Access to Learn Archives at Global Call Forwarding

Home » Archive by category 'Learn' (Page 12)

Cloud Call Center Software – Pricing Guide & Cost Comparison

Vasudha 6th August 2023 blog

Purchasing the right cloud contact center software can have a significant impact on your business. The correct software will maximize agent productivity, improve customer service, and set the foundation for …Read More »

21 Best Zoho Integrations

Kim Sayers 4th August 2023 blog

More and more businesses are turning to advanced tools and technologies to improve their operations and elevate their service offerings. Among one of the most popular business tools is Customer …Read More »

What Happens After Signing Up With Global Call Forwarding

Luke Genoyer 3rd August 2023 blog

New to Global Call Forwarding? We’re happy to have you! Let’s go over the process of getting a phone number and VoIP subscription with us. Here are a couple of …Read More »

Global Call Forwarding Launches New User & Role Management Feature

Meryl D'Sa-Wilson 17th July 2023 Press

Global Call Forwarding launches a User & Role Management feature to manage user access to your phone service. DELRAY BEACH, FL, July 2023 Global Call Forwarding launches a new User …Read More »

7 Benefits of Voice and Telecom Network Consolidation

Luke Genoyer 14th July 2023 blog

The benefits of voice and telecom network consolidation.

As an IT infrastructure manager or network engineer, your time on the job should be spent maximizing efficiency and reducing costs while building reliable business systems. Do you spend too …Read More »

What is Inbound Sales? Definition, Examples, & Strategies

Kim Sayers 13th July 2023 blog

The sales landscape is constantly changing and adapting to prospect preferences. That’s where inbound sales come in. In this post, we will explore the fundamentals of inbound sales, why this …Read More »

Manning the Phones: How to Create an Effective Customer Service Strategy

Ilsa Morales 8th March 2019 Learn, Technology

A chief role of managers and customer service employees is knowing how to create a good experience for their customers. As a business owner, it is essential that you develop a strong customer service strategy that your employees can easily navigate and understand. This strategy should effectively incorporate key points that will take your customer service to the next level.

The goal of any business is to expand and create the most profits, and the best way to make this happen is to provide excellent customer service. Your goals as a company should include an effective customer service strategy. Begin this strategy by employing a strong management team that is skilled in leadership, communication, and service. Once you have a strong team, you can begin to develop your customer service strategy.

1. Set goals

Before you can work on a plan, you must compile a list of goals that you wish your business to achieve. Once you have figured out what you want to see from your company, you can begin to map out a plan to execute the plans. Share your vision of the future of the company with your employees so that they can keep your goals in mind when carrying out tasks.

2. Determine the wants of your customer

Frequently, a business will fail because the owners were unable to understand what the customer wanted. Businesses will assume that they know better than what their customers want and then provide them with a product that won’t sell. Your business needs to have a plan in place that will allow customers to express their opinions freely. To set this plan in motion, begin by initiating communication with the customer. This can be done through feedback surveys, comment cards, and focus groups.

3. Improve your hiring process

Customer service employees should be adequately screened and vetted with the customer in mind. The agents that you hire should encompass many traits, including empathy, excellent communication skills, patience, problem-solving skills, and a keen ability to stay positive when dealing with a negative customer. All agents can be trained for certain things, but you can’t teach someone to have a different personality.

4. Measure your results

Now that you know what the customer is looking for and you have a team that can effectively communicate, you can begin to create small goals to improve your customer service strategy even more over time. An example of a more modest goal instead of an overall vision is to answer calls within a specific timeframe. These small goals will help you achieve your bigger goals and overall vision in time. Be sure that your employees are aware of these new goals so that they can be held accountable for delivering that same high level of quality. If you find that a goal isn’t quite achievable, you can work backward and find out what is stopping your team from being able to reach their goals.

