Call center compliance is a real challenge contact center leaders ask us about almost everyday.
If you think compliance isn’t an issue for your call center, you might be unpleasantly surprised.
Non-compliance with call center regulations is not just a minor slip-up. The penalty for not adhering to regulations will burn a hole in your pocket if not followed, or could even lead to the complete shutdown of your contact center.
Navigating quality and compliance issues is not for the faint of heart. Compliance regulations are prone to frequent changes (especially data privacy laws) which may require agent training, and updated compliance protocols.
With this guide you'll learn the types of call center compliance regulations you need to be aware of, consequences of non-compliance, and the best practices to gain and maintain a compliant contact center.
This post features learnings from Courtney Schwoebel, Compliance Advisor with leadership experience at Sallie May, Best Egg, and BNY Mellon. As a people-centric contact center leader, Courtney is passionate about mentoring and coaching agents and managers to excel in quality and compliance regulations.
Topics we're covering:
- Definition of Call Center Compliance
- Call Center Compliance Regulations
- Consequences of Non-Compliance
- Best Practices of Call Center Compliance
- QA Software for Call Center Compliance
- Call Center Compliance With AmplifAI
- Upcoming Compliance Trends in 2025
What is Call Center Compliance?
Call center compliance is when an organization adheres to all laws, regulations, and industry standards that govern how call centers operate.
Call center compliance regulations, ensure contact centers operate legally, ethically, and securely while protecting the business and its customers from legal, financial, and security risks.
Being compliant includes how call centers handle customer information and interact with customers over any communication channel.
A contact center is either compliant or not compliant. There is no in-between.
Call Center Compliance Regulations
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Call center compliance regulations may vary by sector and the type of contact center.
For example, health care contact centers, or financial services companies will have more stringent regulations than call centers that handle something like gym memberships.
Below we've included the top 12 regulations (mostly in the US and Canada), however, your state, country, or organization may also have regulations and/or best practices that you need to be aware of.
12 Call Center Compliance Regulations
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
- Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
- Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)
- Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR)
- Do Not Call (DNC) Registry
- Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)
- Call Recording and Monitoring Consent
- Dodd-Frank Act
- Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)
- Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)
- Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
- Internal Organizational Regulations and Guidelines
Consequences of Non-Compliance in a Call Center
Non-compliance with the call center regulations we've listed above (and any that are pertinent to your location or call center type) will lead to some or all of the consequences listed below.
1. Fines, penalties, and legal actions
Regulatory authorities impose hefty penalties on call centers that violate laws and regulations. This happens more often than we all like to admit and is very preventable.
2. Reputational damage
Non-compliance with call center regulations not only has potential fines and penalties, but also hampers your call center's reputation. Reputational damage has long-term impacts on sales and revenue that you need to act quickly to rectify.
3. Agent attrition
In many cases, when there is a serious compliance failure, the agent (whether their fault or not) is relieved of duty. The cost to replace a call center agent is upwards of $10,000. This is not including any penalties the organization has in place for compliance infractions. Our most recent article further outlines the costs of call center turnover.
4. Loss of customer trust
Customer experience and call center compliance are inseparable of each other.
If customers lose trust in the contact center due to repeated compliance failures, you'll lose business quickly. If you're a BPO, brands who lose trust will take their business elsewhere.
5. Disruption to business
The most damaging consequence of a call center compliance violation could lead to a complete call center shutdown.
These consequences can be avoided, but there are a number of challenges quality and compliance teams face.
Call Center Compliance Challenges
There are a number of call center compliance challenges that quality trainers, and team leaders need to overcome.
1. Managing the Human Element
Real-time customer interactions make compliance unpredictable. Agents must stay compliant without losing natural conversation flow.
Key challenges include:
- Handling unexpected scenarios
- Preventing well-meaning but non-compliant decisions
- Strengthening communication between compliance teams and frontline staff
2. Keeping Pace with Regulatory Changes
With evolving data privacy laws and regulations, staying compliant requires constant vigilance.
For example, the 2025 TCPA update redefined autodialer rules.
