Recording of telephone conversations is a common practice among call center organizations for several interests, from training purposes through business analysis to fulfilling agent-customer agreements. It also increases the traceability of customer service, provides valuable data for sales and contributes to the improvement of a quality service.

Call recording is classified as a form of data processing and to reduce the potential for misuse it is particularly important that organizations handle customers’ call records in a regulated manner. The GDPR is one of several ordinances that serve this purpose. With GDPR in force, the terms and conditions of call recording have tightened since 2018 to protect and empower EU citizens' data privacy. The regulation aims businesses processing this sensitive data. Meaning practically all European and extra-European companies, but GDPR targets banks, insurance companies, brokerage firms and call center organizations since these businesses’ agent-customer interactions are often more extensive and typically hold private information about companies and individuals.

Since GDPR is not a new form of legislation to accommodate, currently the real challenge is probably to keep up with technological advancements and the changing communications trends when it comes to GDPR compliance.

In this article, we would like to highlight the importance of constant and systematic evaluation and encourage you to always strive for innovation. Here are some tips and suggestions to consider when contemplating your GDPR compliance techniques.

Inform your customers

During calls, agents need to address the fact of call recording furthermore, recording is only possible with the client’s unambiguous approval. Acquaint your customers about their rights and offer them options, such as ‘The right to be forgotten.’ GDPR compliance screams that your business is reliable. Communicating that you respect your customers’ personal data and legislations protecting their rights mediates transparency and can greatly contribute to building a trustful agent-customer relationship.

Know your dataset

Understanding what you record, how and why is a crucial focal point for GDPR compliance since the legislation requires companies to justify which types of calls are being recorded and how those calls are managed and processed. You can only grant that by evaluating your current system. Make sure your previously recorded calls and settings for automated functions are compliant therefore, recording in the future for sure will go smoothly and according to the rules.

Make sure your dataset is safe and sound

Although businesses generate and utilize data, data management is usually outsourced to be executed by call centers who are using sophisticated technical solutions to fulfill their duty. In order to stay compliant with the GDPR regulations not only your business, but all services you partner up with need to play according to the book. Meaning all subsidiaries and the recording and storage systems they use. In an enterprise level, that can require several organizations and service providers to be compliant so that your business is compliant.

It is worth mentioning at this point, that if you collaborate with external companies to help you with data management and data processing that can mean that you lose full control over your data so make sure you contract with the right vendors.

Be prepared

In addition to security, one of the most important aspects when constructing system settings is to facilitate quick and seamless data retrieving 24/7. GDPR entitles your customers to reclaim their data stored by your company any time. In that case, businesses are obliged to fulfill this customer need for data restitution moreover even deleting data if the customer so demands. Non-compliance with this requirement may result in serious consequences. To avoid heavy fines your customers’ personal data must be on hand at all times.

Organization is key

Call centers are designed to receive, manage and process an extremely huge amount of data. That data set holds all kinds of information of different types, which agents need to pull out of their sleeves right on the spot. Moreover it is an essential part of employees’ duty to expand the dataset by annotating and categorizing calls and data with further information.

All these data manipulations need to be done according to the data life cycle regulated by the GDPR policy of the company.

Human - Machine cooperation

Human workforce is only able to provide the level of customer experience with the support of good quality software. A call center environment is not complete without one or the other. In an especially fast-paced workspace, a well-structured technical architecture with the appropriate process-automating software and tech-savvy agents are equally necessary for effective operation.

Choose a recording solution that manages data for you

In a typical call center most of the administrational duties demand robust technical architecture. The currently available recording software products are designed not only to capture high quality audio and video content but also to help companies utilizing and keeping track of their dataset in a compliant way. Built-in features like IVR announcement and stop-start function can resolve issues around sensitive data recording and ensure compliance toward legislations such as PCI DSS and GDPR. The CARIN Recording Solution can take care most of your data management tasks automatedly and according to your company’s retention and regulation policy. CARIN stores recorded calls and instant messages in one system thereby enabling quick searchability in all communication channels. Implementing the right recording solution and communication control software will take care most of your compliance liabilities so your agents can focus more on providing a quality customer service.

Educate your employees

Call other communications channel recording does not only mean a legal obligation but also supplies businesses with valuable information for corporate development. The CARIN recording system not only enables compliance but efficiently facilitates organizations to utilize their dataset. With the use of the CARIN Quality Assurance module and the CARIN Reporting Tool your records can be easily turned into useful statistics that showcase whether your business operates at the level intended.

Call center representatives are the ones who act for the company and establish direct contact with your customers so make sure they are supported and ready to tackle that task. Agents must always be aware of the legislations currently in force and the requirements to comply with them. Deficiencies can be assessed during playback but can’t be made non-existent. Through regular agent performance evaluation and training, future misunderstandings can be easily prevented.

In conclusion

Although GDPR imposes legal obligations and requires compliance on the companies behalf, it does not prevent you from reaping the benefits of call recording.

CARIN is a customizable and expandable compliance recording solution. With its many additional modules, CARIN is not only a recorder, but a system that provides you with valuable data about your business’ operation to accelerate improvement. It gives you a wide range of AI-driven and manual settings so you can experiment with different strategies and scripts without worrying about compliance.

Contact us if you are interested in a recording solution that manages data for you.