Call monitoring: listen, whisper and barge
What call monitoring does
Call monitoring gives supervisors live access to calls in progress. It is how teams train new agents, check quality and rescue difficult calls. There are three standard modes:
- Listen (silent monitor). The supervisor hears both sides, and neither party hears them.
- Whisper (coach). The supervisor speaks to the agent only. The customer cannot hear.
- Barge (join). The supervisor joins the call, and both agent and customer hear them.
Some systems also offer takeover, where the supervisor replaces the agent on the call.
When to use each
Listening suits quality checks and onboarding. Whispering suits live coaching, such as reminding a new agent of an offer or a policy. Barging is for escalations and calls that are going wrong. Use it sparingly, because customers notice a third voice.
What to look for
- All three modes, not only listen. Product pages are often vague about which they include.
- Which plans include it. Monitoring is often a higher-tier feature.
- Access control, so only supervisors can monitor.
- A way to see who is on a call now, so supervisors can pick one to monitor.
- Call scoring, so what you hear can be written up consistently.
Consent
Monitoring is usually treated like recording for consent purposes. Tell callers that calls may be monitored, and check the rules for each country you call.
Which apps list call monitoring (listen, whisper, barge)
From each provider's own pricing page. “Check” means the page doesn't say, or we haven't verified that app yet.
| App | Status | What the provider says |
|---|---|---|
| CallHippo | Some plans | On the separate scaled plans: listening on Silver, listen, whisper and barge on Platinum. |
| CloudTalk | Included | Live monitoring listed. Listen, whisper and barge are not itemised. |
| JustCall | Check | Listen, whisper and barge are not listed on the pricing page. |
| KrispCall | Check | Not verified yet. |
| PhoneBurner | Some plans | Live call monitoring and coaching from Professional. |
| Quo | Check | Not listed on the pricing page. |
| Readymode | Check | Not listed on the pricing page. |
FAQ
What is the difference between whisper and barge?
Whisper lets a supervisor speak to the agent without the customer hearing. Barge lets the supervisor join the call so both the agent and the customer hear them.
Do I need consent to monitor calls?
Often you do, or at least you must tell callers. Rules differ by country and state, and they are usually the same ones that apply to call recording, so announce monitoring at the start of the call and check local rules.