Nautilus
Proper handling of customer data is becoming a bigger concern in today’s world. With headlines of corporate data breaches pervading the human consciousness, people are becoming more guarded. As they should! But if you belong in the technology industry, you understand that customer data is essential to our existence.
That’s why it is imperative that contact centers, especially those who operate on a cloud-based one, should have safeguards in place. Proper handling of a customer’s information should be front and center at all times. That’s why we propose the following steps to help other contact centers with their initiatives.
Securing customer data is critical for any business that collects and handles personal information. In a contact center environment, there are several ways to ensure the security of customer data. Here are some suggestions:
1. Implement Effective Security Policies
Customer trust is a vital component in any industry, but more so in a contact center. With call center fraud increasing to over 45 percent in recent years, the need for better and more effective security protocols becomes more apparent.
Ensure that your team members are trained to securely collect, handle, and store customer data. This means asking the right questions, knowing the right protocol regarding storage, and so forth.
Training them is one thing, but ensuring that they understand why they are doing them is another. A thorough understanding is better than just cookie-cutter policies.
2. Encourage use of Data Encryption
Data encryption is a popular way of protecting data by converting them to encoded information. Access to said data is only through a unique decryption key, which can only be generated in a secure manner.
3. Use Cloud Enterprise Tools Effectively
The beauty of a cloud workspace is that it allows easier management and administration of devices. A great example would be Google’s Chrome Enterprise. It offers easy to implement business collaboration tools with data security measures at its core.
In the event of a data breach or a device theft, for example, a network administrator can wipe that device clean. It’s easy, safe, and effective.
4. Ensure Regular Compliance
Having the right, updated compliance certifications goes a really long way to ensuring customer trust. Data compliance ensures that users are capable of identifying proper protection and handling of data. Moreover, it helps establish your brand as an authorized entity with regards to data compliance and data handling.
A great example would be the General Data Protection and Regulation (GDPR). In a cybersecurity context, the GDPR offers great guidance for contact centers to follow. This ensures that they are compliant with all data security mandates in their area, thereby ensuring their trustworthiness.
Customer Data equals Customer Trust
Gathering customer data is simply one-half of the equation, proper handling and storage are just as vital. Customer trust is rapidly declining because of the most recent attacks and the abundance of spam calls.
As a business, you must ensure that you have the right steps and initiatives in place. Reviewing security policies and providing your team constant training are just minor steps to keep abreast of the lates trends and threats agains customer data.