5. Ensure all employees undergo a thorough training process

Although you already hired a stellar staff with all of the qualities that your business needs in a customer service agent, you still need to deliver consistent service. The best way to stay consistent with your customers is by training all of your employees thoroughly and regularly. Train your employees on product knowledge, frequently asked questions, and provide them with a set of guidelines to follow for each phone call. Be sure that your staff is always up on current standards by using call recording to capture missed details, learn additional information about customers, and to improve the quality of every call.

6. Accountability

Your agents and managers should be held to a standard of consistency and quality. Practice regular performance reviews and be sure to share with your employees the customer service data so that they can see the fruits of their labor.

7. Reward your employees

When your employees are continually adhering to quality standards and surpassing goals, they should be rewarded for their efforts. All work and no play can create gloom in the workspace. People work better with positive reinforcement, and you will want to keep the people who deal with your customers directly to always be in a positive headspace. Prioritize a work/life balance with your employees and provide perks. Organize a happy hour with your customers, encourage a casual Friday, or reward your employees with an ice cream social or pizza party for lunch. Showing your employees that you appreciate them never has to break the bank, and any effort you make to recognize them for their service will result in a positive response.

Awesome Skills of the Best Customer Service Agents

Ilsa Morales 7th March 2019 Learn, Technology

Customer service can be a difficult industry with a high turnover. But there are a few secrets that the best customer service agents use to stay friendly, clear, and knowledgeable when in communication with their customers. Whether your agents are using phone calls, social media, email, or all three, there are specific skills that every customer service agent should incorporate.

Each method of communication requires different customer service skills and some overlapping skills are needed throughout all three. If you are ready to start interviewing customer service agents or are looking to train up your staff, these fundamental skills are what you need to be on the lookout for.

1. Listening

Never interrupt your customer, even if you already know how to solve their problem. Listen to their entire complaint, then respond with your answers. If you miss an important detail from their complaint or question, then you cannot correctly solve their issue. Never assume you’ll know exactly what the customer will say.

2. Smiling

Smiling over the phone can convey a positive attitude in your voice. Although the person on the other end cannot see your face, they will be able to pick up on clues that you are smiling through the tone of your voice and the way that you are speaking. Use your judgment when using this tool. No one will appreciate you smiling through their problems when they want you to sympathize with them.

3. Acknowledgment

After you have listened to your customer’s entire question or complaint, don’t forget to let them know that you understand where they’re coming from and that you are happy to be helping them out. Again, customers want you to sympathize with their problems, as well as solve them. This is a humanizing trait that makes your company come off as caring and authentic.

4. Mirroring

Mirroring is a way in everyday life to make other people comfortable and subconsciously show that you are listening and interested in what the other party is saying. It is a great tool to use on the phone, in person, or through text messaging as well. Watch how often you use this tool as mirroring a customer’s anger won’t do your company any favors.

5. Communication

Be upfront with your customer. In other words, don’t lie to your customer and say that they will be on hold for 30 seconds when it’s going to take 15 minutes. They will most likely hang up and be angry the next time they call you, if they decide to ever call again. This is an essential rule for all customer service agents. If the wait times are incredibly long and you don’t want to lose your customer, offer to call them back as a courtesy to save them from waiting.

6. Templates

Templates are like scripts for your agents to follow. However, instead of coming off as mechanical like an agent would if they were merely reading from a script, templates are more of a guideline. These guides can contain answers to commonly asked questions and other useful strategies to keep your agents from getting stuck.

7. Personality

When your agents use these helpful templates and guidelines, they should still be adding their own spin to them. Everyone’s personality is different, and when your customer agent shows off their unique personality, the advice and guidance they are giving comes off as more authentic.

8. Time Frames

When responding to email, chat, or social media, be sure to reply promptly. Chat and social media should be instant, while email has a slight leeway time. However, emails shouldn’t take that long because your customers might get concerned that you didn’t receive their message. Consider setting up an auto-response to emails letting your customers know that you received their email and will be responding with an answer to their inquiry in a suitable time frame.

