Voice recording systems: ATIO highlights what companies need to know

Spoken words are like a moment in time. As quickly as they are heard, they are gone. If not recorded, the opportunity to capture them is missed forever. Most individuals and organisations know that it is common practice to have their voice recorded when calling their medical aid or insurance company but rarely understand why?

"There are two main reason for this practice," says Deon Scheepers, ATIO technology and solutions director. "Training and liability. Recording calls is a very effective training tool. Call centre agents and trainees will learn accepted methods of call handling far better when they can actually hear what works best instead of simply being told. As a result, the calls will be handled more effectively, and customers will experience a far better service."

Scheepers continues: "Of equal importance for the company and the caller is a liability recording solution. Any business environment with online telephonic transactions will, on occasion, have to verify transactions and conversations. Companies are at risk to loose millions of rands should they not be able to recall telephonic conversations/transactions and be able to prove authenticity."

However, it is not as simple as going out and buying the first recording solution a company can find. This is an important and often neglected part of a company`s communications infrastructure. Prior to purchasing a recording system there are several aspects that need to be considered: obsolescence, access, security, archiving and growth, to mention just a few.

Obsolescence: In the ever-changing world of technology, companies need to select a system that gives them built-in protection against obsolescence, ensuring they always have an option of deploying the very latest technology at reasonable cost. Organisations need a system that ensures that any upgrade, whether it is their network, operating system or phone system is done easily.

Access: The system needs to offer companies a seamless way to access and use their recordings on a LAN/WAN, Internet or intranet, using any multimedia PC regardless of its location. Employees must be able to use their e-mail system to share information with those who need to know.

Security: Voice file authentication and encryption is key. Companies need to transport sensitive voice files over an open network securely. Security can be enhanced through the use of a special encryption algorithm; encrypted voice files can be decoded and played back on specific payback equipment with decryption software. Private keys - similar to personal identification numbers - can be assigned to specific users on the system, so that only authorised key holders can decode encrypted voice files. A digital fingerprint embedded in the voice files ensures that encrypted voice recordings have not been altered.

Archiving: Traditional recording systems decide when and where to archive a company`s voice recordings - what they need is to continuously archive calls to any networked device. Employees also need the choice to define how calls will be organised in folders, ie daily, weekly or monthly and how they would access their archived files. The ability to use standard Microsoft Windows conventions, like cutting and pasting, or dragging and dropping are another must have.

Growth: The ability to expand the recording density of the system simply by adding cards and modules is key to the long-term viability of the chosen system.

"Organisations need to give some serious thought as to what is at stake when the handling of the calls comes into question," continues Scheepers. "If there is no record of the call to prove what happened this could lead to lost revenue, expensive litigation and something far more valuable, a company`s reputation."