How to record telephone calls
There are various different options to consider when deciding how to record telephone calls. Factors to take into account include: How many telephones or channels do you want to record? Do you need to record mobile phones? What is the purpose of the recording (dispute resolution, fact verification, customer service, training, compliance, for example)? How long do you want to store and retain the recordings for?
What may be appropriate for an individual, one-off need to record a specific call or series of calls may not be practical for a large inbound contact centre with a need to record 250+ customer service agents.
Business Recording – On-Premise Call Recording
Businesses and organisations with strict requirements around security and protocols and who like to retain control and own and manage their technology outright will typically record telephone calls using on premise call recording equipment. This tends to be server based recording hardware accompanied by software which is licensed and accessed via each user’s desktop. On-premise Call Recording can connect into your telephony system in a variety of different ways depending on who and what you want to record. Typical manufacturers of this technology include Red Box Recorders, NICE and Verint.
Business Recording – Hosted (Cloud based) Call Recording
– ‘Pay as you go’
Pay as you go Call Recording works precisely as the sentence reads. You pay only for the Call Recording service as you use it, on a monthly basis. Hosted Call Recording can record calls from any telephone, anywhere including call centres, business landlines, mobile and voip. No hardware is required, you do not physically own any equipment, you simply access recordings using software via a secure website once your handsets have been configured to record calls, based on your specific criteria. Intuitive software is available for authorised personnel to be able to access calls via their PC.
Personal recording – Use a PC
For personal recording of calls on your mobile or desk phone, it’s pretty straightforward- if your phone has a hands-free capability then switch it to speakerphone and record the call through your PC’s microphone. It’s important to be aware that background noise unfortunately will be recorded too. In this case, you could use third party software such as Audacity – a free, open source cross platform software for recording and editing noise. This may not be an option if you’re using a work PC as they may be locked down to stop you using the microphone.
Personal recording – Use an In-ear microphone
In-ear microphones are available at most electronic and phone stores. The great advantage to these is that they are small in size and therefore easy to carry around. It’s simple- all you are required to do is wear the microphone in your receiving ear to pick up the sounds from the speaker when you answer your mobile. Make sure you plug the audio-jack of the microphone into a portable recording device and switch the recording on as soon as you receive a call.
If you want to find out more about recording calls then check out our post on ‘How to record mobile phone calls in your organisation’.
