Call Accounting - Reducing Non-Business Calling Costs

                                                                                         

When setting up a call accounting system, including solutions to lower the costs associated with employees making non-business calls needs to be explored. Employees who ignore the rules often make expensive long distance calls or significantly reduce their level of productivity by making numerous and lengthy personal calls. Most experts agree that employee productivity is one of the primary factors for determining the success of a business. It's not just the major abusers that should concern a company. The total expense of the calls and the total loss of productivity of all the employees combined who mildly abuse the personal call limits can be huge for businesses.

Studies have concluded that approximately 30% of phone calls made on company mobile phones are made for personal reasons. Over time, the extra expense can be significant and worker productivity loss can be damaging. For example, fewer sales calls are being made which leads to less revenue. Software is available to include in call accounting systems that prevents mobile calls to be made that have not been approved by the employer. Companies can utilize software to separate business and personal telephone calls.

A survey performed by American Management Association and ePolicy Institute in 2005 concluded that surveillance of company phone lines is increasing. During 2001 a survey showed that approximately 9% of businesses recorded employee phone conversations. However, by 2005, about 19% of companies were monitoring employee's telephone conversations in specific job categories.

If employers choose to include monitoring employees' telephone conversations in their call accounting system they need to adhere to the law. Businesses have the legal right to monitor the company phone system for the intent of determining if employees are using the phone system for accepted purposes. Employers even have the legal right to record the calls of employees. However, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act states that companies have to notify their employees and the incoming callers that the monitoring of phone calls may occur.

Regarding invasion of privacy, by law after companies determine the employee's phone call is personal it should stop monitoring the phone call. The employer can simply make documentation of the personal call in their call accounting system and mention the personal call to the employee.

To avoid legal problems, employers should obtain the consent of all employees to monitor phone calls. Under the Federal Statute, Title III employers can legally monitor employee telephone conversations if they receive their permission beforehand. This should be done in writing.

call accounting systems should provide pertinent information regarding personal phone calls, including total cost and cost for individual employees, the length of calls and the destination of the calls.

By including a phone calling monitoring program in a call accounting system which employees believe is fair, companies can reduce phone costs and significantly increase worker productivity.

About the author:
Author, Peter Verhoeff, writes articles on the business benefits of telecom expense management systems and call detail record technology. More information can be found at http://www.telsoft-solutions.com.

Article Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com