Whether your firm is outsourcing customer service, routing emergency calls for your community association or getting ready to implement in-house call center services, you need to understand the legal challenges ahead. Call center recording policies protect your organization against unwarranted legal challenges. Or, the policies can open the door for constant headaches.
Most contact centers record and archive calls. There are two reasons to record calls: training or oversight. When used for training, the recorded calls help teach new employees how to do their jobs. When used for oversight, the recorded calls ensure staff members are following the script and maintaining a professional tone. This way you can be sure your calls reflect your core values. Some administrators use call center recordings as part of a data management program or to further speech analysis research. Whatever the primary purpose, it is imperative that you and your staff apply appropriate standards to meet legal standards.
Some states only require one party in a recorded conversation be notified that a digital record is being produced. Approximately one-quarter of the states in the US require both parties to have knowledge about recordings. Today, banks, credit card custom care centers and some healthcare organizations inform callers of call center recording policies immediately, or before they collect any personal information. The most important thing for managers to understand, is that ignorance is no excuse. Before implementing a call recording policy, find out who should be informed and the regulations regarding minimum security measures your firm must take to protect yourself and your employees.
Every in-house training program should include written standards for all call agents. Benchmarking standards should describe and define what “privileged” information entails. Privileged information includes credit card numbers, social security numbers, addresses, and birth dates.
When you record all incoming and outgoing calls, why you record them isn’t the crucial question. What matters most is how you store the audio files and control access to archived records. If unauthorized personnel access audio or text files containing sensitive, personal information you expose yourself to legal challenges, even if the access was unintentional. Maximum security solutions include features such as dual-authentication login, date/time stamping, encrypted data storage and redaction capabilities that allow agents to pause record or delete sensitive information after the call.
It’s vital for companies to delve into industry-specific standards while building their call center. Although PCI Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) cannot prevent all security risks, following the correct procedures can reduce expose for any company collecting credit card information over the telephone. Similarly, any organization that handles health information should make sure web-based storage solutions are Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Health Information Technology for Economic & Clinical Health Act (HITECH) compliant.
ATIS call center audio recording solutions are cost-effective and customizable to a wide variety of industries and environments. Call us today to discuss viable solutions that enhance customer service without compromising data security.
