Call Recording - Three Key Reasons Why it Makes Sense for your Organization
2. Verification
Archive Records for Quality Assurance, Dispute Resolution, and Regulatory Compliance
Verification: Evidence that establishes or confirms accuracy or truth2.
- If there is a dispute that arises in your business over what was communicated in a telephone conversation, can you easily confirm to yourself - and to the other party - exactly what was said?
- Have you ever purchased something and found that the promises made before the sale didn't match what was delivered?
- Are there regulations or quality requirements in your business that demand documentation and accurate record-keeping of telephone calls?
- Are there periodic security issues such as threats or confidentiality breaches over the telephone that warrants serious action and follow-up?
Some business issues or transactions are so important, so serious, so potentially risky, or carry such high liability, that it is simply not enough to recall what was said - even if you have written notes. You need proof! In each of the above cases, what's needed is verifying documentation that can provide indisputable evidence.
Regulatory Compliance
In many situations, important telephone conversations, such as financial, medical or legal transactions, need to be routinely documented to verify that proper information was communicated or to clarify information in the event of disputes. This information can then be used to provide irrefutable backup and to speed resolution. Examples of relevant regulations where documentation is critical include the Telemarketing Sales Rule, Truth in Lending Act, Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, Health Insurance Portability and Protection Act (HIPPA), Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as directives from the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA).
Verification through call recording is especially important for building contractors, financial or insurance brokers, purchasers/buyers, accountants, lawyers, doctors, law enforcement/security and emergency 911 personnel.
Reduced Risk and Liability
Some issues carry such high liability and risk that it would be irresponsible not to retain records. For these areas, often regulatory compliance forces such verification. In other instances, it is up to the business themselves to make that determination after assessing their own level of liability. In such cases, the peace of mind gained by recording calls and keeping good documentation can prove invaluable.
Security
Like any communication medium where there is a perception of anonymity and the supposed safety of distance, the telephone is often used for delivering threats. In the event of such threats it is particularly important that these be verified and passed on to the relevant authorities. Recording calls in these situations not only allows staff members to highlight the level of severity of each call but also the recordings may help authorities locate and prove who the caller was.
What Call Recording Offers
A common problem with verification is that maintaining documentation is time-consuming and hard to do consistently. Another challenge is being able to quickly retrieve the information when verification is needed or share information in a timely manner. Digital call recorders offer reliable automatic recording that is ideal for call verification. All calls can be automatically recorded or only those calls which match certain criteria. The call recorder can log important data about the call as well including the time and date of each call, the duration, the called number or Caller ID, and type of call. Users can also enter comments for each call to provide added detail. Call records can then quickly and easily be retrieved by searching based on a number of parameters, and easily shared with others via email.
