A guide to Business Call Recording

Image of recording button on black background

What is Call Recording?

At the most basic level, call recording is a piece of software that records conversations taking place over a traditional phone line or Internet connection and stores them as a digital audio file. This file can then be retrieved and listened to as and when required. Many call recording solutions now offer additional functionality on top of this, including evaluating calls based on set criteria, real-time call monitoring and the ability to combine call recording and call logging into one platform.

Call Recording Laws in the UK

According to the Data Protection Act 1998 (and the updated 2018 Act), in order to record a corporate phone call where either party is identified, the caller has to inform the secondary party how the content will be used, gain consent from the other party and keep the data in a safe, yet accessible, location. 

In addition, when the UK’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation was introduced in 2018 it brought about a number of changes to the way businesses handle personal data and that includes call recording. Under GDPR, businesses must have a lawful basis for processing personal data. In most cases, the lawful basis will be ‘legitimate interests’, which means that the business has a legitimate reason for recording the call. Alternatively, it could be ‘consent’, especially if calls are being recorded for training purposes alone. In this case, the person being recorded must have given their explicit consent for the call to be recorded- providing a recorded message saying this call is being recorded alone will not suffice.

What are the benefits of Call Recording?

Comply with FCA, MiFID and OCU regulations

Some businesses, for instance those that are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, are required by law to record phone calls.

Identify problem areas

Call recording can aid your business in determining areas in which communications issues may be occurring which are negatively impacting the business. It can also help to identify where roadblocks may be preventing you from delivering quick solutions for customers. Call recording plays a key role in the initial investigation process which enables you to improve customer service. Many of the latest call recording solutions enable you to allocate your own pre-set criteria which all calls are then scored against and easily view overall company and employee activity with call statistics and wallboards.

Keep valuable records

Call recording allows you to keep a record of all of your interactions with customers. Some of the latest call recording packages offer word and phrase spotting, allowing you to spot trends within customer calls. You can add notes to each call record to store extra information.

Overcome potential disputes

With call recordings there is no doubt about what has and hasn't been said.

Quality assurance and accreditation

Call recording can serve as evidence of good customer care and business improvement. This can help towards formally recognised standards such as ISO accreditation.

Continuous improvement

Recording calls is a great way to monitor which areas of your customer service are having the greatest impact on customers. Determine which of your employees need more support to get them on par with your top performers. When it comes to training, call recordings with customers personal details removed present a great learning opportunity.

Improved decision making

Call recording allows you to inspect the customers journey, preferences, and the steps they go through to make a purchase. Leverage insights from large numbers of calls to quickly determine which strategies are aiding in satisfying customers and improving brand reputation.

Which call recording solution would be best for your business?

Sometimes a business’ reason for investing in a call recorder is as simple and as necessary as recording financial transactions for auditing purposes. For these businesses a straightforward, user-friendly voice recording solution may suffice. Other businesses can benefit from a more advanced solution with a higher degree of functionality. 

The best solution for an individual business depends on a number of factors: 
• Their Telephony Protocol (VoIP, Analogue, Digital, ISDN) 
• Their preferred storage (Internal SD Card, Internal HD, Cloud Storage) 
• The capacity they require (1 telephone line, 10 telephone lines, 100 lines....) 
• Other Requirements (DECT, headsets, soft phones, Microsoft Teams) 

Find out more about Call Recording here