Speech Analytics in Debt Collection

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Debt Collection

Speech analytics for debt collection

Debt collectors face a perennial challenge: balancing the need to maximise debt recovered with the need to stay within national guidelines.

Failure to meet the latter can lay companies open to the threat of litigation and fines from regulators – not to mention bad publicity and a dented reputation.

Speech analytics is the most potent tool call centre managers can introduce. It can boost performance while staying inside the guidelines.

A speech analytics program will analyse the speech of both debtor and collector to identify opportunities and risk. Using proprietary software, such programs can deliver excellent results even in large-scale operations.

Boost revenue

Time is money, especially for call centres. By identifying and removing inefficiencies, speech analytics can speed up handle time. Obviously, when your operators can take more calls, your costs will fall and your revenues will rise.

The old adage “If you don’t ask, you don’t get” is always worth remembering. Yet it’s surprising that many debt collectors fail to ask for payment – as recordings of call centre conversations show. Many also do not follow guidelines designed to establish how the debtor pays other bills.

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

Using such software can also unlock vital market information and point up trends that can be used to increase script effectiveness. Any ineffective or broken processes can be pinpointed and remedial action taken. Properly used, this approach will reveal not only the problems but the reasons underlying them.

Speech analytics isn’t just about finding areas that are not working or are under-performing. You can also focus on the areas that are more successful using this technology – and then introduce them throughout your operations.

Improving compliance

As well as being inefficient, not following national guidelines can be very costly. The Office of Fair Trading has a range of powers to enforce call centres to follow minimum standards in debt collecting. Failure to do so can result in a fine of up to £50,000, the revocation of the Consumer Credit Licence, or both.

Speech Analytics can identify agents that put the company at risk. These hazards can then be removed through better training and appropriate risk management procedures.

Speech analytics benefits

Increased recovery rates
Improved compliance
Enhanced agent monitoring
Improved promise to pay ratios
Improved script adherence
Help to identify successful agents
Thousands of hours of recorded calls analysed

A good speech analytics program can analyse thousands of hours of recorded calls, allowing you to conduct searches and quickly generate reports. As such programs have a reputable history and proven effectiveness, you can trust that they will work for your organisation as well as they have elsewhere.

One aspect sometimes overlooked is that speech analytics can also improve your retention rates in the typically high turnover area of call centre staffing. Helping your people to be more effective will make them more productive and increase their earnings potential.

Result: a happier and more loyal workforce.