itel’s Collections Teams Use Compassionate Approach to Exceed Recovery Targets by 110 Percent

Whether due to financial hardship or an unexpected life event, some customers fall behind on their payments. When delinquencies happen, this often calls for the intervention of a Collections team. While it’s vital that teams recover revenue swiftly, experienced Collections agents will also have the necessary negotiating skills to not only recover debt, but to preserve customer relationships throughout the process, thus safeguarding future sales. Learn how our First-Party Collections teams have been successfully serving large U.S. clients for years, using empathy, professionalism, and transparency to exceed client recovery targets up to 110% and payment arrangement goals by over 300%, while also maintaining strong customer relationships.

Challenge

For years, our teams have been successfully serving as outsourced First-Party Collections for large, U.S. clients in both telecommunications and financial services, often through a blend of Inbound and Outbound communications, via Voice, or other non-Voice options, such as email and text. But, debt collection is as much an art as it is a science. There are many aspects to consider, such as compliance with industry regulations and data privacy laws, clearly communicating contractual agreements, and making payment arrangements that balance the needs of the business with the customer’s ability to pay.  The primary goal is to negotiate as effectively as possible and for agents to resolve delinquencies by recovering revenue in full. While the secondary goal, if the first cannot be accomplished, is to arrange a promise to pay agreement that avoids any further escalation, while giving customers more time to repay any amounts owing. This often requires not only expert problem-solving, but advanced soft skills; agents who can communicate with empathy and care, while working with customers to resolve debts.

Solutions

It begins by hiring the right individuals. During our AI-assisted recruitment process, we prioritize applicants with a Collections background, or those whose individualized assessments show a strong, proactive mindset and a keen ability to adaptively problem solve. Team leaders interview each applicant personally, looking for advanced soft skills, such as the right tone, the ability to actively listen, and quick, creative thinking. Our rigorous training program then reinforces key foundational skills that support Collections work, such as negotiation tactics, overcoming barriers, and de-escalation techniques, as well as imparting product knowledge, and acculturating new agents to both the itel and the client’s brand.

While ongoing coaching ensures that our agents are continuously learning and improving, with regular live call audits, weekly emails outlining agents’ successes and areas of opportunity, as well as personalized, one-on-one coaching sessions and tailored interventions for those who are not quite attaining KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) - everything from supervisor mentoring to job-shadowing high-performing agents, depending on the learning style that best ensures knowledge retention, skills development and reinforcement.

Monthly or even weekly team huddles encourage teamwork and collaboration and allow agents to receive regulatory or client updates, to ask questions, and to share best practices. Friendly competition is encouraged within business units through onsite leaderboards that compare dollars recovered, along with more formal methods of recognition, such as awarding financial compensation based on agent performance.

Yet, it isn’t just about recovering revenue. Our agents are also taught important relational skills that maintain customer loyalty throughout what can be an intensely stressful time for delinquent customers. Skills, such as empathy and sensitivity, are ingrained in our very approach to debt collection, especially in situations where customers are experiencing acute financial strain. Our agents find that a collaborative approach rather than a prescriptive approach to debt collection both encourages the customer to make payments on time and in full, as well as strengthens the customer relationship, to ensure that the lucrative lifetime value of a customer is not lost.

To preserve data confidentiality and privacy, as well as safeguard customers’ personal information, agents must also conduct customer verifications prior to discussing the account, and payments towards debts are usually processed through a separate automated system.

Outcomes

There are various ways that we measure Collections success and the efficacy of our agents. Client-defined targets include metrics, such as dollars collected, quality scores, and the number of promise-to-pay arrangements established and/or concluded. Agents are also evaluated on customer interactions, adherence to call guidelines, and the quality of payment arrangements, as well as customer follow-up. Performance is then tracked against client goals, and reports are shared bi-weekly with clients, so teams can review any areas of concern or new opportunities.

One KPI we internally monitor is related directly to the quality of soft skills and an agent’s ability to serve customers attentively, efficiently, and with the utmost empathy and professionalism. We also perform several in-depth call audits per month for each agent to ensure that call guidelines and processes have been followed.

The extensive training, coaching and support our agents receive have allowed our Collections teams to excel, reaching 110.8% to client goal for dollars collected, 103% to target for promise to pay arrangements, and with agents’ overall quality scores averaging 91.4% for a telecommunications client, including an amazing 93% average score for key soft skills.

Our financial services client has seen their own stunning results. itel Collections agents have exceeded client goals for new payment arrangement by 309% (year-to-date), clearing 65.14% of delinquencies without the need for new payment arrangements, which allows customers to keep on track with their originally scheduled payment amounts, while keeping their account in good standing - a win for both the business and the customer.

Conclusion

What our Collections teams have demonstrated is exceptional skill at recovering revenue from delinquent customers while also maintaining customer satisfaction, a balance that is not always easy to achieve. Yet, what is clear from these results is that an approach to debt collection that focuses on collaboration and clear communication with customers yields far superior outcomes than a heavy-handed approach. It is this very customer-centricity that has led to our high recovery rates, while still helping our clients retain a positive brand perception and customer loyalty.

With itel as your Collections outsourcing partner, you can manage any influx with ease with our flexible, cost-efficient services, and responsive leadership. Most importantly, you can partner with an outsourcer that has proven experience handling various collections processes with compassion, empathy, and understanding.

Learn more about our award-winning CXM services, including Collections, Customer Care, Sales & Tech Support.