage all available channels – enabling contact centres to keep on top of technologies that are driving shifts in customer service, such as IM, while still ensuring that existing security policies remain in place
· The need for regulators to understand that multinational operations are faced with multiple compliance regimes – and that there will be inevitable compliance/operational conflicts that businesses need to address

“At Sabio we’re seeing best practice organisations constantly working to strike the right balance between interpreting compliance regulations, identifying potential areas of business exposure and applying the right security policies to realise the benefits of change while still remaining compliant,” commented Peter Galloway, Head of Sabio’s Voice Self-service practice. “If we’re to ensure that compliance activities don’t actively harm the customer experience, organisations need to shift their security focus from a ‘just say no’ attitude that looks to eradicate all business risk, to a more intelligent approach where Security and Risk Managers are working together to help the customer-focused side of the business succeed without falling foul of compliance.”

Sabio believes that these two apparently conflicting goals – having demanding compliance processes in place and an ongoing commitment to providing consumers with a positive customer experience – needn’t be mutually incompatible. Sabio works with organisations to apply innovative technologies such as voice biometrics, speech analytics and PCI payment solutions to help achieve the dual goals of increased compliance and reduced customer frustration.