Headsets

Ronnie Mcilwaine
Member - 2 posts

Sonia,
Spare ear 'muffs' can be stocked including the voice pipes. Once a someone leaves replace both eay muffs and voice pipe (if it's of that design) and clean each headset with anti-septic wipes. Also a good time to test the headset and ensure all the safety noise limiting fuctions are still working. (testers can be purchased)

David Price
Member - 80 posts

Only a hygine issue, if the headsets have replaceable mouth and ear covers then they should be replaced. They should as Sonia reccomends be cleaned as well and perhaps serviced to ensure that they are still working 100%.

With PPE it is different, it is not shared or kept for the next person, as most people would not want someone elses ear defenders, gloves, shoes etc.

Depending on the cost of the new headset, it is for you to decide if it is cheeper to buy a new one each time someone leaves, against the cost of replacement covers, cleaning wipes, and testing. It is always useful to find out if your company gets these headsets at a good rate, and therefore it is cheeper for them to just be replaced and aviod all the hassle of explaining to people that although their headset is a refurbished one, it has had all the nessessary parts replaced and has been cleaned.

Julie Whitaker
Member - 1 post

It may appear cheaper to replace headsets, but perhaps you should consider environmental principles and not just toss them in the bin. Our society is all too keen to just throw out the old and replace with new - look at the mobile phone culture, everyone on monthly contracts upgrades every 12-18 months just because their contracts allow them to.

Sonia Baldock
Member - 5 posts

Thanks so much for all your helpful comments. I am now sorting stocks of the ear muff and voice pipes and will put in place the cleaning and testing before they are re-issued.

Andrew Graham-Cumming
Member - 9 posts

Sonia
"I am now sorting stocks of ...". No call centre should be without stocks - voice tubes and ear muff covers should be changed periodically as a matter of routine. That's why manufacturers now sell colour-coded voice tubes, so that managers can see immediately if company hygiene policy is being followed.

James Fairchild
Member - 256 posts

On the subject of headsets, I'm curious to know how many companies do/do not issue them to all employees as a matter of course.

I had a car accident a few years ago, and since then cannot conduct a telephone conversation without a headset of some kind (due to it hurting my neck).

I was most disturbed to see an employee of a large bank not have one whilst he made a fairly long call on my behalf yesterday.