Voice capturing mitigates risk, boosts performance

One of the biggest threats to a company's business operations is regulatory compliance. Non-compliance can have serious implications. However, compliance is traditionally only grudgingly complied with - in reality, it's an opportunity disguised as a challenge. By taking a thoughtful approach to addressing this challenge, businesses can harness the benefits compliance provides, better positioning the company in the long-term.

Recording of transactions is required for a number of reasons. Prime amongst these are risk management, regulatory compliance, general record keeping and performance optimisation.

Risk management

There is an obligation placed on business by law and principles of good business governance to keep records of transactions. In many cases a telephone conversation is part of a transaction; either due to the fact that a contractual agreement or deal is made; or someone provides advice in a professional capacity on which the receiving party bases his decisions. For example, a financial service provider may advise his client on a change to his life policy. There are compelling reasons for one or both of the parties to have an objective and factual record of exactly what was said.

Recordings that cannot be tampered with provide legal proof of a voice transaction and should be stored as part of the caller's files and serve as proof of a telephonic transaction. Examples include telephonic arrangements for short-term insurance cover, stock orders and placement of bets. This proof might be required to be able to enforce a transaction, but also as protection against legal claims. Recordings are admissible as evidence in a court of law due to the sophisticated communication infrastructure implemented. Recordings are stored securely and watermarked with an encrypted signature to prevent undetected tampering.

Regulatory compliance

Compliance is a reality for all businesses where organisations must conform to legal requirements specific to a particular industry. Some industries must retain records of transactions for a stipulated time period. A typical example is the financial industry where records must be kept for a minimum of five years. Voice Recording protects both the business and consumer in these situations. Some of the legislation that must be complied with includes:

• The Consumer Protection Act
  
• FICA - Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001
  
• FAIS - Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 2002
  
• NCA - National Credit Act of South Africa, 2005
  
• RICA - Regulation of interception of communications and provision of
  
• communication-related information Act, 2002
  
• PCI-DSS - Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS)
  
• Requirements and Security Assessment Procedures
  
• Acts relevant to financial advice and the management of information:
  1. SIA - Short-term Insurance Act ( No 53 of 1998
  2. LIA - Long-term Insurance Act ( No 52 of 1998)
  3. PAIA - Promotion of Access to Information Amendment Act

Voice recording is instrumental in delivering the following benefits to organisations:

General record keeping: Providing a reminder of what was said. An example would be where a person speaks to a caller who speaks fast or in a foreign accent. The person is then free to concentrate on the actual call, rather than on taking notes.

To improve quality of communication: A call can be analysed to determine how the agent or receptionist handled a situation. Specific training or development issues can then be determined and addressed to improve the quality of contact between the business and the caller (customer).

To improve business processes: If an agent consistently makes the same mistake or if a certain procedure takes more time than necessary, it will be picked up during the evaluation process and the business processes can then be optimised. This applies to voice and screen recording.

Fast track training: It is very efficient to train by example or by correcting mistakes.

Spescom DataVoice develops proprietary solutions that record, manage, re-create and analyse voice transactions, in addition to solutions that address associated value processes within the business. Examples include the LIBRA voice recording solution, Nexus and Qnique solutions. These include performance management, workforce optimisation and quality assurance. Our products and services are tailored to support business processes and meet security, as well as legal and governance requirements, thus enhancing an organisation's ability to manage the interaction with its customer and mitigating risk.

The LIBRA voice recording solution incorporates a wealth of features to deliver a comprehensive business recording solution for all market sectors - SMEs can leverage the same product functionality as large enterprises or call centres with LIBRA Lite but at a fraction of the price. In addition, this product is flexible and fully scalable, providing the assurance that it will continue to grow seamlessly to meet the expanding needs of the business.

Screen recording complements voice recording, enabling organisations to access and review fully integrated and synchronised voice and screen 'events'. This is particularly important when queries or disputes arise and full evidence of the entire interaction is required. However, even more critical function of screen recording is that it enables agents and administrators to identify the root cause of inefficiencies in processes and productivity - and resolve them quickly.

In a branch environment where there will be multiple recorders, the use of Nexus provides a unified database, view, storage and management functions for a recording system which may comprise a large number of recorders and recording controllers. The complexity of the recording system is hidden from the users and multiple mechanisms are offered for user access to recorded information.

Qnique is the ultimate performance assessment tool. Evidence obtained from recorded telephone calls is combined with powerful performance management software. With the results of such a performance assessment at hand, quality assurance management is made simpler, faster and better. Qnique is fully integrated with voice and screen recording.

Recording voice interactions is an important means to ensure your business is protected from undue risk, that staff deliver quality service and that your performance is enhanced.

About Spescom DataVoice

Spescom DataVoice is a Jasco group company. Jasco's core focus is to deliver integrated business communication solutions that enhance the way businesses communicate with their customers, leveraging voice, video and data technologies through its various ICT and Telecommunications business units.

The deep technical expertise and considerable industry know-how housed in these business units combine to deliver world-class solutions including integrated contact centre platforms and applications, a range of voice application technologies, as well as telecommunications, connectivity and broadcast solutions. At Jasco we are positioned to leverage current and future technology trends and developments to meet the dynamically shifting requirements of our customers and ensure their continued competitiveness.

For more information visit us at Jasco at www.jasco.co.za and Spescom at www.spescom.com.