9. Problem-Solving

Your customer service agents should know the questions that they need to ask their customers in order to get a complete story from them. Once they have all the facts, they need to be able to summarize the issues and come up with the best solution.

10. Skill Range

Your customer service agents should be able to handle a variety of customer service channels and be able to multitask. All agents should be trained in chat, phone service, and social media.

Games To Boost Call Center Morale and Engagement

Ilsa Morales 7th March 2019 Learn, Technology

Motivating your call center team can do wonders for your company. An easy and fun way to do this is by introducing games and activities that can be done in the workplace. After all, work doesn’t have to be boring. These games will encourage employees through competition, and you will see an improvement in company sales and overall workplace culture. Read on to learn about six simple games that your call center employees will love.

1. Pass the Ball

This game is reminiscent of a childhood game called “hot potato.” The premise is that your manager provides the team with a ball, it can be anything from a baseball to a blow-up beach ball. As long as the object is easily passable and catchable, the game will work. Each time an employee finalizes a sale, the ball is then passed to that employee. A timer is set up to go off different intervals and when the timer goes off the employee holding the ball will win a prize. So, the last person to make a sale when the timer goes off will be the winner.

2. Sports Agents

During huge sporting competitions, like March Madness, the Olympics, or the World Cup, your customer service agents can have a bit of fun by dividing up into teams. For example, during the Olympics, your employees can pick out of a hat different countries which will later become their teams. At the end of the Olympics, the country/team with the most medals will be the winner. This game is good for company morale, entertainment, friendly competition, and teamwork. Consider granting the winners a get-together so they can get to know each other better, or merely catering a fancy lunch for them the next time they come into work.

3. Bingo

Bingo is a classic game that anyone can play, but this way puts a “call center” twist on it. Since call center employees are constantly calling customers, the bingo cards would have different area codes all over the board. When an agent completes a call to that area code, they can they cross the number off. Once an agent completes calls to five area codes on the card in a row, that agent will win. This game will help your agents to become more competitive and boost efficiency.

4. Customers and Compliments

This is a very straightforward contest in which the agent who receives the most compliments from customers receive a nice reward. This can be instated as a year-round game, at the end of each month you can tally up the number of compliments each agent has received and then reward them with a gift. At the end of the year you can add up the compliments, and a winner can be chosen for an even larger prize. This game encourages your agents to be friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful regarding customer interaction.

call center employees — Source: Stockphoto.com O#23559 – ID#100020030569

5. Battle Balls

This game is slightly similar to the Pass the Ball game, except the winner is not restricted to timing. At the beginning of the day, hand a ball to each one of your call center agents. Then throughout the day each time, an agent makes a sale they are allowed to get up and take a ball from another agent. At the end of the day, the agent with the most balls wins the prize. This is great for competition and a way to save money on rewards if you can’t afford to gift multiple awards throughout the day.

6. Hangman

The classic hangman game can be applied to your call center workforce. After a training session, the best way to quiz on retention is to split your employees into two teams and write down a series of questions that they just learned from the training. Each team writes down their answers, and each time a team gets a question wrong they add a piece to the hangman. Keep asking questions until one hangman is completed; then the other team will be claimed the victor. Hangman can help your employees retain more information and get a deeper understanding of the training they just went through.

These games are a great way to boost morale in your company, but it is best to check in with your upper management before bringing these games to your office. Some offices may not want their employees to engage in office games, but it is always a good idea to present this idea if it is not on the minds of upper management yet. Good luck and may the best call center agent win!

Streamlining the Vendor Selection Process

Ilsa Morales 7th March 2019 Learn, Technology, Tips

If you are looking to streamline the process in which you select your vendors, consider a Request for Proposal or RFP. An RFP is precisely what it sounds like, and it is a proposal that you can use to compare and contrast offers from a variety of different vendors. Once you are able to analyze your options, you can create a better picture of what is best for your business and for your customers.

