How Collection Analytics Drives Improved Call Center Performance

When it comes to collections, contact centers are on the hook for not only providing quality customer service under difficult circumstances (past due accounts, angry customers, etc.) but also for mitigating compliance risk in doing so.  In fact, collections contact centers and Accounts Receivables Management (ARM) firms face the constant challenge of being able to maximize payments while staying compliant and up to date with new rules and regulations.

Enter speech analytics.

To help address this challenge, speech analytics for collections analyzes every agent contact – either during or after the call – eliminating compliance risk, improving agent performance, and increasing recovery rates.  Let’s take a look at how collection analytics helps to drive improved contact center performance overall:

Mitigate risk

Statistics show the average U.S. household with debt carries $129,579 in total debt; debt has accelerated in recent years due to the cost of living outpacing income.  “While median household income has grown 26% since 2003, household expenses have outpaced it significantly – with medical costs growing by 51% and food and beverage prices increasing by 37% in that same span,” according to NerdWallet.

Due to the resulting high volume of collections calls, it’s critical for contact centers to maintain compliance to stay within state and federal licensing laws (as well as reduce or eliminate fines or lawsuits with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)).

While manual sampling of recorded calls or contacts provides little to no prevention of non-compliant behavior or protection against litigation, CallMiner Eureka tracks every call for Mini Miranda language, Right Party Contact language, FDCPA violations, abusive language from either party, and other risky language.

Improve agent monitoring

Poor collector performance can represent significant risk to the organization – whether within on-premise contact centers or through business process outsourcers (BPOs).  By tracking 100 percent of calls, collection analytics ensures agent procedural compliance and reveals behaviors and activities that lead to successful collections.

Speech analytics has helped collections and ARM clients quickly identify specific factors contributing to negative performance trends as well as determining the root causes of issues.  The end result?  Agents who are able to work more effectively and customers who are more satisfied with company interactions.

Optimize collections & boost revenue

In addition to eliminating compliance risks and improving agent performance, speech analytics for collections can also help to boost company revenue overall.  “Time is money, especially for call centers,” notes one Call Centre Helper article on speech analytics for debt collection.

“Speech analytics can quickly identify which operators are in need of training or require more grounding in best practices,” the article continues.  “Once this is done, the improvement in performance can be dramatic, especially over a large center. Promise to pay ratio, script adherence, and the ability to spot and develop high-flyers can all be enhanced.”

The impact of collection analytics goes beyond agent performance, however.  By using the technology to improve collections rates, companies consistently place higher in their end-clients’ rankings in addition to solidifying client relationships.

Final Thoughts

Speech analytics in the contact center helps drive improved agent performance and better customer experiences overall.  For collections agencies specifically, analytics also mitigates compliance risks that can result in costly fines and lawsuits – and significantly impact a company’s bottom line.

How has collection analytics helped improve your company’s performance?

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