1300 RECORD Newsroom

Patrick Lindsay asks: what is 1300 RECORD all about?

1300 RECORD — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:14:00 GMT

Celebrity News Presenter, Patrick Lindsay asks 1300 RECORD’s CEO, Gavin Scholes what 1300 RECORD is all about. Click on the link below to watch the interview between Patrick Lindsay and Gavin Scholes, as seen on Sky News Business Channel.

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Patrick Lindsay asks: how does 1300 RECORD benefit businesses?

1300 RECORD — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:16:00 GMT

Celebrity News Presenter, Patrick Lindsay asks 1300 RECORD’s CEO, Gavin Scholes to explain how 1300 RECORD can be useful across a wide range of businesses. Click on the link below to watch the interview between Patrick Lindsay and Gavin Scholes, as seen on Sky News Business Channel.

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1300 RECORD TV Commercial

1300 RECORD — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:08:00 GMT

1300 RECORD just produced a 30-second TV advertisement, which will air on Sky News Business Channel from Wednesday, November 4 through to Tuesday, November 24. Be watching Sky News Business Channel during this period to see the live interview between 1300 RECORD’s CEO, Gavin Scholes and celebrity News Presenter, Patrick Lindsay. To view the 30-second TV advertisement, simply use the media player below.

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What you need to know about recording telephone calls

1300 RECORD — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:17:53 GMT

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

Using 1300 RECORD to conduct telephone interviews

1300 RECORD — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:06:46 GMT

Everything is tracking along nicely. Business is good, employees are happy and customers keep coming back. The boss is feeling secure about the future, but then someone hands in their notice. The boss realises that he needs to recruit a new employee and he never got taught how to do it. It was never part of his business studies at university.

For someone in his position, the process of interviewing for new employees can be very stressful. He’s keen to get it right. The person he needs must have a certain set of skills to perform the tasks required as well the type of personality that is compatible with the business and its other employees. If he gets the recruitment process wrong, it can be very difficult to terminate an employee, depending on the laws of the country.

Interviewing is like driving a car. The more you do it, the better you get. Your confidence grows as you meet new people and you get better at quickly targeting areas of information that you need to explore with them. But if you’re in the same position as this boss, these tips might help you to get it right, first time.

The start of the process

Before you place any advertising for a job role, you need to prepare a job description. A job description outlines what the requirements of the role are, what skills are necessary, what (if any) educational requirements you have, and the personal attributes (such as attitude, motivation, work habits or initiative) you are looking for in a candidate.

Prioritise the areas that you consider to be most important to meeting the requirements of the position. These might be the technical skills required or the ability to fit into a team. It can also include attributes such as ability to travel. Finally, you should also have a view as to what a salary range might be based on the necessary skills, experience and qualifications.

These requirements should be condensed and communicated as part of the advertising for the role. By doing so, you can quickly eliminate unsuitable candidates, and focus on people who meet the basic requirements you seek.

To be effective, advertising should outline to potential candidates the benefits of working for your business – including opportunities for professional development if they are available – and what you are going to expect in return from the successful candidate. It should also include a deadline for submitting applications and a contact person to talk to for more information.

So let’s say you’ve created your job description, you have determined a salary range, and you have written a great advertisement that has been placed in suitable job vacancy boards, what happens next? You wait.

Over the next few days and weeks (depending on the deadline for applications), suitably-qualified people that are interested in applying for your role will submit an application to you. There will be some applications that are completely unsuitable, and the likelihood is that you will not have the time to spend talking to applicants that you think aren’t right for the job. It’s important to notify them when you decide not to take an application further, and offer them the opportunity to save their details on file, or destroy or return them.

During this time, you should spend time formulating questions for the interview. To better enable you to compare candidates, you need to ask everyone the same questions. It is better to pre-plan them. Write them down. You might also want to develop a checklist that will prompt you to cover off specifics during the interview process.

It is best practice to record interviews so that you don’t need to make notes throughout the interview process and can focus your attention on the candidate instead.

Many recruiters that are conducting telephone interviews record the telephone calls using 1300 RECORD which provides telephone call recording services. This is because it is a more flexible call recording service to use. It doesn’t matter whether you are out-and-about or at your office. All you need to do is call 1300 RECORD, then place your call and it will be recorded.

Because 1300 RECORD is an on-demand service, there is no requirement for a contract commitment. The freedom of an on-demand service provides a better option for a business that is hiring infrequently. There are no ongoing fees or requirements to invest in expensive telephone call recording equipment. So before you interview, you will need to set up your 1300 RECORD account – which you can do easily online by visiting www.1300record.com.au

If you are conducting a face-to-face interview, do not turn the tape recorder on and off throughout the interview.

How to interview a candidate

So you’ve been through the process of eliminating unsuitable applications, and you are left with a number of people that you would like to interview. You have questions and checklists prepared. (If there is more than one interviewer, each interviewer needs the questions and checklists.)

You now need to set up interview appointments at a time that is mutually suitable for both interviewer and candidate. Allow at least 15 minutes break between interviews – so you can jot down your impressions while they are fresh and stretch your legs.

Interviews can be nerve-racking for both parties, so it is always a good idea to break the ice with some general questions that relax everyone. This could be some general questions about the candidate’s background. As the interviewer, try to be conversational so that the candidate is relaxed and comfortable about making eye contact with you.

You already have the candidate’s details in the form of an application that has been submitted. So the interview should include some open-ended questions that enable you to explore what the candidate has done before and what they have set as their own professional goals. This will give you a better idea about the person and what you are like.