Building Relationships with Vendors

Outside of RFPs, you can also have a more direct dialect with one or several vendors, whether that is in person or by reaching out through email or phone. When you build a relationship with a vendor, trust begins to burgeon, and you will start to feel more comfortable with the people who you are buying from and vice versa. These relationships help vendors to understand what their buyers want and need and therefore won’t need to offer a service that the buyers don’t need. This also allows buyers to narrow down their selections because they have already seen demonstrations. They can then move on towards comparing prices and quality.

Request for Information and Request for Quote

When you are interacting with your vendors, another way to approach the buying process is with a Request for Information and a Quote. These are less detailed reports of information that answer some frequently asked questions. This concise and to the point report is used to give enough information up front to where the buyer will then be able to ask informed questions and in return, get an informed response. These vendors target the specific needs of the buyer in question and then focus their energy on what the buyer has decided is important.

An even more concise report will come in the process called Request for Quote. RFQ is highly detailed and broken down by a list of the pricing of the object which includes things such as the number of licenses you will need and their prices. The RFQ works similarly to the Request for Information and a Quote because it’s the main focus to create communication between the buyer and the seller by allowing the buyer to ask questions and then receive a detailed response in return.

businessman cellphone coffee — Source: Stockphoto.com O#23559 – ID#100133329530

Keep Your Options Open

Don’t forget that you can also “shop around.” The internet offers a large number of cloud solutions for your company, and the sites typically advertise everything that is provided and what the prices usually come out to be. Websites often have a chat option, or at least an email and phone number which you can use to get into contact with these vendors. Once in touch, you can then ask more questions and get an even better idea of the exact pricing. Usually, on websites, they are true to what they are selling and if a vendor does not seem to meet your needs, making a phone call is typically a waste of time. If they had the feature that you need, it would be advertised on the site. There is a blind trust in using the internet to select your vendors because it is likely you will never meet the seller in person, which is preferable for some and a turn-off for others.

So which one of these options should you choose for your business? Well, that depends on some different factors of your business. Is your company large in scale? That could mean you would need an RFP or sometimes you can get away with an RFI/Q. You must also weigh the risks and complexities of your business as well. Can you trust a source that you have never met or are you concerned about security and fraud?

However, if you have a smaller business or a more straightforward business plan, then you can easily find a cloud-based solution online. You can choose on your own time when you will carry out your internet research where you can compare and bid on different vendors. This flexibility is great for smaller businesses and offers simplicity for your process. Plus, because the website often advertises its standard offerings and pricing, you don’t have to guess which one might be better for your business.

No matter your business, take your time to consider the best vendor for it. It could take weeks to months of research, but it will be worth it to know that you’ve chosen the best vendor for your company.

Things Customer Service Representatives Should Do On Every Call

Ilsa Morales 7th March 2019 Learn, Technology, Tips

The customer service representative is one of the most critical pieces of your business. They are the face of your company and the people who you trust to speak one-on-one with your customers.

We may sometimes forget how important a customer service representative’s role truly is. They are given the duty to treat customers with respect and find solutions for a myriad of issues that can arise. An angry customer is not an easy challenge to overcome, and your staff needs to be adequately trained in customer service skills and must be talented enough to know how to handle various situations. Read on to learn how each customer service representative should handle every single call.

1. Swift Responses

Timing is a very crucial part of customer service. The response time to every inquiry should be dealt with quickly and accurately. Customers do not want to wait on the phone all day to ask an agent a question. They also do not want to wait for extremely long periods for a delivery or an email response. Your representatives must be trained properly to reduce hold times. Call center agents must understand the importance of timeliness in business.