Key challenges include:
- Having a dedicated compliance officer tracking changes
- Breaking down complex regulations into actionable steps
- Adapting processes without disrupting daily operations
- Tracking and documenting compliance requirements
3. Developing Effective Compliance Scorecards
Scorecards must balance simplicity and thoroughness while supporting training and evaluation.
Key challenges include:
- Creating tools that are trainable and repeatable
- Avoiding incentives that encourage risky shortcuts
- Ensuring consistency in scoring across evaluators
4. Securing Leadership Buy-In
Compliance programs compete with other priorities, convincing the executive team of the financial impact of quality and compliance issues isn't easy to quantify in data.
Key challenges include:
- Quantifying compliance risks in financial terms
- Highlighting the link between compliance and customer experience
- Securing resources for tools and training
5. Managing Remote Work Compliance
Remote and hybrid work environments introduce new compliance risks and data security concerns.
Key challenges include:
- Monitoring compliance for distributed teams
- Protecting sensitive data across home networks
- Delivering effective virtual compliance training
Overcoming these challenges is essential to maintaining compliance while delivering exceptional customer service.
Call Center Compliance Best Practices
The call center compliance best practices we've outlined here will help quality and compliance teams address common compliance challenges without drowning in complexity.
Special thanks to Courtney Schwoebel, Compliance Advisory Officer at Best Egg for providing insights for these compliance best practices.
7 Call Center Compliance Best Practices
Establish a Detailed Compliance Policy
A culture of compliance starts with a comprehensive compliance policy that guides your entire operation. Your policy should bridge the gap between regulations and day-to-day operations.
Compliance Policy Components
- Customer data handling procedures
- Information security protocols
- Storing sensitive information
- Financial risk quantification
- Compliance metrics tied to CX outcomes
- Leadership reporting structure
- Policy violation consequences
Compliance Best Practice Tip
Make sure the policy is clear, accessible, and regularly communicated to all team members. Present compliance metrics in business terms that resonate with leadership.
Conduct Regular Agent Coaching
Move beyond traditional agent coaching to build a compliance-focused culture through relationship-driven coaching.
Agent Coaching Focus Areas
- Implement real-time call monitoring and feedback
- Build floor presence with compliance teams
- Break down regulations into actionable behaviors
- Conduct interactive scenario practice
- Debt collection best practices
Compliance Best Practice Tip
Foster a relationship between compliance teams and agents by maintaining regular presence and informal learning opportunities.
Leverage Compliance Technology Without Sacrificing Efficency
Choose software that supports compliance while enhancing operational efficiency.
Compliant Call Center Software Features
- DNC compliance tools
- Data encryption capabilities
- Access controls
- Call recording functionality
- Real-time monitoring tools
Compliance Best Practice Tip
Investing in compliance-focused software minimizes the risk of violations and ensures smoother operations. Look for solutions with built-in compliance features to streamline adherence.
Demonstrate Value Through Compliance Metrics and Benchmarks
Depending on the industry, as a compliance officer you're in charge of proving value through metrics like customer satisfaction (CSAT), net promoter score (NPS), and monitoring customer feedback. Stay on top of these metrics and use data to drive decision making from the top down.
Compliance Metrics Include
- Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)
- Voice of the Customer Programs
- Net Promoter Score (NPS)
- Customer Surveys
- Metrics that matter to your industry
Compliance Best Practice Tip
Leverage AI-driven speech analytics to help spot compliance issues and improves customer interactions. Review reports regularly to adjust your strategy.
Learn more about speech analytics.
Conduct Regular Audits
Stay ahead of compliance issues with systematic monitoring and updates.
Audit Elements
- Policy effectiveness review
- Regulatory update checks
- Leadership reporting
- Compliance violation monitoring
- Process improvement identification
- Documentation updates
Compliance Best Practice Tip
Create a structured process for implementing and communicating regulatory updates across the organization.
Secure Remote Operations
Protect customer data across distributed teams without compromising service quality.
Security Measures
- Network access control
- Multi-factor authentication
- Data protection protocols
- Work-from-home security protocols
- Virtual compliance training
- Remote monitoring tools
Compliance Best Practice Tip
Apply the same rigorous standards to remote operations as on-site work.
