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What you need to know about recording telephone calls
28/09/2009 1:17:53 PM
Why businesses record telephone calls
Some conversations are more important than others. This includes conversations that discuss commitments or promises between buyers and sellers, or perhaps they are sensitive conversations where record-keeping is appropriate. Playback provides enhanced accuracy, especially for financial transactions, because the recording party can verify or prove agreement.
For many large companies, recording telephone conversations that occur between customers and customer service is a critical component in improving customer experience and having the ability to playback a call recording offers them an opportunity to achieve this outcome through the delivery of improved training.
A recording of a telephone conversation is invaluable if you or your business were to ever find yourself in court. It is proof of what took place: who said what and committed themselves to it.
There are many, many reasons why a phone call might be recorded – and there are many ways in which you can record them. Large call centre operations may deploy sophisticated and expensive software and hardware such as microphones and boxes, that enables telephone calls to be recorded by an agent.
But in this era of fewer cables and fast-moving technology, more and more companies and individuals are turning to internet-based technology such as that offered by Australian technology firm 1300 RECORD.
These latest generation call recording technologies are provided on-demand, require no on-going technical maintenance or upgrades on the part of the user, no contractual commitment and offer much greater flexibility.
Not only do they provide the ability to record phone conversations while the individual is on the move (which relieves them of having to take notes) but with no call duration limits you can talk for as long as required, something that wasn’t possible when people depended upon tape as we did in the old days.
It makes the technology attractive to businesses of all sizes, especially if they have sales representatives, virtual agents, third party dealers or teams on the road, it removes the need for hardware and expensive software (and having less wires means businesses have one less health and safety problem to consider).
Furthermore, it makes the technology affordable right down to an individual level for those that have intermittent need for such a service.
Understanding the legal implications of phone call recordings
It is legal to record any telephone conversation where everyone consents to the recording. In some countries, such as the United States, the federal law requires one-party to agree to the telephone call recording but is explicit in not covering recordings that are made for criminal or tortuous purpose.
In Australia, you are not always required to obtain explicit consent to the recording of a conversation – if a person is advised that the call is being recorded and continues to take part in the conversation without objection, their consent is implied.
However express consent may be required in some circumstances, such as where personal information is being obtained and/or the business is a health service provider or trades in personal information.
Recording a phone call is common where contractual activity is underway. If, for example, you wish to change your telecommunications carriage service provider, you can do this by telephone.
The portability of services by phone makes it easy for consumers to choose their suppliers, and this commitment to change suppliers is always recorded. The party being recorded is advised of the terms of the new contract they wish to enter.
The monitoring, listening in to or recording of telephone calls is a matter tightly controlled by the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979. In addition, State and Territory listening devices laws may both apply. There are exceptions to these rules in very limited circumstances including where, for example, a court warrant applies.
If a caller does not wish to be recorded, the onus is on the business to advise them of the recording so that the other party can end the call or ask to be transferred to another line where recording or monitoring does not take place. There is more information located at http://www.commsalliance.com.au/.
How to record a telephone call
There are many ways to record a telephone call. By far, the simplest way is to use a technology such as the call recording service set up by 1300 RECORD.
To get started, you first need to set up an account (you can choose from a variety of pre-paid pricing plans depending on your anticipated usage) and then, when you want to record a phone call, you dial 1300 RECORD then the phone number you want to call.
Your phone call is recorded, emailed to your inbox in MP3 format and available wherever you can access the internet.
The call recording service can be used on any Australian phone – mobile or landline – so it doesn’t matter whether it’s an iPhone or fixed line handset.
Of course, the 1300 RECORD service is set up for outgoing calls. But, what if you want to record a call that someone has placed to you? The easiest way to do this is to offer to call them back. Then dial 1300 RECORD, then their phone number and the call will be recorded for you.
How to store telephone call recordings
Because telephone call recordings are electronic format MP3 files, they take up very little space on your computer. You can easily store them to your hard-drive or to a third-party server. 1300 RECORD stores its client recordings for 60 days and has a user-pay service available for those clients wishing to store their recordings for longer.
Like any electronic file, you should back it up if you think that keeping it is going to be important. All you need to do is save your MP3 file in more than one place.
4 tips to make the most of important phone calls
If a phone call is important enough to record, then here are some suggestions that you can adopt to make the most of your call.
- Find a quiet place. People are on the move, and 1300 RECORD phone call recordings won’t add disruption or noise to your recording, but people and environments will. If you think the call will be needed for playback later, try to get into a quiet environment before you place it.
- Plan what you want to say. Most call centre operators that telephone you (and record the call) are following a pre-determined script. This is to prompt them to say everything that they need to say and to provide consistency of message across multiple operators. For an individual, pre-planning the conversation enables you to keep it on track and avoid heading off onto a tangent.
- Playback your recording. Your recording is available for retrieval from 1300 RECORD almost as soon as you have completed the phone call recording. An email that includes a link is sent to you where you can access the recording. Playback offers you the ability to remember what was said and take down notes later (if necessary).
- Store your recording. It’s easy to store a MP3 file – either on your own computer or through 1300 RECORD. Having the ability to retrieve important phone conversations is important – especially when commitments are made or you want to verify the accuracy of what was said.
About 1300 RECORD
1300 RECORD is an Australian-based privately-owned company that provides telephone call recording services through its own proprietary technology platform.
The technological solution behind 1300 RECORD (www.1300record.com.au) was developed using proprietary Australian software after CPS Technology Group was commissioned to develop a specifically designed service system. CPS Technology Group is a well-established Australian developer of advanced voice and data technologies.
For more information about 1300 RECORD, head over to its website at www.1300record.com.au