Take this short simple assessment
Is your organisation ready for human-centred collections? Take this simple questionnaire to discover how well prepared you really are, and what steps you may need to take to make sure your customers get the best collections experience.
Take the assessment
Is your organisation ready for human-centred collections?
Take the assessment to discover how well prepared you really are, and what steps you may need to take to make sure your customers get the best collections experience.
Question One: How regularly do you update your customers’ contact preferences, such as channel preference and best time to call?
Take this simple questionnaire to discover how well prepared you really are, and what steps you may need to take to make sure your customers get the best collections experience.
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1 / 6
1. At onboarding.
Confirmed at every conversation.
Proactive outreach at least annually.
3.
2.
Why are we asking this?
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Customer demographics strongly affect both channel choice and response rates. Your ability to periodically collect the right data and feed it back into collections policy and customer cases can massively increase engagement rates.
You answered: Proactive outreach at least annually
Being proactive with channel preferences is a great way to make customers feel heard and respected. However, preferences can change regularly, so agents must be able to follow and update them and track case histories to monitor the customer’s situation.
You answered: At onboarding
Many organisations work with outdated channel and contact preferences, which will often have changed since onboarding. In addition to common address, email and phone number changes, the sheer embarrassment caused by debt may mean that your customers have new preferences, such as the wish to talk through problems in private or perhaps to self-serve online.
You answered: Confirmed at every conversation
Tracking every conversation is at the heart of human-centred collections. Agents should be able to record changing preferences as they happen, and to track case histories to record the customer’s personal situation as it evolves.
Next question
Question Two: Are you able to analyse customer conversations, payment and contact history - and do you hold sufficient customer data?
2 / 6
1.
Enhanced analysis of customer data with use of external data (credit agency) for better risk scoring.
You really know your customer - utilising external data and measuring sentiment using AI to predict customer behaviour and credit risk.
To tailor collections handling processes so that they lead to the best possible outcomes, organisations need to properly analyse and fully understand the information they hold on every customer.
Limited customer analysis.
You answered: Limited Customer Analysis
Limited analysis of customer data means you could be missing several indicators that can affect people’s propensity to pay and responsiveness to communications. These include channel preference, case history and sentiment: the last of which can be monitored and analysed with speech analytics.
You answered: Enhanced analysis of customer data
Understanding credit risk is just the starting point. Through our modelling and analytics-driven approach, we can help you to predict customer behaviours. Moreover, we can gain insights to help agents to steer their conversations with customers towards better outcomes.
You answered: You know your customer
Building a holistic picture of your customer is critical to any human-centred collections strategy. And it's essential to model the data that you gather to enable the best possible outcomes for both you and your customer.
Question Three: Are interactions personalised at a unique customer level, taking into account factors such as propensity to pay, risk scores and credit data?
3 / 6
Some personalisation - by demographics such as vulnerability.
Fully personalised - proactive engagement, contacting customers before they fall into arrears.
Our research suggests that customers respond better when they receive messages in the right language and tone, at the right time and through the right channel. Personalisation is therefore a key consideration when planning customer contact strategies.
Not fully personalised - only by name.
You answered: Not fully personalised
Being sure to provide the right communication at the right time is central to human-centred collections. Using the wrong channel or wrong approach can exacerbate customers’ problems and lead to negative outcomes. By using technology and automation correctly, you can achieve the correct level of multi-channel service while being totally channel-agnostic.
You answered: Some personalisation
Looking at vulnerability is a vital aspect of treating customers with respect. But if we can automate and connect interactions across multiple touchpoints, we can maintain a high level of service, as vital case history information is carried through to every interaction.
You answered: Fully personalised
Fully personalised contact is the gold standard. Yet keeping track of highly personalised multi-channel strategies is incredibly complex, and gaps can appear in customers’ case history records. Using automation bridges these gaps, allowing you to take a holistic and connected approach.
Question Four: Are you deploying self-service capabilities to improve time to collect and enhance customer engagement?
