Landline calls have been voice recorded for several years. Now is the time for organisations to embrace voice recording of mobile phone calls as well.
Here are my top ten reasons why organisations should be considering recording mobile phone calls made to and from their employees’ devices:
1. Reduced liability
Reducing liability is a great cost and resource saving measure for any organisation. If you can produce evidence of the information exchanged between your employees, your customers and suppliers, disputes should be resolved quickly and there should be no need for any legal action on behalf of any involved party.
2. Brand protection
Brand and reputation take many years to build and can be destroyed within a matter of days. (Consider Toyota as an example and the recent widespread media coverage of their car recalls.)
It can take the words of just one or two disillusioned employees to start spreading bad publicity about your organisation and if you are unable to identify the source of the bad PR your brand reputation could be damaged, particularly in an age where social media can make or break the views of the general public very quickly.
3. Improved customer service
Simply knowing that their phone conversations are being recorded should affect the manner in which employees conduct business over their phone, and if that includes voice recording mobile phone calls as well there will be no hiding in the corridors to avoid the ears of colleagues and managers!
4. Sales and Marketing data
Voice recording all phone calls within your organisation can provide valuable sales and marketing data which can be used in targeting customers and potential customers. Listening to what customers are actually saying about your organisation is great feedback in terms of their reactions to product features, services, pricing, customer service and support and can help you tailor marketing and sales campaigns for the best return on investment.
5. Clarifying mis-heard or forgotten information
Have you ever finished a phone conversation and then immediately doubted exactly what was said? A name you can’t remember, a price you had agreed to, did he say go ahead or wait?, what was that phone number again? Being able to easily playback the last conversation you had will help settle the issue quickly. This can be particularly useful when you are out and about making calls on your mobile, on a train or in the street where noise levels are higher than when you are in a quiet office.
6. Identifying rogue traders or fraudulent employees
FSA regulations state that regulated financial institutions in the UK have had to record and store certain telephone conversations made from desk phones relating to taking client orders and the conclusion of transactions in the equity, bond, and derivatives markets. However an exemption has been made so far for those types of calls being made over mobile phones. The FSA is expected to make an announcement shortly on the current mobile recording exemption included in the 2009 regulations.
7. Increased security
It is far less likely that people will want to hack into your phone systems and mailboxes if they know that calls made on that line are recorded. Indeed one GemaTech customer was able to help identify how a phone hacker got into an employee mailbox to make expensive international calls because of certain information exchanged within a recorded phone conversation.
8. Better training
As consumers we often hear that calls are recorded for training and monitoring purposes with the cynical view that it really is just the company covering themselves,. But actually recording phone calls is a very useful training tool, particularly for new, customer-facing employees, and by including mobile phone calls as well, employees don’t have to be restricted to training and working at their desks.
9. Reduced managerial interferance
Ever had that feeling that your boss is evesdropping on your phone conversations from the desk next door, or even over your shoulder? It can be intimidating even when they try and conceal that they are doing it, so wouldn’t it be better if you had the freedom to make your calls wherever you like, even though you know that the boss still has the ability to hear the conversation at a later date, or even at the same time but you need not know?
10. Increased organisational transparency
The way that your organisation does business can come under scrutiny in many situations, not least during an inquiry following some kind of major disruptive event or disaster. Questions will be asked as to who said what, who made what decisions and why, why did certain people react in this or that way, what information was passed around? For example if your office was on fire few people would be using their desk phones to relay information. It would be conducted via mobile. By keeping voice recorded evidence of such information you will save time, money and investigations into inaccurate accusations.
It makes sense to keep voice recordings of mobile phone calls just as it does for landline phone calls and the technology is available now to achieve it for smartphones and BlackBerry devices alike.
For more information on the types of technology available for voice recording mobile phone calls, give me a call! (0845 345 3333)
