Quality assurance purposes: following contact center call recording laws

Quality assurance, also known as quality control, has become a standard practice for contact centers. How often have you heard the phrase “This call may be recorded for quality and training purposes. If you do not want to be recorded …”. It protects brands, customers and agents alike. Although it is a simple concept to grasp, it is an integral part of delivering a top-tier customer experience (CX), a complex topic which generates customer loyalty and a boost in your brand’s growth. One way of assuring that quality is through the recording of telephone calls between customers and your contact center.

How contact center call recordings are governed 

Specific contact center call recording laws depend on the country and region, but in most places, it is permitted. It is primarily regulated by privacy laws and telecommunications laws, which include regulations on data protection like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In some countries, customers may also have a right not to be recorded without their consent or knowledge, which is why you should always inform customers before they begin a conversation with you. 

Moreover, contact center call recordings in the EU are also governed by the second edition of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID 2). The MiFID 2 governs just about every asset and profession in the European financial services sector, most relevantly the recording, storing and tracking of all communications including phone conversations.  

There are some national laws that can be stricter than GDPR or MiFID 2. For example, under German law it is not allowed to record conversations without the prior explicit consent of all parties involved (per §201 of the German Criminal Code). This means that you need to get express permission from customers before you start recording their calls. If you fail to do so, it could lead to serious consequences such as criminal charges against your company or employees, fines or even jail time.  

Using and storing contact center call recordings 

Contact centers have several uses for recording calls in contact centers between customers and agents. Here are the most common: 

• Contractual purposes, such as with utility companies or other service providers. 
• Legal obligations in specific industries, such as healthcare or financial services. 
• Transcription, which benefits brands by helping them learn about their audience.
• Protecting the interests of customers and brands alike by protecting them against fraud or misrepresentation. 
• Training purposes, such as demonstrating contact center tools to new recruits.  

These are fundamental to the functioning of a contact center and to the idea of quality assurance. Proper training allows agents and supervisors to listen back and judge performance, so that feedback can be provided, and performance can be optimized. Such contact center call recordings also make resolving disputes easier because it eliminates uncertainty about what was said during each interaction.  

Retaining and using all this data is subject to a variety of regulations though, which contact centers must be aware of or risk facing fines. US consumer privacy law can be complex to navigate as it is made up of several federal laws. For European customers however, alongside any industry-specific regulations, is the universal European GDPR. Call recordings class as personal data and as a result should only be retained for as long as it is needed, ideally for the shortest time possible. This is closely tied to the need for organizations to have a good reason to record calls like contractual, legal or protective. As already discussed, customers must be informed the call is being recorded. Encryption, pseudonymization or anonymization are preferred wherever possible, and customers must be granted access and, where appropriate, secure deletion upon request. Complying with a request to delete a recording does depend on whether the original purpose has been fulfilled or if doing so may cause, for example, significant contractual or legal issues. These complexities and consequences make security, organization, appropriate use and well-established policies for call recording extremely important.  

Contact center call recording works as a fully-integrated element of modern CCaaS solutions. This allows businesses to access real-time insights through data dashboards, which show metrics such as average handling time and noted reasons for call droppages. With contact center call recordings, you can pinpoint what was said, how it was said and better tune in to how to address it to optimize contact center operations. CCaaS data dashboards can be customized to let you drill down different metrics like percentage breakdowns by agent/queue/shift. They are updated automatically so you always have access to the latest tools and fixes to easily identify problem areas in your brand’s CX.  

CCaaS makes it easier to reconcile business and legal demands 

Contact center call recordings are a necessary part of responsible and adaptive contact center operations. Know GDPR requirements, as well as those in your country of operations. It’s a prelude to truly unlocking the path to improving your brand’s customer experience. The good news is that today’s CCaaS solutions providers are taking extra steps to adjust their technology to be more suitable for GDPR. Odigo is one such company, deploying intuitive recording controls that can align with relevant laws for agents and supervisors from their dashboards. To get to know the Odigo solution better, set up a call with our experts today!