Call barge

Call barge is the ability for an authorised supervisor or colleague to join an ongoing telephone conversation as an audible participant. It is commonly used when a call needs escalation, assistance or intervention. Unlike silent monitoring, it changes the conversation by adding another speaker. Unlike whisper coaching, the additional person's voice is normally heard by the external participant.

Teams should define when intervention is appropriate and how the joining person identifies themselves. Permissions and audit records matter because joining a live conversation can expose personal or confidential information. The system's behaviour during holds, transfers and conferences should also be understood before the feature is used operationally. Call barge is a routing and supervision capability, not an automatic judgement that an intervention is needed. Training should cover how to avoid speaking over the agent, how responsibility for the call is handed over and what happens when the supervisor leaves. Recording treatment can vary with the call architecture.