A significant percentage of businesses record all telephone conversations for inbound and outgoing calls made to and from their premises and there are many good reasons for so doing. There are also some fairly weighty pieces of legislation that dictate the legality of recording calls and are designed to protect both businesses and consumers, which makes them an important consideration. It is worth examining the reasons for the popularity of call recording and the correct practices required to ensure that no breach of the law occurs.
The most obvious benefit of recording calls is that it makes it far easier to go back over and retrieve pieces of pertinent information at a later date, particularly if a member of staff did not have the time to note down anything important during the call. This is especially useful if the information being discussed is private and making sure that all the details are correct later is paramount to avoid embarrassment - or worse - for the business. Staff often use recorded calls to verify details in this manner, but recordings are just as significant in allowing businesses to confirm or deny agreements that are made over the phone. As such, a recoded call is valuable in ensuring that neither the customer or the business is inaccurately represented in future correspondence if a conflict or disagreement about the facts ensues.
Another common use of call recording is for the enforcement and unification of customer service levels. The behaviour and effectiveness of staff who are in contact with customers via the telephone is vital to the success of many businesses and recorded calls can help to improve the performance of individual staff members, or act as training exercises and examples to help new staff to understand the correct telephone practices which are put in place by company policy.
Under the Telecommunications Regulations which were brought into effect in 1999 the two above practices are indicated as allowable under the law, with several other prerequisites for the recording of telephone conversations also listed. For example, some might record telephone conversations in order to protect national security, prevent fraud within the business and to ensure that any unauthorised users of the telephone system are easily identifiable with a record of any calls made.
It is essential that any business implementing a call recording scheme must make all callers aware that their call may be recorded, even if they have a system set up that only records a set percentage of calls on a random basis. It is also important to let users know that they are not obliged to reveal their identities in any calls made to services that do not require any payment other than by the cost of the telephone call itself. Anonymity for callers is, in many cases, an important part of building trust between a business and its customers.
There are even more detailed legal precedents dealing with the recording of calls, but for most businesses the above information should cover their basic requirements. Most call recording services will allow businesses to set up the system so that any calls that are recorded can be stored and easily accessed, as well as allowing the management team to determine the amount of time for which a particular recording is stored in order to ensure that they are complying with the Data Protection legislation that governs the management of personal information relating to any UK citizens.
Call Recording is a feature of the Performance Service Plan and is available on all number ranges including 0800 numbers,
0845 numbers and 0844 numbers.
