Call centers are an excellent way to help customers and make sales, but what does it take to run a call center? If you’re a manager, you have to know how to work with your agents, run your center, and follow the appropriate regulations. Here are three regulations you need to know if you manage a call center.
HIPPA
It’s extremely important to understand HIPAA compliance for call centers. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, outlines what information is protected to provide privacy. The act attempts to protect patient privacy while still allowing healthcare providers to access important information. Protected information is typically referred to as PHI or protected health information. PHI includes patient diagnosis history or payment. Patients can sign forms to allow certain individuals access to their PHI.
What does this mean for call centers? Centers that are used by health insurance companies or hospitals must be HIPAA compliant to operate legally. Make sure your call center software is HIPAA compliant. Bright Pattern offers incredible features to ensure callers’ privacy, including data encryption, making PHI unreadable in logs, and password-protected user accounts. As the call center manager, it’s your responsibility to understand HIPAA compliance and how your center is accomplishing it. Use a trusted software that does that work for you.
Wage Payment Laws
When you run a center full of agents, you’re responsible for paying your team. Some laws govern how to pay your employees, and you have to make sure you’re following them closely. Wage payment laws vary by state. In New York, employers must pay commissioned salespeople at least once per month. You can pay your employees in cash or by check or direct deposit. However, you can only pay by direct deposit if your employee has already agreed to this method in writing. No matter how you pay your team, you must also provide a statement of wages or pay stubs. This pay stub must include the employee’s pay rate, the gross wages earned, and the deductions taken.
Many employers opt for secure check printing to pay their staff. Secure check printing ensures your business will not fall prey to check fraud. Make sure the company you use to print your checks offers physical and digital security features, including chemical sensitivity, microprinting, and payee area protection. SmartPayables provides business with 16 security features. Knowing how to properly pay your employees is crucial if you’re going to run a call center.
Telephone Consumer Protection Act
Your call center must follow the regulations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Call centers cannot call anyone on the Do-Not-Call Registry. Call centers must have permission to leave a pre-recorded message on a consumer’s cell phone or residential phone line. In some cases, permission is implied, like when a consumer has done business with a seller in the last 18 months. Some callers are also limited to only certain times of the day.
It’s important that you understand the regulations of the TCPA and how your call center is meeting those regulations. A violation of the TCPA could result in a fine of up to $1,500. Keep your call center in good standing and know what you can and cannot do.
As a call center manager, your knowledge of the business and industry is extremely important. Make sure you understand the regulations your call center must operate under and know the consequences for non-compliance. Your employees are counting on you to help them operate within the law and to pay them appropriately and safely. Show your employees what an incredible manager you are by being informed on the rules and regulations.