Open ended questions also require that the candidate gives more information. Closed questions (those that require a simple yes or no) do not provide depth like questions beginning with who, why, when, where and how. So you need to ask questions that invite the candidate to explain how they might contribute to the business, or what kind of business they hope to work with, or why they believe they are right for the role.

The other advantage of open ended questions is that it enables the candidate to do most of the talking. An interviewer can demonstrate that they are listening by paraphrasing what the candidate says.

Keep questions brief and ask them one at a time. Don’t worry about periods of silence or challenge accounts that you think are not accurate. Try to get as much information so that you can check later. Avoid off the record information – this will require telephone call recordings or tape recordings to be turned on and off. Instead offer to delete it later (and keep your promise to do so).

Another popular technique for interviewing candidates is behavioural interviewing. Under this model, an interviewer asks a candidate how they reacted in a real situation (not a simulated or theoretical one). If you want to use this model for interviewing, your questions may be worded as “describe for me a recent time when X happened and explain to me what you did”. You would need to make a set of questions around each of the areas that you think are most important to the role.

You can also use personality trait assessment systems. Some of these are available online and can be completed in a few minutes. Some of them are extremely accurate about a candidate’s personality traits.

There are also topics that should not be covered in interviews. Depending on where you live, there may be anti-discrimination legislation that can be used against you if the candidate believes and can prove discrimination. Stay clear of discussions about religion, marital status, age, any prior Workcover claims and disabilities. It is an interview – not an interrogation – so be mindful about what you say and how it can be interpreted.

The final point is to summarise the next steps. You need to let the candidate know how long it will take you to decide whether to proceed or not (which may mean a second interview, for example). It is courteous to offer the candidate an expedient decision.

After the interview

Once the interview is completed, you can turn your recording off.

If you are using the 1300 RECORD telephone call recording service, this will happen automatically when the phone call is terminated. In a matter of moments, you will receive an email link to your interview call recording so you can play it back whenever you want.

If you wish to take the candidate one step further, you will want to check the references that have been supplied to you. You need to advise the candidate that you will be checking references, and you need to check several in order to get a fair assessment of the candidate. One person who has had a bad experience with someone doesn’t mean they are a bad employee. So look to get a balanced view across multiple references.

Telephone call recordings – what else you need to know

It is legal to record any telephone conversation where everyone consents to the recording. 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. You can advise them that you are recording the telephone call and let them know that by recording the call, you are better able to focus on what they say.

About 1300 RECORD

1300 RECORD is an Australian-based privately-owned company that provides telephone call recording services through its own proprietary technology platform.

For more information about 1300 RECORD, head over to its website at www.1300record.com.au

1300 RECORD Makes Recording Prank Calls Easy

Nick Broughall -Gizmodo — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:12:41 GMT

One of the few things I learned at Uni that is actually useful in my day job is that recording a telephone conversation is only legal with the consent of all parties involved in the conversation. So there’s a lot of potential for criminal activity with this new service that records your conversation and emails you an MP3 of the call.

All you have to do – once you’ve set up your account at their website – is dial 1300 RECORD from any phone in Australia, and then call the desired number. Your number will show up on the other person’s phone, and once you’ve hung up, they’ll email you a link with an MP3 of the conversation.

The service costs between $2.65 and $3.75 per recorded call, depending on how much credit you buy up front.

This service could have saved my backside on a number of occasions over the years, but these days I just attach a special mic to my digital voice recorder and the phone I’m using to record interviews. But the real question here isn’t whether it will work – it sounds like a simple and elegant solution to something that could potentially be a problem for lots of people. No, the real question is whether it will be used more for good or evil. My money’s on evil.

1300 RECORD Launches New Digital Call Recording Service

Newswire — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:10:37 GMT

In an Australian first, 1300 RECORD is launching Australia’s most affordable outbound digital telephone call recording service on Wednesday 1st July 2009. This new service – 1300 RECORD (1300 732673) – allows businesses and consumers to digitally record calls, plus store and retrieve phone recordings. The main user benefits include better record keeping, improved administration and enhanced accuracy and recall of any telephone-based business conversations. The 1300 RECORD call recording service works as follows:

users register for the service and prepay for nominated account credits users receive their personal, unique and secure PIN number;
users dial 1300 RECORD, enter the PIN and the number they wish to record;
via an emailed weblink, users access an MP3 recording of the conversation;
calls can be annotated, stored or forwarded according to the user’s needs.

While this type of service has notionally been available to Australian businesses, access and adoption has been largely limited mainly due to prohibitively high service and hardware investment costs. With 1300 RECORD, there are no contracts, hardware costs or minimum monthly fees. Recording costs start from $2.65 per call. Chief Executive Officer of 1300 RECORD, Gavin Scholes commented:

“Almost every Australian business could make itself more efficient and productive by accurately recording its important landline or mobile telephone conversations. Now, with no need for technological hardware, remembering call details and information is within the financial reach of any business.”

The1300 RECORD service should also be attractive to larger organisations – such as banks and insurance companies – as it allows them to capture calls being made outside their premises by mobile and field staff based operating outwith main office premises.

Scholes, who was behind the launch and establishment of the highly successful 1300 Australia Phoneword service, emphasises the value of 1300 RECORD in many business situations from professional consulting to sales-based operations including:

conducting interviews;
renewing or completing contracts;
accepting quotes or approvals;
confirming prices or quantities plus;
coaching and training.

The technological solution behind 1300 RECORD (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.

While the 1300 RECORD service is being launched as an outbound call recording service on 1st July, inbound call recording is scheduled to become available to account customers within three months of inception.