The steady growth in importance of customer service has placed more attention on user experience and how to meet call center employees’ needs. This means empowering all employees with the best possible solutions so they can perform their job to the highest standard. However, visually impaired and blind agents are often overlooked and they need dedicated Unified Communications software plus assistive technology to help them use computers and systems effectively.
To address this need in the marketplace, Mida Solutions has collaborated with specialist provider Vision Dept, to adapt its Mida Attendant Console product to meet the needs of visually impaired and blind operators. Vision Dept is an Italian distributor of products and services for the visually impaired with the mission of helping them in their job by providing innovative solutions and strong customer training and on-site assistance. Vision Dept is the exclusive distributor for Italy for Freedom Scientific, the worldwide developer of software, such as Jaws, and hardware solutions for the visually impaired.
A re-engineering of the Mida product and the integration with some of the most common magnifier and vocalisation software on the market, has enabled Mida to meet customers’ demands in many projects over the years. “Vision Dept has always worked with the aim of allowing blind and visually impaired people to be efficient. Our dream is to enable them to do the job that really satisfies them, said Andrea Amaglio, Technical and Sales Account at Vision Dept.
“The collaboration with Mida Solutions is really successful and, together, we managed to offer dozens of users a seamless working experience”
For visually impaired operators the key elements included in the product are compatibility with screen magnifiers such as ZoomText, Magic and Cobra while also offering an optimised layout that contains only the essential information needed for an interaction. In addition, the companies offer extreme customisation so operators can choose fonts, colours, font size, contrast levels and short-cuts.
For blind operators the solutions include compatibility with the most commonly used vocalisation technologies, such as Jaws and NVDA. This enables agents to manage calls while using a vocal set they are familiar with thereby improving their experience with the Mida Attendant Console and helping them to handle calls. In addition, the console layout is optimised for enlargers to increase performance and usability. Finally, there are keyboard short-cuts so the operators can quickly search for the information they need such as the number of calls in the queue. The short-cuts can be customised by each operator to meet their specific needs.
One of the most appreciated aspects of the partnership between Vision Dept and Mida is the on-site support that is provided to visually impaired and blind operators in the installation and training phase.
“Understanding the specific needs of each visually impaired and blind operator and helping them in their first usage of the solution is essential to enhance performance in their daily work activities,” says Marco Cortese, Sales Manager and Owner of Mida Solutions.
“With our Attendant Console, their disability is not an obstacle and they feel integrated in their workplace”
To learn more about this UC product visit the Mida Attendant Console web page.
