For contact centers, effective communication has always been the top priority.
It’s more than just exchanging words—it's about genuine understanding. Every day, millions of contact center agents navigate a complex landscape of linguistic challenges, where a single misunderstood word can mean the difference between a resolved issue and a frustrated customer. This issue is especially prevalent in regions where agents are non-native English speakers. The story of Hecttor begins with a personal experience that highlights this very problem.
The Personal Journey of Understanding
I’m Shushan, the co-founder of Hecttor. Like millions of non-native English speakers worldwide, I've experienced firsthand the frustration of communication barriers. Despite being highly proficient in English at a C1+ level, I found myself in a situation that would ultimately spark the creation of Hecttor AI.
It was a seemingly routine call with a large international bank's contact center. What should have been a straightforward 5-minute interaction turned into a 15-minute struggle of repeated requests: "Could you please slow down?" "Can you repeat that?". The native English-speaking agent, speaking at her natural pace, was unknowingly creating a communication maze that I—and countless other non-native speakers—find challenging to navigate.
The Cognitive Dance of Language Processing
What most native speakers don't realize is the complex cognitive process that non-native speakers go through during conversations. It's not as simple as hearing and understanding. For us, communication is a multi-stage mental marathon:
Stage 1: Acoustic Processing
- Identifying individual words in a fast-paced stream of speech
- Distinguishing between similar-sounding words
- Filtering out background noise and accent variations
Stage 2: Linguistic Decoding
- Converting heard sounds into meaningful language constructs
- Applying grammatical rules
- Recognizing idioms and contextual nuances
Stage 3: Conceptual Understanding
- Translating linguistic meaning into practical understanding
- Connecting abstract concepts
- Preparing an appropriate response
This entire process occurs in milliseconds, but each stage introduces potential points of misunderstanding. Each word requires split-second mental processing, and when speech is rapid, the brain struggles to keep up. The result? Miscommunication, frustration, and inefficiency.
The Hidden Cost of Fast Speech
The numbers are staggering. Our research revealed that:
70% of contact center agents report difficulties understanding fast-paced native English speech
The phrase "Can you repeat that?" represents a $2 billion problem in contact centers
Language barriers lead to:
These aren't just statistics. They represent real human experiences—frustrated customers, stressed agents, and businesses losing money.
From Problem to Innovation
After my personal experience, my co-founder and I, along with our partner, asked ourselves a transformative question: "What if we could slow down native speech in real-time, helping people understand each other better?"
The challenge was not just slowing down speech, but doing so with near-zero latency. We couldn't create a solution that would introduce additional delays or sound unnatural. We needed something revolutionary.
The Technological Breakthrough
For six to seven intense months, our team worked tirelessly. We developed proprietary speech and energy prediction algorithms that could:
Detect speech patterns in real-time
Adjust speech speed imperceptibly
Maintain natural communication flow
Operate with minimal latency
The result? Hecttor AI—the world's first and only real-time speech speed adjustment tool specifically designed for the contact center industry. And the magic is that we insure near-zaro latency.
How Hecttor AI Works
Our technology seamlessly integrates into existing contact center infrastructure.
No Additional Hardware: Works with existing communication systems
Simple Installation: A click-to-install application
Immediate Impact: Reduces Average Handling Time (AHT)
Improved Metrics: Increases First Call Resolution (FCR) and Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)
A 20% reduction in call duration can save up to $2 per call. A 5% increase in customer satisfaction can significantly boost customer loyalty and, consequently, revenue.
Beyond Technology: A Human-Centric Solution
Hecttor AI is more than a technological solution. It's a bridge between cultures, a tool that respects the cognitive diversity of global communication. We're not just adjusting speech; we're creating understanding.
Uncompromised Data Security: Our Unwavering Commitment
In the contact center industry, data is more than just information—it's a sacred trust. We at Hecttor AI understand that every conversation contains sensitive personal and business information, making data security not just a feature, but a fundamental responsibility of every Contact Center and BPO.
The On-Device Advantage
Hecttor AI is fundamentally different from other communication technologies. We've designed our solution as an on-device application, which means:
All speech processing happens directly on the user's computer
No data is transmitted to external servers
Machine learning models run locally, ensuring complete privacy
Zero cloud storage or remote data transmission
Our Security Promise
We don't just talk about security—we live it:
SOC 2 Compliance: Our rigorous security standards meet the highest industry benchmarks
No Data Collection: We never store, record, or analyze call content
Complete Isolation: Each interaction remains completely confidential
The Global Impact
With over 10 million non-native English-speaking agents in the global workforce, Hecttor AI isn't just solving a problem—it's transforming an industry. We're creating a world where language is no longer a barrier but a pathway to clearer, more empathetic communication.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Communication
At Hecttor AI, we're more than just a technology company. We're on a mission to make communication easier for people around the world. Our goal is simple: help people understand each other better, no matter where they're from or what language they speak.
We started with a personal experience and turned it into a solution that can help millions of contact center agents. As we continue to improve Hecttor AI, we'll keep listening to the people who use our technology. Their experiences and feedback will guide us.
The world is becoming more connected every day. But connection isn't just about being online—it's about truly understanding each other. That's what we're working to achieve, one conversation at a time.