Headsets – a core piece of contact centre equipment – come in every shape and size. You have options in the sub-$50 segments that promise a stellar experience but may not fulfil your durability and warranty criteria. There are $50-$150 variants, excellent for a consistent experience across bulk deployments. For above $150, you can get something really premium with a lot of value-added features like proprietary noise cancellation technology and native software integrations.
Let’s consider some of these key price segments and explore how to budget for an agent headset purchase.
Is Going the Sub-$50 Way Worth it?
Small contact centres yet to reach profitability or even larger ones, buying headsets for hundreds of agents at once, typically consider this segment as a viable option.
On the upside, industry headset standards mean that none of these variants are likely to harm your agents with sudden volume flux, or get in the way of delivering a smooth customer experience. However, you might not receive the warranty coverage or vendor support you need in the long term. MPOW and VoiceJoy are two companies to consider in this segment – there are also the entry-level variants of Logitech and Jabra.
A Bang for Your Buck under $150
Most mass deployments choose to stay within this segment, owing to the combination of quality and support. Leading agent headset providers like Poly, Sennheiser, Jabra, Logitech, and Koss all have mid-range offerings between $50 and $150.
Some of the features you could expect in this segment are:
- 2-3 years warranty coverage
- HD voice clarity and lightweight build
- Proprietary features like Jabra’s PeakStop
- Noise cancellation microphones
- Padded earpieces
This should suffice for nearly every common contact centre scenario. However, you may not get premium features like a long battery life for wireless headsets or active-noise cancellation (ANC).
Should you Shell Out for $150+ Agent Headsets?
This segment is meant for specialised use cases like a supervisor who is constantly on the move, or agents working in a video chat contact centre, requiring certification for specific platforms like Skype for Business. The benefits of these include:
- Excellent for long hours of use
- Up to 24 hours of battery life for wireless variants
- Sound distortion reduction capabilities
- Programmable buttons and indicator lights
- Multiple connectivity options
The customer and agent experience with a premium headset is largely the same as mid-range variants. However, you gain from value-adding features, a longer lifespan, and greater flexibility of use.
What to Pay for Quality CX?
When it comes to delivering a superior CX, you need a few targeted capabilities – background noise cancellation for clear audio, mono headsets for agents who will collaborate with others, cushioned earpads for maximum comfort (thereby increasing agent productivity), and, connectivity with your telephony systems, either PSTN or VoIP.
It is advisable to invest in a mix of these three variants, choosing headsets as per the agent role. This will ensure that there is a high quality of agent experience across the contact centre, which translates into a better CX.
