Workforce Management Featured Article

Call Recording Offers Boost to Workforce Management

There are few technologies out there that inspire both excitement and concern as call recording. While there are a host of legal issues around the use of this technology, we typically write about call recording being applied to incoming calls from customers - where there's also plenty of value associated as well. There are five major benefits when it comes to using call recording in a business setting.

The first two benefits apply directly to the business itself. When call recording is used, the resultant calls become an excellent training tool, both in the early part of an agent's career and in its more mature period. The recorded calls can both show how success is accomplished in certain situations, and how it is not, allowing the agent in question to become better at their job.  

The second set of benefits applies more to the customer. The use of call recording can improve customer service within the organization, and in turn, improve customer satisfaction. When a customer's needs, desires and plans are so clearly expressed, that becomes the perfect opportunity to deliver on exactly those points. The use of big data systems can also be used to spot trends, which the company can then act upon. If the company notes that a lot of customers have been complaining about how early the business closes, for example, the company can alter its hours accordingly. Having these calls recorded allows an easy way to go back and check the calls for patterns, as well as a means to provide precisely what a customer asks for.

The last benefit is an intermingling of business and customer: protection. When calls are recorded according to established law and statute, the customer gets a note of protection as a record exists of the interaction between that customer and that company. Likewise, the business also has a record of the interaction, which in turn can keep legal action to a minimum as the facts of any case can be easily determined and frivolous lawsuits can often be stopped before even starting. With recorded calls that either side can access, both sides of the equation are likewise protected from the other.

While there's a large amount of benefit associated with call recording, there's also a substantial potential for misuse of such recordings—one of the main reasons there are so many laws around the subject. Call recording provides benefit along both sides of the spectrum, and with a few minor considerations, can be not only beneficial to the customer, but also to the business and all within the fullest protection of the law.