Deploy Quality Management Software
Quality management software helps contact centers monitor compliance across all interactions while reducing manual effort in tracking and assessment.
QA Software Features
- Automated compliance monitoring
- Real-time violation alerts
- Performance analytics
- Coaching workflow integration
- Quality scoring automation
- Regulatory update tracking
Compliance Best Practice Tip
Use QA software to catch compliance issues early, provide summaries, and stay updated with regulations in real-time.
QA Software for Call Center Compliance
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Although you don’t need technology to achieve compliance in your call center, call center quality assurance software can make a world of difference. QA software equips teams with features like real-time monitoring, automated alerts for potential violations, and proactive response tools.
For example, real-time call analytics can flag potential consent violations during interactions, allowing immediate review and corrective action before escalation.
92% of contact center agents agreed their organizations have a QA program in place.
The manual process of compliance:
- Reviewing large volumes of call data
- Building and managing scorecards
- Analyzing data for actionable coaching opportunities
- Preparing for and conducting coaching sessions
- Recognizing agent growth
- Following up to ensure long-term improvements
While QA software provides an essential framework for compliance management—especially for smaller contact centers—it doesn’t address every manual process limitation that quality teams face.
Stand alone QA software leaves quality teams responsible for manually:
- Extracting insights
- Developing and aligning coaching strategies
- Measuring outcomes effectively
The next level of QA and compliance isn't reactive, instead it becomes a driver of improved performance and employee engagement by connecting all of your contact center data with coaching, recognition, and performance KPIs.
Call Center Compliance with AmplifAI
AmplifAI, developed by contact center leaders for contact center leaders eliminates the gaps in call center compliance by unifying all of your contact center data including; quality and compliance logs, speech analytics, CCaaS, chat, CRM, flat files, homegrown apps--no data left behind.
This data ingestion process is the foundation of AmplifAI's patented AI that aggregates and analyzes all of your real-time compliance data, displaying AI recommendations and performance data in role-based dashboards for easy viewing and actioning.
How AmplifAI Transforms Call Center Compliance
1. Auto QA & Compliance Monitoring
Auto QA analyzes 100% of customer interactions that automatically flags compliance risks, script deviations, and sensitive information sharing.
2. Performance Intelligence
Unify all your contact center data into role-based dashboards. AmplifAI uses all your contact center data to identify top performers' compliance behaviors, and display all your benchmarks in real-time.
3. Quality-Driven Coaching
Turn compliance findings into immediate coaching opportunities. AmplifAI identifies coaching priorities and provides team leaders with targeted recommendations based on quality scores and compliance data.
4. Engagement & Recognition
Never miss a praiseworthy moment. Build a culture of compliance through automated recognition workflows that celebrate adherence and reward consistent quality performance.
5. Quality Assurance
Create a seamless feedback system that combines AI monitoring with human oversight, enabling real-time interventions and measurable improvements.
6. AI-Driven Actions
Turn compliance insights into next best actions automatically. AmplifAI's patented AI analyzes performance patterns to recommend the most effective steps for improving compliance and quality, while measuring the impact of every action taken.
Call Center Compliance Trends in 2025
The future of contact center compliance is moving beyond basic checklist adherence to regulations.
The goal for compliance in 2025 is to turn compliance monitoring into actionable insights that drive both risk reduction and performance improvement at the same time.
As highlighted by top CX Leaders, and echoed in Gartner's 2024 Cool Vendor Report, contact centers are shifting away from reactive compliance monitoring to AI-enabled systems that proactively identify and prevent compliance risks while improving customer experience simultaneously.
In 2025 contact centers will need quality and compliance software that:
- Unites quality and compliance data across all channels
- Automatically detects potential compliance risks in real-time
- Transforms compliance insights into immediate actions
- Measures the impact on both risk reduction and performance
AmplifAI, trusted by 150+ brands and top BPOs is the only platform that combines employee performance enablement with AI-driven compliance management to help organizations achieve more than just compliance—driving transformation across the entire organization.
Don't settle for just being 'compliant' in 2025.
Book a demo of AmplifAI today.
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