Mike Holland, head of technical services, Retell
How things have changed…but choosing can be a minefield
IF I TOLD you back in 1985 that you could record more than 120 channels of telephone conversations on one PC you would have laughed. Then you could only record on a one-inch wide tape the size of a dinner plate that lasted just 25½ hours. Storage space for an archive of one year would occupy the footprint of four desks.
Today we can store thousands of calls to DVD, data tapes and network attached storage devices — and accessible on line. In addition, there are call management and statistics, screen capture, agent evaluation and marking and the ability to transmit a “your call is being recorded” message.
Invest in a system with integrated call management and call recording and you give your supervisors a powerful tool to improve business performance. Not only can they see call volumes and statistics by department, team or agent, but they can also identify calls on the same screen and just click to play.
Add to that the ability to see extension details, geographical location and call and agent costs and the return on investment is rapidly proven. A cost saving of just £100 per week would pay for a 16-line ISDN 30 system covering 32 extensions in one year.
Choosing a suitable recording system can be a minefield. I suggest that would-be purchasers choose a company that can offer a range of solutions not just one type — for example, network hosted recording which works on a costly per minute, per person basis.
Recording is also available on some PABXs which is fine for the occasional important order or complaint but in most cases agent activated, not encrypted or compressed and often storing to a voice mail port leading to search and capacity problems.
We are one of only a handful of call recording circuit manufacturers in the world. As such, we work with PABX manufacturers and call management and CRM specialists to provide integrated recording with our Sense product.
It offers realistic and competitive pricing and will also be able to record BlackBerry mobiles and add “active” announcements into calls in the second quarter of this year. We also offer single desk recording, fax recording and music on hold along with our multi-line recorder available from four channels upwards and now available for short term rental.
How they looked in 1985: Mike Holland with call recorder