Historically voice
recording has proved to be a major asset in dispute
resolution and employee management – yet up
to now the prohibitive cost of traditional proprietary
technology has made it the preserve of those with
no alternative but to invest to meet compliance requirements.
An increasingly litigious business environment and
the ever broadening impact of compliance has meant
it is time manufacturers faced up to the technology’s
commodity status and delivered cost effective voice
recording for all, which is exactly what we have
done, says Graham Chick, chief executive of GemaTech
the UK based telecoms design and development subsidiary
of Guernsey registered investment company Telinvest
Ltd.
Over the past decade reliance upon telephone communication
as a key business tool has increased exponentially.
And, for many organisations within the financial
sector, that reliance has resulted in a need to record
calls to meet compliance regulations. Increasingly
these regulations will apply not only to banks and
trust companies but to insurance companies, Independent
Financial Advisors (IFAs) and even law firms – in
fact any individual providing telephone based client
advice.
However, it is not only large organisations or those
within the financial sector that need to record customer
facing calls. Most organisations have endured expensive,
time consuming and potentially reputation damaging
disputes with customers or suppliers as a result
of disagreements over the content of voice based
communications. Without accurate, easily accessible
recordings of each and every conversation, such disputes
are hard to resolve.
Such disputes can be easily resolved if reliable
and accessible voice recording is used across the
organisation. Offshore investment trust experts Richmond
Corporate Service attained immediate benefits from
its voice recording investment when a client threatened
to sue for a delay in implementing financial transaction
requests that had, he claimed, cost several thousand
pounds in lost investment. Within minutes, the company
was able to collate all calls relating to the transaction – from
initial client request to implementation – proving
the client’s claims were totally spurious.
Not only did this ensure the dispute was resolved
immediately but the company avoided expensive legal
advice and the business disruption that would have
arisen.
Furthermore the technology also enabled Richmond
to support a member of staff who claimed to have
been verbally abused by a new client. Listening to
the voice recording confirmed the claims, enabling
the company to confidently support its member of
staff and refuse the business of the client without
hesitation. Without this verification, many companies
would struggle with the ‘client versus staff
member conflict’ – not only losing business
but also damaging staff morale during the investigation.
The good news for organisations of all sizes is
that with new products delivering the same (and often
a far superior) level of voice recording quality,
ease of use and security at a fraction of the price
of older systems – often around £10,000
for recording up to 30 concurrent calls – opting
for a brand new system is on a par with the legacy
upgrade path.
As a leading developer of next generation secure
voice recording equipment, GemaTech have recognised
the need for high quality, cost effective voice recording
solutions in the Channel Islands and, as a consequence
have recently appointed Sourcing Solutions as their
Authorised Agent in Jersey.
“Sourcing Solutions have recognised that,
in Jersey, voice recording is fast becoming a natural
requirement for doing business over the telephone,
and has become a technological necessity for many
of Jersey’s financial institutions, in particular
for dispute resolution or training” says Director,
Peter Walsh, “Indeed, in treasury and dealing
based firms, this has been the case for quite some
time. It is now widely recognised that in most areas
of wealth management it is increasingly necessary
to be able to verify details of conversations with
clients and intermediaries - call recording puts
the individual and the company in complete control
of their most prolific communication medium.”
Compliance is becoming a fact of life for an increasing
number of companies, and no organisation, whatever
its size is immune from the demands of both legislation
and customers to prove the veracity of decisions.
With verbal orders now standard business practice,
in this litigious society avoiding disputes and the
attendant costs and damage to reputation and staff
morale is a serious objective.
The resultant growth in demand for voice recording
and the commodity status of this technology is driving
prices down - dramatically. With new solutions available
at approximately a third of traditional proprietary
solutions, the implications for dispute resolution
and improved staff effectiveness will undoubtedly
be significant.
|
