The Modern Voice Logger

By Socrates Karageorge
June 2004

For those who are not familiar with the term, a voice logger is a device that automatically records all of your agent calls and then allows you to quickly locate a specific call by using search criteria such as time, agent initials, and client ID.  You may then listen to that call and even send it to your client as an email voice file attachment.

Why is that important might you ask?  In today's litigious and quality conscious society a voice logger is a must-have hi-tech tool.  It can literally save the day or even make your day.  To start with, legal disputes about what exactly was said during a particular call can now be easily resolved by producing the recorded copy of that call.  It can also be used to investigate complaints about alleged agent errors that were made.

A voice logger can also be used as an excellent training and self-improvement tool by allowing your agents to listen in on their customer interactions.  This provides an easy way for them to recognize areas that they can improve on.  In addition, as a management quality control tool, it allows you to spot check a specific agent in order to measure quality of service as well as any improvements made since the last review.  It is well known that employees perform better and with more enthusiasm when they know that they are being measured and will subsequently be recognized for their performance.

Finally, you can inform your clients with pride that you now have this much-publicized capability and receive a higher level of recognition for quality service.  You may even choose to make it available to your clients for a few extra dollars per month.

Today's voice logger capability is nothing like the archaic multi-channel tape recorders that were first introduced.  These multi-channel tape recorders used one tape deck to record nine agents for one month on expensive tape media and a second tape deck for the laborious and time-consuming process of locating a particular call.  Current voice logger technology streamlines both the recording and retrieval processes.

Today, most loggers are built on a Windows based platform and use special voice logging software.  These configurations can include dual hot-swappable redundant disc drives, a DVD drive, and networking capability.  Retrieving and accessing calls from most of these systems is fast and easy.  In a few seconds, a user can query the database to locate a particular client's call that was taken by a specific agent during a specified date and time.  Alternately, you can choose to access all the calls taken for that client during a specified day, or week, or month.

For training or management purposes, you may want to access all the calls taken by a specific agent for a specified time period range.  The results are displayed on the screen to enable you to listen to the call or send it to your client via email.  When voice loggers are part of, or integrated with your call processing system, the flexibility of the search parameters can be expanded to include items such as client ID, agent initials, and automatic number identification (ANI).  They can also include start date, start time, end date, and end time.

Storage capacity in today's technology is phenomenal compared to first generation systems.  For example, with a voice logger using today's 60+ Gigabyte disc drives you can expect to store around 60,000 hours of conversation on a single drive.  This translates to about three years worth of storage for a 12-agent call center, or six years for a center with six agents.  For many centers, this may be long enough to negate the need for additional archival.  If not, an integrated DVD drive may allow you to archive up to 18,000 hours of conversation on a single low cost removable disc.

In conclusion, with the technological advances in the voice logger arena, call centers can no longer afford not to be without a voice logger.  The cost-effectiveness of today's voice loggers make them irreplaceable tools for agent training and quality control while at the same time providing your business with unprecedented legal protection against the unexpected.

Socrates Karageorge is the Executive VP at Startel.  For more information on how a voice logger can benefit your call center or for a live demonstration, please contact Startel at 800-782-7835 or sales@startelcorp.com.

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