2. Patience Is A Virtue

Many customers make calls to customer service lines because there is some issue with the product, whether it be damaged, missing pieces, or something else. This can undoubtedly frustrate some people, and therefore some people may come off as combative at first. A customer service representative that is patient, however, can easily diffuse situations with a negative customer. You might like this resource from Barbara Khozam about how to practice patience.

3. Positivity

Agents who can maintain a positive attitude despite dealing with a negative customer will be the most successful. Those with a positive attitude are aware that they do not need to bring their jobs home with them and become more successful overall. While positivity may be a mindset, there is training that you can cover. For example, you can train your agents on positive language to use over the phone and in person, such as “I can see how that would upset you, let’s try to find the solution.” Plus, a happy brain performs better.

4. Communicative

Customer service representatives spend their time interacting with customers. Therefore they need to excel in business communication skills. If they are not professional and conversational, perhaps they’re not right for this particular job. Agents need to be concise, but they also know when to make a little small talk. This adds a human touch, but your agents should not be overly conversational, merely adding a personal comment to the situation your customer is describing is enough. Do not interrupt people and resolve their issue as fast as possible without being robotic.

Things customer service employees should say on every call. — Source: Stockphoto.com O#23559 – ID#100230923000

5. Empathetic

Empathy is an essential trait in any customer service agent. The ability to understand a customer’s feelings and being able to relate yourself to their situation can turn a bad situation around. When customers call customer service, they’re usually unhappy with something, and it is important that your customer service representatives apply empathy to every story they hear.

6. Knowledgeable

Being knowledgeable about the business whom these agents are representing is key in delivering excellent service. Be sure that all of your agents undergo a proper amount of training so that they are equipped with all the tools they need to be successful in this position. Training should happen regularly, not just at the time of hire. Agents should always be knowledgeable about current promotions, new products or services, and on technology updates to the systems they regularly use.

7. Attentive

All agents should possess excellent listening skills. Sometimes customers need to explain their issues in greater detail, and an agent needs to listen during the entire explanation actively. Also, when an agent offers solutions frequently, the customer is not interested in all of them, and an agent must be able to understand their customers’ opinions and come up with more flexible solutions to suit the person.

Along with all of these skills, customer service representatives should always try to go above and beyond for their customers when possible. The best customer service representatives display all of these skills in each and every phone call. But that is not all, they also should be undergoing training, and it is important that your customer service agents stay motivated so that they can excel for your company and turn your customers into loyal brand followers.

If you like this article, you should check out this ultimate list of customer service tips for 2020.

How to Maintain Excellent Customer Service During Peak Seasons

Ilsa Morales 6th March 2019 Learn

The holidays have come and gone, and for the rest of the world, they are ready to get back to work. But for retail companies that means it’s finally time for some rest. How did your company do during this holiday season? Were you able to keep up with all of your consumers’ demands?

If you were caught off guard this time, you could always prepare for next season. The holidays bring with them a lot of customers looking to spend a massive influx of cash. In order to keep those customers coming back year after year, and of course during the year, too, you want to be sure that your customer service is running at peak performance. Here are a few tips to consider to make things run smoothly all year long, in addition to the holiday season.

Hire a Seasonal Staff

Since you are going to see a spike in your sales around the holiday season, you need to be prepared with the workforce to handle these new customers and large orders. During September you should begin to start thinking about where in your company you could use a few more hands. That way by October you can start interviewing and hiring more people so that your new staff will be fully trained and ready for the busy season by November. Your current customer service staff won’t be prepared for the influx of queries from your clientele, so make sure that you stack your call center or customer service team with temporary support staff. You should also have a training plan in place and ready-to-go so you can get your seasonal staff on par with protocol and your seasoned team.

