We’ve all had the experience of calling a business only to hear a recording that says something along the lines of “This call may be recorded for quality assurance purposes.” Call centers have used call recording and reporting for decades to increase customer satisfaction and agent productivity. Today, use of that technology has spread far beyond call centers. Businesses of all shapes and sizes are realizing that it makes good business sense, and not just for customer service and training purposes.
Dispute resolution
All businesses, at some point, have unhappy customers. Sometimes it’s the company’s fault, and sometimes it’s the customer’s fault. Without call recording, it can quickly turn into a “he said/she said” situation. Call recording provides a permanent record of employee/customer interactions, enabling managers to identify where and how a problem started. And some products even capture screenshots that can be replayed in conjunction with the recording, providing even more insight into the dispute.
Outsourcing
As more and more companies outsource basic business processes, they need a way to ensure that their providers are doing what they’re supposed to do, in the way they’re supposed to do it. Call recording provides that capability. A product like SonicView, which can work with any phone system and offers a variety of recording modes, is ideal for working with third-party providers.
Regulatory compliance
Many businesses are highly regulated. Banks and investment firms, for example, have to follow the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) when it comes to handling customers’ private information. Healthcare providers and insurance companies have to follow HIPAA rules. Call recording can help managers identify and correct violations before they result in fines or other consequences. Managers can also use the recordings to prove compliance.
Risk management
Recording calls adds yet another layer of security when it comes to protecting intellectual property and proprietary information. With a product like SonicView, which has extensive search capabilities, managers can search for keywords that might indicate employees are speaking too freely. It also serves as a preventive measure, since employees are less likely to cross the line when they know they’re being recorded. That also holds true for HR issues like discrimination and sexual harassment.
Data mining
In the age of big data, speech analytics can turn recorded customer calls into a source of rich of information about trends, customer likes, customer dislikes, etc. (Some states may require additional notification if you’re going to use recorded calls for marketing purposes.)
Productivity
Businesses of all sizes need to reduce costs, and that means increasing productivity. That’s where call reporting comes in. Solutions offer the ability to customize a variety of reports that offer insight into things like call length, call scoring, and number of calls per employee. Call reporting can also highlight excessive personal calls. In addition, it can act as a deterrent, actually decreasing the number of personal calls made on company time.
Whether you’re a 20-person agency or a multinational corporation, it’s important to ask yourself whether you can afford to be without call recording and reporting. In fact, small businesses can have an even greater need for call recording than larger companies, simply because they don’t have the human or financial resources necessary for resolving problems on a case-by-case basis. You don’t need a big IT department, either. The user-friendly desktop is intuitive and can be accessed from any computer on the network.
Trending Articles
