must be careful to balance pressure for agent productivity against increasing agent stress and frustration. Wrap and Work are features that allow the agents some period of time between calls to complete call-related paperwork. Management may predefine the wrap period, or may allow agents to invoke Wrap as needed. Work is a similar feature, allowing agents time to complete call-related tasks. Unlike Wrap, Work is not an automatic fea- ture. Agents place themselves in and out of Work as needed. While some systems may combine these two features, they should be defined and reported/displayed separately for better evaluation of agent performance. Transaction Code In addition to any database information agents may enter into the caller's profile, there may be a need to collect other call- related information. For example, agents may collect information 82 * The Telecom Handbook CHAPTER 4 on "method of payment," "how caller heard about the company or offering", etc. This information may be used for specific re- ports to evaluate marketing activities, meet accounting requirements, etc. Agents are able to enter transaction codes at any time during or after the call. Codes should be flexible, allowing for multiple fields, and should provide a display SO that the agent can verify the input before completing the data. Emergency Record Some Call Centers are susceptible to harassing or threaten- ing calls. It's important to be able to document these calls without alerting the caller. Agents should be able to immediately confer- ence-in a centralized recording device as soon as they recognize a call of this type. Supervisor Alert When agents receive threatening, harassing or other problem calls (difficult question, hostile caller) they may need supervi- sory assistance. With Supervisor Alert, agents are able to get their supervisor's attention without interrupting the call in progress. Supervisor Alert may have these features: Transparent to caller. Alerts designated supervisor; then, if not available, hunts for first available