Motivate Your Staff

The holidays can be rough for people who work in the retail industry. While most of us take time off to spend with our friends and family, those in customer service positions don’t have that option. While others are out shopping for presents, customer service associates and call center representatives are at the busiest point in their careers. This can be because of added stress and unhappiness over the holidays. Make it a point to keep your staff motivated and upbeat. This can be done in many ways, such as by offering special snacks, giving bonuses, reminding them of your gratitude for their hard work, and taking the time to speak with each representative one-on-one.

call center — Source: Stockphoto.com O#23559 – ID#100220945220

Automate Responses

If your staff is overworked, one way to lighten the load is to use technology. Your customers probably want to hear a live voice at the other end of a phone, but that doesn’t mean you can’t greet every caller with an automated greeting. This helps to make sure that every phone call is received. You can even set up an automatic email that responds to a customer once an inquiry is received.

This message can be to let them know that their email was received and your company is working hard on a solution to their problem, and you will get back to them as soon as you can.

Try a Self-Service Portal

Self-service portals are an excellent way for your customer service staff to become more efficient. Instead of answering the same questions all day long, their time could be better spent dealing with more complex issues. Set up an FAQ page on your website that customers can read instead of having to call customer service. This can work in tandem with your automated services. For example, if you set up an automated email account, you can send them a message stating that you received their message while also providing a link to the FAQ page. That way they can be routed there automatically to see if their question can be answered right away. This allows your call center staff to free up more time to deal with more pressing issues.

Since you will be dealing with more sales than you would usually be used to on a daily basis, be sure that you do not overwhelm your current customer service staff. Since you will be making extra money, you will be able to hire a seasonal staff that can take some pressure off of your current team. Be sure that you have a training manager ready and prepared to train all new incoming personnel, and you can also lessen workloads by creating FAQ pages and setting up automated messages. When you combine all four of these ideas, your company will be ready to take on the next holiday season.

The Importance of Setting Goals, Both Personal and Professional

Corinna Underwood 11th January 2019 Learn, Tips

People who don’t set goals tend to get tangled up in minutia and begin to devote time to activities that do not help with long-term growth. Everyone has desires. Whether yours is getting a promotion, returning to school, writing a novel, or getting in better shape, it will never come to fruition if you don’t set goals.

When it comes to setting a goal, the first thing to remember is that it must be reasonable. If you set yourself a goal that is unrealistic, you will give up before you even get close to achieving it because you will be disheartened by your lack of progress.

With that in mind, here are three ways that setting goals can help you grow.

Prioritization: By setting yourself a challenge to work towards, you are organizing your priorities. This will give you a clearer perspective, allowing you to set your more important wishes and desires apart from the less important ones. For example, if you want to write the first chapter of your novel, you will probably decide that sitting down with a pen and paper is more important than watching your favorite TV show.
Once you have set your goal, you’ll find it much easier to steer towards productive activities and away from ones that are wasting your free time and blocking the path to your goal. Once you do away with distractions, you’ll find the path to your goal is much clearer, and you will soon have something to show for your hard work and determination.
Movement: If you want to get into better shape, one of your first steps might be joining a fitness class. If your wish is to get a promotion, you might sign up for an online course to increase your knowledge of your field of business. If you complete your class or course, you can look back and see what progress you have made. You will also be able to easily identify any challenges or obstacles that made attaining your goal more difficult. This will allow you to make adjustments for putting your next goal into play.
Motivation: Setting a goal is making yourself a promise that you will see it through to the end. This type of commitment helps you stay focused and motivated. If you begin to struggle with your motivation, break your long-term goal into a series of more manageable short-term goals, so you can pat yourself on the back when you reach each landmark. Because you stay motivated, you will avoid slipping into the swap of procrastination and getting bogged down by worrying about whether or not to set your goals in the first place.

Short-Term vs. Long-Term Goals

Short-term goals are markers on the way to reaching a long-term goal. It’s important to have short-term goals so that you can see you are making progress and getting closer to your ultimate desire. They can help you minimize distraction and stay motivated. Long-term goals can take a year or several years to accomplish. Your long-term goal may be to become a senior partner in your company, to expand your business overseas, or to retire by the time you are aged 50. Each time you reach a long-term goal, it is a culmination of all the short-term goals which preceded it. Over time, long-term goals may change or grow even more ambitious.

