To record calls can be really beneficial for some companies – you don’t have to take notes and can focus on the person you're talking to. In some industries, there are even legal requirements for call recording. But does it work? And what about GDPR?
Who benefits from recording calls?
A recording feature can be helpful when talking to customers, having internal meetings, or conducting job interviews. In some industries, there are even legal requirements for call recording to protect all parties. The financial industry is one sector where some calls must be recorded and stored by law.
Other professional groups, such as journalists, self-employers, and educators, also use the service extensively. It's a convenient way to remember what was said in business agreements and negotiations. And let’s not forget that customer service and support benefit from call recording as it helps them measure customer satisfaction.
How does call recording work?
To record calls, you need a softphone or other software that supports the call recording feature. Many providers offer call recording as an extra service or included function within their IP telephony today. That makes it easy to record both incoming and outgoing calls to fixed or mobile numbers.
What are the rules for call recording?
For some industries and companies, call recording is a necessity. For others, it’s mainly a convenience. But the right to record calls is not self-evident, not even for companies.
In several countries, it is illegal to record conversations without the consent of all parties. In Sweden, you may record conversations that you take part in yourself – this applies to all forms of calls.
Yet, keep in mind that the person or people you are talking to should know you're recording. All personal data stored must also be handled and processed correctly under the GDPR.
GDPR and call recording
After the GDPR was rolled out, the demands for managing personal data are stricter. According to The Swedish Data Protection Authority, digitally stored recordings are seen as personal data, even if no names are mentioned in the recording. This means that they should be managed according to the security requirements of the GDPR.
It’s even more critical that the security is up to par if the recording can be connected to a specific person. Telavox has routines in place to secure our users’ and customers’ integrity.
Who has access to the files?
To listen to a recorded call in Telavox, you need to have the correct permission. The administrator can give this to the employee. Only authorised personnel have access to recorded calls. As a user, you can only listen to your calls.
Call recording is an add-on service that can also be configured so that only selected calls are recorded.
Secure storage of recorded calls
Security is paramount when it comes to recorded calls. Only authorised personnel have access to the recordings. Telavox has a failsafe so that no unauthorised person has access to the information. A recorded call is automatically stored for two years, and it’s easy to search the recordings to find the one you’re looking for.
“Our advantage is that we develop and own our product”, says Tor Blomdell, Chief Product Officer at Telavox.
“We have over 90 developers working with our products and services. We have control of the entire process, which enables us to create great things like the call recording feature. If we’d have outsourced the development, we wouldn’t have had as much insight.”
Tor Blomdell, Chief Product Officer at Telavox.
MiFID II
MiFID II (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive) is in effect since January 2018 and it applies to all financial professionals within the EU. It means that all business-related conversations with clients should be documented.
Jonas El Gahly works as Enterprise Sales Executive at Telavox, and has a lot of experience helping large companies in the industry:
“Unlike other suppliers, Telavox uses so-called passive call recording (via SFTP). Active call recording, on the other hand, means that you need to start the recording manually, which isn't compatible with MiFID II.”
How to record calls in Telavox
To record calls, you first need a softphone or another type of software that supports call recording. You can record your calls both using your mobile phone, desk phone or softphone. The calls are stored in Telavox and you can access the recordings directly. You find them under the call history tab.
You can toggle the recording function on and off. All calls will be recorded when it’s active. The user doesn’t have to press a button to start the recording.
How to start using call recording in Telavox
So, how do you get access to the call recording feature? You can either order it when setting up your Telavox account, or contact your Customer Success Manager to help you get started.
Good luck with the recording!