4 / 6
Basic self service - online pay/IVR/SMS.
Enhanced - Omni channel, AI Chat, budget tools and affordability assessments /agreements and managed payment plans.
Many organisations have traditionally relied on letters and phone calls to instigate collections. However, 52% of customers would prefer to self-serve online, meaning that you would be better off using insights and analytics to design collection strategies that work more effectively.
No self-service capability.
You answered: No self-service capibility
Many customers find debt acutely embarrassing and uncomfortable. So most prefer to manage the situation themselves online, with simple instructions, smooth usability and clear confirmation of their status and payment plans. We provide the tools, technology and connectivity to enable your customers to resolve their debts securely and fairly.
You answered: Basic self-service
Basic self-service collection strategies are a good starting point, giving customers the space to manage debts in the way that suits them best. However, every personal situation is unique; so, even if you believe that your payment services are intuitive, some circumstances may demand further assistance. This is when supportive technologies such as AI chat and channel-switching can help to round out your solution.
You answered: Enhanced
Omni-channel self-serve capabilities give people the ability to resolve problems for themselves. Yet the complexity of communicating case histories and payment plans across channels can lead to glitches in usability that cause self-serve channels to break down. This is when seamless channel switching, enabled by AI and analytics, can enhance the customer experience, while freeing up agents to help the customers who need one-to-one support.
Question Five: Do you have the capability to segment customers, to inform flexible and agile collection strategies?
5 / 6
Risk scoring segmentation only
Using real-time customer data to quickly switch collections strategies, maximising engagement
While consistency is usually a good thing, it’s unhelpful in debt collections. A one-size-fits-all approach leads to the risk of unfairness, by failing to spot vulnerable customers as well as those who simply avoid direct contact. Real-time customer information based on accurate segmentation helps to drive engagement and keeps repayment plans affordable.
No segmentation - one approach to collections
You answered: No segmentation
While personalised communications and self-service options are essential, a customer’s vulnerability and evolving challenges also need to be considered. That’s why you need the functionality to treat repayment plans as variable. Using our intelligent collections platform and single customer view, your agents can choose alternate strategies immediately, whenever a customer’s situation changes.
You answered: Risk-scoring segmentation
You answered: Real-time customer data
Being able to switch between repayment strategies for struggling customers is the optimal way to keep them secure and reduce escalation issues. Our bespoke, intelligent collections platform enables agents to apply different treatment strategies as soon as a customer has problems in meeting their payment plan.
Question Six: Are your agents trained in problem solving, emotional intelligence, dealing with abusive customers and identifying vulnerability?
6 / 6
Agents receive bespoke training & development plans with access to face to face and online learning.
Agents are given bespoke training and real time speech analytics, with live prompts and data library, which can immediately escalate abusive calls.
Historically, a collection agent’s performance was measured solely on their ability to collect cash. Over time, this measure has evolved to focus more on customer experience and the development of emotional intelligence and people skills. This approach not only improves customer rehabilitation but it may also prevent customers from falling into arrears in the first place.
Agents receive training in line with regulatory requirements
You answered: Basic training
At the heart of human-centred collections are your agents. Their job is to do more than simply secure repayment. They need to be able to assess and navigate difficult customer situations, and deal with them empathically wherever possible. Our expert training, assisted conversations and advanced analytics can help to equip your agents to do the best for your customers and your company.
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You answered: Bespoke training
Making sure that your agents are well trained is a key aspect of human-centred collections. But the problem with being human is that, in stressful moments, some agents may forget their training. That’s when assisted conversations and voice analytics are invaluable, helping to identify potential problems and steer your agents towards the right solution.
You answered: Bespoke training and real-time analytics
During emotionally difficult calls, even the most highly trained employees may find it hard to stay in control and maintain the level of professionalism that your customers have a right to expect. Our overflow services are designed to dovetail with your pre-existing services, while our training programmes ensure that your key processes and strategies are always maintained.
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