Personal Goals vs. Professional Goals

Personal goals could include losing 20 pounds, joining your community softball team, saving for an overseas vacation, learning to ride a horse, or improving a personal relationship. You need personal goals in order to feel fulfilled in life. It’s important to keep a balance between your personal and professional goals, if you satisfy one at the expense of the other you will not feel fully satisfied and may soon begin to feel depressed.

Professional goals might include advancing up the corporate ladder, starting your own business, changing careers, or going back to school to advance your current career. Everyone has a unique personal objective for their career. The important thing is to stay focused and motivated and remain on the path that is leading you to the achievement of your goal. Professional goals often have to be timed carefully, so that family and social needs are not neglected.

Whether you need to make some changes in your personal life or your professional life, setting goals is the way to get started. They will help you stay focused, avoid distractions and overcome procrastination. Remember, goals are markers to help you focus your energy in positive ways; they can be changed whenever you wish. You can drop old ones and add new ones as your life changes and progresses.

How to Take a Break from Business

Corinna Underwood 11th January 2019 Learn, Tips

If you’re like 99 percent of business owners, you probably never turn off from running the company. You may feel like going on vacation is a waste of your time, you may take breaks but then end up working through them, or you may feel too guilty about leaving the company to take any time off at all. But one very important thing that you need to remember is that taking a break could be the best thing you ever did for your business and for your health.

Why You Need to Take a Break from Business

It’s an actual fact that your business is only as good as the person who runs it. That means if you don’t allow yourself to relax from time to time, you’re not doing what’s best for your company. Not only will a break from business to help your health, but having some distance will also give you a much better perspective of the company when you return.

Making the Vacation a Holiday

You’ve planned your vacation days for a whole year, just you and your family, soaking up the sun and relaxing by the ocean. But what about work; how will they manage without you at the office while you’re away, and how often should you be checking in? You don’t have to cut yourself off completely from the world of work while you’re on vacation, but try to remember that the purpose of a break is to leave business behind, have some fun and recharge your batteries. If you don’t unplug yourself, you run the risk of work-overload stress during the summer months, and this can lead to poor health and depression later in the year.

The Ups and Downs of Staying Connected

Obviously, you should be thankful to have a business and be doing everything you can to keep it running successfully. However, staying plugged-in during vacation time can lead to stress and frustration because you’ll never quite feel as though you can separate your personal time and your time as the company owner. This can mean that your long-planned summer holiday at that exotic beachfront destination soon turns into an extension of your office and before you know it, you are overwhelmed with input from work and spend less and less time relaxing and enjoying your leisure time. Don’t worry; it doesn’t have to be this way. It’s not so hard to unplug from work without having to feel guilty.

Slave to the Gadgets

Technology is a fundamental part of business life. Cell phones, digital secretaries, and tablets make everyone all too easily accessible via email, texting, Facebook Messenger, Skype, and virtual voicemail. If you really want to take a break from your business while you’re on vacation, you have to be strong enough to unplug at least some of your gadgets. If you must take something with you, limit it to your cell phone, just in case of emergency, but don’t be afraid to turn off your phone, or at least silence the ringtone while you’re having some downtime, and by all means, don’t succumb to the temptation to check your voicemail every ten minutes. Should you really need to check in with your company while you are away, use time-based routing. Give your office specific days and times that you will be available so that they won’t have to encroach on your ‘you time.’

To Mail or Not to Mail

So you can’t survive without your laptop even on vacation; perhaps you want to upload your sunset photographs or check in with your friends on Facebook, but beware; the minute you start answering emails, you have opened the floodgates. One simple way to avoid the distraction of work emails is to have them forwarded to a temporary email address that you can check when you get back to work; another is to put your email account on hold until you return.

