The call recording feature in Recruit CRM allows you to keep track of calls with candidates and contacts, making follow-ups easier and helping your team stay up to date.

Before recording calls, it is important to understand the consent requirements that may apply based on the location of the people involved. Some countries or states require consent from more than one party before a call can be recorded.

If a candidate or contact is associated with a region where more than one party’s consent is required, Recruit CRM automatically disables call recording. When you click the Record button, a dialog box will appear to remind you to obtain consent. You must inform the candidate/contact that you'll be recording this call, then click "I have taken consent" to continue recording the call.

This guide is useful when:

In the majority of U.S. states, you'll only need consent from one of the persons participating in a call in order to record it (this is often referred to as "one-party consent"). Since you're opting to record the call you're placing, and presumably, you consent to your own recording of the call, you won't need to do anything else to comply with the laws of those types of states.

However, approximately 13 states have chosen to require all parties' consent (sometimes called "two-party consent") in order to record the call. These states are currently California, Connecticut, Delaware*, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Vermont*, and Washington State.

For more general information on the subject, refer to Wikipedia's page on telephone recording laws on the basics of state recording laws.

*Recruit CRM has chosen to include Delaware and Vermont on this list because they're tricky cases:

Delaware has some conflicting laws about how many parties need to consent, and Vermont doesn't have specific laws on the subject but, does have some relevant court cases.

Several laws govern the practice of recording calls in the United Kingdom (U.K.). Unless you can guarantee that the call won't be shared with any third parties and is being recorded to either gather evidence, ensure regulatory compliance, or prevent crime, it's best to think of the U.K. as an "all-parties' consent" jurisdiction.

Read more about the U.K.'s approach to call recording by referring to Wikipedia's page on telephone recording laws, Ofcom's page for the regulations, or VanillaIP's quick summary on the subject.

Irish law is clear: to record calls, you must obtain consent, so Ireland joins the U.K. and 13 U.S. states as an "all-parties' consent" jurisdiction. Irish law makes clear that the purpose of the recording should be explained in detail, so the parties participating can give informed consent.

Read more about Ireland's approach to call recording at the end of the Data Protection Commissioner's FAQ page.

Like Ireland, Canada has established a single set of rules for call recording, built into its electronic privacy law (PIPEDA).

Joining the other countries and states mentioned above, Canada has adopted an "all-parties consent" approach: to record a call, you need to obtain informed consent by notifying others on the call (1) that you intend to record the conversation, (2) any purposes the recording will be used for, and (3) that the call may only be recorded with each person's consent.

Read more about Canada's approach to call recording by referring to the Privacy Commissioner's Guidelines for Recording Customer Calls.

While this article has chosen to highlight certain countries above, it's by no means an exhaustive list. Since Recruit CRM doesn't know and can't enforce all international calling legal restrictions, Recruit CRM opts to display this consent message for all international calls except for Sweden and New Zealand. Before making a call to a new country, Recruit CRM recommends making sure that you and your legal team have an understanding of any regulations there, and always obtain consent if you're in doubt.

The countries above were chosen for informational purposes; Recruit CRM doesn't guarantee that you can use the system to call any or all of these countries. This article has provided information about the law designed to help Recruit CRM's users better understand the legal issues surrounding call recording. Legal information is not the same as legal advice, the application of the law to an individual's specific circumstances.

Recruit CRM insists that you consult a lawyer if you want professional assurance that our information, and your interpretation of it, is accurate. You may not rely upon this information as legal advice nor as a recommendation or endorsement of any particular legal understanding, and you should instead regard this article as intended for informational purposes only.

Using call recording in Recruit CRM can make follow-ups and team collaboration easier, but it must always be done in line with applicable call recording laws and consent requirements.