Tony Procops, CEO, CyberTech North America, has recently offeredsomethoughts on call recording and quality monitoring.

“The question for many small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and branch offices of larger organizations is typically, ‘Do I really need them?’” Procops says, adding that this certainly makes sense, as “costs are usually watched very closely in these firms and standalone business units and investments in technology often are put on hold until significant revenue growth can justify them.”

There are several concerns that might come into play when such decisions are being made, he says. Many of them can be quickly satisfied with the new call recording and quality monitoring products, usually affordable and easy to install and maintain, VoIP compatible.”

What are the possible concerns that SMBs could have with call recording and quality monitoring products? Procops offers a few -- can’t I just get by without one?

The answer to that, Procops say, is summed up in one word: “Compliance. If you are in a regulated industry that requires retention of audio interactions then you really must have a compliance recording solution in place to avoid stiff fines and penalties.”

So go ahead and weigh that one up yourself. Then there’s transparency: “For contact center outsourcers in particular, providing customer-service transparency for clients is often a must and call recording and quality monitoring technology can easily and cost-effectively bridge this gap.”

Procops knows what else you’re thinking: “Can’t I just train my agents on my own?”

Maybe you can. But without a call recording and quality monitoring system in place you are “essentially walking blind without the knowledge and insight into which agents are performing well and which ones need help (and in which areas they need it).”

And of course, the $64 question: “Isn’t it too expensive?”

Many of today’s software-based recording and quality monitoring products are quite affordable and can pay for themselves in very short order by identifying a weak performing agent, for example, and pinpointing where he/she needs skills training. “Additionally,” Procops adds, “the old adage of it costing seven times as much to find a new customer than it does to retain an existing one, has never been more meaningful than in today’s economy.”