Unplugging is a State of Mind

Leaving your technological gadgets behind is not only about leaving work at the office, but it’s also about creating a state of mind. It allows you the opportunity to escape from data-daze and to fully recharge your mind. Without your gadgets you’ll find you have time to do many more different activities, like swimming in the ocean, reading a book, taking a walk on the beach, catching some sunsets, or visiting galleries and museums. Don’t forget your family members too, without the constant finger-tapping of Droids, iPhones, Xboxes and PSPs; you might actually have time to do something fun together.

Take a break from the business even if it’s only a couple of days now and again. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at just how much better you will feel when you return. So stop feeling guilty and book your next vacation now; your life will be better for it.

Legal Issues Regarding Call Recording

Magaly Fuentes 31st December 2018 Learn, Technology, Tips

Someone may wish to record a phone call for any number of reasons, but it is important to take into consideration that there are both federal and state laws pertaining to the recording of calls. Being aware of legal issues regarding call recording is important for companies, in particular, who wish to record all customer service calls, as an example. United States federal law requires that at least one party taking part in a call be notified that the call is being recorded.

In addition to federal law, there are laws in some states that require only one party to be notified of the call recording, while other states require two parties to be aware of the call recording.

All-Party Consent States

Approximately 13 states in the United States require all parties to consent to a call recording. Those states include California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington State.

Call Recording in the UK

In the United Kingdom, there are several laws that cover the practice of recording phone calls. Unless you are able to guarantee that the call recording will not be shared with any third party and that the call is being recorded to either gather evidence, prevent a crime, or ensure regulatory compliance, it is the safest bet to consider the United Kingdom a jurisdiction that requires all parties of a phone call to consent to a call recording.

Canadian Laws on Call Recording

In Canada, there is an established single set of rules for all call recording, which is built into its electronic privacy law. Canada also has an all-party consent approach so that in order for a call to be legally recorded, a person/business must notify the others on the phone call that the call will be recorded, what the purposes of the call recording are, and that the call may only be recorded with the consent of every person on the phone call.

Call Recording in Ireland

Ireland also requires all party consent in order for a call to be recorded legally. The purpose of the call recording must be explained in detail to each participant of the call and each party on the call must give informed consent.

When companies are considering implementing a recording of phone calls for both outbound and inbound calling, it is customary to hear some type of default message that is either pre-recorded or stated by a company staff member. One that is heard commonly in announcing the recording of calls is, “For quality assurance, this call be recorded.” Another common one is, “This call may be recorded for quality assurance purposes.”

Some of the reasons companies may wish to record calls are for records-purposes. That is, if there is a dispute regarding an agreement regarding a contract or a payment, the company has the recording to fall back on for review and resolution of the dispute. Call recording is also used in order to support the improvement of customer service practices and for staff training purposes. For example, a recording may be used to demonstrate to new incoming staff members how a particular situation should be handled. In the same way, a call recording could be used to show new incoming staff members how a situation should not be handled. Call recordings can be very useful for staff training.

Legal issues regarding call recording can be complicated and sometimes controversial. It is the choice of a business owner to comply with all relevant regulations and any industry standards. Accomplishing the task of compliance requires careful research related to which laws apply to particular types of businesses. Legal issues regarding call recording also encompass a variety of call recording functions. These include, but are not limited to, issues of participant consent, regulations regarding the storage of recordings and the legality of putting a pause on and then resuming any live recordings.

In order to research legal issues regarding call recording for a call center, for example, a number of agencies and resources must be checked to ensure all aspects are covered in recording calls from and to various areas.

As it is easy to see, legal issues regarding call recording vary from state to state within the United States and they also vary from country to country. For a business that operates in various countries, it may be simpler to adopt an all-party disclosure and consent rule rather than aim to investigate and follow the rules of each market the business works within. Making sure that you and your legal team has a clear understanding of legal issues regarding call recording and always obtaining consent when in doubt is paramount.