The Speech Clarity Maturity Framework: A Roadmap for Enterprise Readiness
Enterprises are increasingly recognizing the impact of poor speech clarity on CX, compliance, and AI but few have a structured way to measure and improve it. ISG’s Speech Clarity Maturity Framework, introduced in The Clarity Advantage, provides a clear path forward.
This four-stage model helps organizations assess their current state, define priorities, and scale clarity as a core business capability. It represents one of the most practical outcomes of ISG’s research: a way to turn the concept of clarity into an operational roadmap.
Read on for an overview of ISG’s Speech Clarity Maturity Framework and enterprise priorities for advancing speech clarity — and download the full ISG and Sanas whitepaper, The Clarity Advantage, for the complete model, enterprise benchmarks, and case studies.
The Speech Clarity Maturity Framework
As enterprises evolve from fragmented initiatives toward integrated clarity infrastructure, this framework helps decision-makers understand not only where they stand today, but what’s required to progress.
To support this progression, enterprises will need structured methods for assessing their current capabilities and identifying what’s required to scale clarity as a core enabler.
ISG developed the Speech Clarity Maturity Framework to support enterprise planning in this area. The four-stage model helps organizations assess current-state capabilities and identify the process, technology, and talent enablers required to scale clarity as a core business capability.
- Stage 1: Passive. Clarity is unmeasured. Focus is on call stability (jitter, latency). No link to outcomes
- Stage 2: Experimental. Tools like noise reduction are deployed in pockets. Results are isolated, not scaled
- Stage 3: Emerging Strategy. Clarity shows early ROI in CX, risk, or AI. Adoption grows but remains fragmented.
- Stage 4: Operationalized. Clarity is embedded, measured, and scaled. Drives performance across CX, AI, compliance, and workforce.
Enterprises operating at Stage 4 typically demonstrate:
- Higher CSAT and NPS through clearer conversations
- Lower agent attrition and training time
- Improved AI performance from cleaner speech inputs
Better compliance outcomes and reduced risk exposure
Most organizations today are still in Stage 1 or 2, where clarity is reactive, fragmented, or unmeasured. Stage 3 reflects progress towards modernization, but without system-level integration, value remains capped.
Understanding current-state maturity is only the first step. Progressing to higher levels requires coordinated investment across clarity infrastructure, workforce enablement, and enterprise-wide governance.
Three Enterprise Priorities for Advancing Speech Clarity
Enterprises seeking to scale speech clarity as infrastructure should concentrate their efforts around three strategic imperatives to advance from awareness to action for revenue impact.
- Embed clarity into transformation programs:
Clarity doesn’t belong on the margins. It should be embedded into CX transformation, compliance strategy, and AI planning, right alongside customer journeys, agent tooling, and automation priorities.
- Link clarity to business outcomes that move the needle
Clarity should be measured by its impact on the metrics that matter such as resolution speed, CSAT, agent retention, and compliance assurance. Leading organizations are treating clarity as a lever for revenue growth, operational efficiency, and reputational trust.
- Use maturity as a blueprint, not a benchmark
The Speech Clarity Maturity Framework should guide how enterprises assess current-state readiness and prioritize investments in platforms, processes, and practices that enable scale.
Scaling Clarity as a Core Business Capability
ISG’s maturity model gives enterprises a way to treat clarity as a measurable business capability, not an abstract concept or a line-item metric. It connects the dots between process, technology, and people, defining the operational levers needed to improve clarity across the organization.
For enterprises building AI systems, scaling global teams, or managing regulated operations, the framework offers a benchmark for progress and a blueprint for investment.
Explore ISG’s full model and see how clarity maturity translates into measurable performance in the complete whitepaper, The Clarity Advantage: How Speech Understanding Powers CX, Compliance, and AI Performance. Download your free copy today!
