Enterprise Communications Featured Article

Voice recording is an important element to enterprise communications. In the call center, it helps to improve agent performance and customer service. But it also improves regulatory compliance.

This is particularly important now because there are many existing and constantly changing regulations that can impact contact centers.

To ensure compliance, contact centers can record and archive customer-agent interactions involving calls and data. The information can be retrieved quickly as needed. But consider too new regulations that relate to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and its more recent guidelines. The TCPA governs the use of automatic dialing technology. The 2013 guidelines protect consumers from unwanted auto-dialed or robo-calls.

As of Oct. 16, 2013, “prior express written consent” is “required for all autodialed and/or pre-recorded calls/texts sent/made to cell phones and pre-recorded calls made to residential land lines for marketing purposes,” according to an analysis of the regulations by Klein Moynihan Turco, a law firm based in New York City. Also, the new guidelines eliminated the “established business relationship” exemption for pre-recorded telemarketing calls to residential landline phones, the firm adds. Violators risk being the subject of class action lawsuits, the firm warns.

To help protect businesses, Noble Systems (News - Alert) Corporation just got a U.S. patent for a TCPA Wireless Compliance Solution. The new solution provides tools that comply with 2013 TCPA guidelines that ban use of “automated dialers for contacting wireless numbers without the previous consent of the wireless number owner,” the company explained in a statement.

It lets contact centers flag wireless numbers and an agent will need to dial the wireless number manually. It also provides the contact center a tool to put in place safeguards to prevent non-compliant manual call attempts, and then issue reports on compliance operations.

“Compliance is at the forefront of virtually every contact center conversation today, and our users rely on us to provide them with tools to meet the current regulations, while preparing for the future,” James K. Noble, president and CEO of Noble Systems, said in the statement. The new solution meets updated guidelines, and helps to make sure clients avoid expensive penalties, Noble adds.

So contact centers should be prepared for current and evolving regulations – with the right technology.