# Call barging

As a contact center manager, do you find yourself wanting to step in on a call that you're monitoring?

Call barging enables you to do just that, intervene in the call when mistakes are being made or emotions are escalating.

Discover how call barging works in Dialpad's AI-powered communications platform.

## What is call barging?

Call barging is when a call center manager or supervisor interrupts a live call that an agent is on to help them or to fully take over the call.

Good [contact center software](https://www.dialpad.com/blog/contact-center-software/) should come with a call barging feature. (More on this in just a bit.)

Barging is different from [call whisper](https://www.dialpad.com/blog/call-whisper/), a similar feature that also lets managers help agents. The difference is that instead of taking over or “barging” the call, they’re whispering advice to the agents without the customers being able to hear.

## How does call barging work in Dialpad?

Dialpad’s call monitoring and call management features are built right into the platform, and supervisors can turn those on and off right from the call screen.

All managers have to do is click on ‘Barge Call’ when the time’s right.

## Call barging benefits for contact center teams

### It gives you a “fail-safe” in case agents really need help

When contact center agents write emails or answer live chats, it’s easy for them to turn to their manager and quickly ask for help with a tough question. That’s not always the case with phone calls and distributed teams—unless you’re using call barging.

Knowing that managers can barge calls if things go badly shows agents that there’s a “safety net” in place to catch them if they’re unable to resolve issues themselves.

### It serves as a live QA

It’s not always easy to provide an excellent customer experience. Mistakes happen, crisis events pop up, and often, a contact center needs to be able to do live QA or quality assurance.

If your contact center managers can see that a live call is starting to go south (which they can do with the help of a [sentiment analysis](https://www.dialpad.com/features/contact-center-sentiment-analysis/) feature), then they can barge that call before it’s beyond help and steer it back on track.

### It reduces the number of escalated calls

No matter how thorough your [IVR](https://www.dialpad.com/features/interactive-voice-response/) menu is or how skilled your team members are, you’ll sometimes still end up with call escalations, particularly for complex cases.

Used strategically, call barging can help keep this number low, since managers can get ahead of those escalations or issues by barging the call before the customer gets too angry.

This way, the only calls that get escalated further are ones that truly need the input of higher-level supervisors.

## Use call barging to help keep customers happy

Your contact center managers and agents need to be able to work together while on live calls to provide the best possible service to your customers, and with call barging, you can empower them to do just that.

## Call recording

With Dialpad, you also get unlimited [call recording](https://www.dialpad.com/features/call-recording/). Whether it’s for QA or training and development, you can record agent calls manually or automatically, and even create playlists of recordings that you can use in training new agents. This way, all of your agents can emulate your contact center's best calls.

## HD call quality

Say goodbye to grainy calls. Dialpad’s unique telephony architecture and global voice network are designed to give you crystal-clear calls from anywhere—a must-have for call center agents, especially if they work from home.

## Easy call transfer

Whether it’s for case escalation or to pass an active call to an expert without escalating it, Dialpad’s call transfer feature helps you send calls to the right place with just a click.

## Call barging FAQs

#### When is the right time to barge a call?

There are three common scenarios when contact center managers will want to barge a call:

1. New agent training: Allows managers to help new hires gaining experience without risking customer dissatisfaction.
2. Releasing new products or services: Provides support for agents familiarizing with new products.
3. Managing angry customers: Quickly de-escalates tense situations by addressing the customer's concerns directly.

#### Can sales teams use call barge features too?

Absolutely. Call barging can be beneficial to outbound calling teams as well. Sales leaders can monitor calls and jump in when needed to support their team.