Overview
Making IVR An Asset Not a Liability
An interactive voice response system (IVR) can be a great asset to an agency. It specializes in handling consumers on a scale most agencies would not be able to handle without spending millions on labor. The implementation of a field-tested nonhuman component to the contact portion of collections can even ease the burden on collectors leading to lower turnover.
“Multiple benefits can be gained with implementing an IVR system into an outbound dialing strategy, the single greatest is improved production,” said Tony Coffman, director of IT at Horizon Financial Management. “For example, a properly implemented IVR solution can increase the number of right-party connects back to your collection floor, offering a higher percentage of talk-off opportunities to your collectors. The more quality opportunities a welltrained collector has, the more revenue they will generate.”
A collection professional can utilize the IVR system’s many points of articulation. The consumer’s desire for customer service must be balanced with the agency’s need to eventually process a payment. Working with the vendor is the best way to make sure this is achieved.
“I believe a complete understanding of your collection cycle with a strong focus on customer service is necessary to set it up,” said Dick Williams, president at HFS, LLC. “That said you need to be willing to adjust the process and have a strong vendor who works arm and arm with you as IVR needs change.”
The mismanagement of an IVR system cannot only slow down the process but lose business for an agency and possibly even open the agency to legal scrutiny. The importance of the system makes monitoring and maintenance the responsibility of everyone in the agency.
“If the IVR is poorly set up and periodically not verified it can become a frustration point for the customer especially if it does not provide an OUT option,” said Williams. “It becomes important to listen to the customers and teach your agents to provide feedback when the customers encounter issues with the IVR.”
As a great deal of effort should go into the selection of an IVR system and its components, one of the last things a collection professional should do is rush the process of implementing the system. Proper time should be allotted to make sure a system is a good fit for an agency.
“When implementing an IVR system it is critical to fully understand the agency’s business rules, workflow and the collection process as well as potential security and regulatory challenges,” said Coffman. “Take whatever time necessary to fully understand how an IVR will fit into the existing operation. Failing to properly integrate and test an IVR system can be detrimental to an agency.”
Reviews
Credit Card Masking On Agent Calls
Contact Savvy
• Features fully-blended inbound and outbound dialing campaign support with multiple inbound routes.
• The dialing capacity can be scaled as needed.
• The system is hosted at Ontario System’s facility and can be operated using the browser and user interface with which the user is already familiar. This can save the user the cost and effort of upgrading and managing their own hardware.
• The system is fully integrated with other core applications such as FACS and Artiva RM.
• Features credit card number masking when recording agent calls.
• Bad or outdated number removal as well as other routine transactions are automated.
• The system can be deployed in a manual dial only configuration designed to eliminate the capacity to autodial.
What Users Say
“HFS, LLC has used Ontario’s IVR since its inception and finds it to be an essential tool in our collection process,” said Dick Williams, president of HFS, LLC. “It is a dynamic product which has changed to our needs and the regulations over the years. I could not imagine not having this tool today given the demands on Customer Service and cost containment.”
Contact Savvy | Ontario Systems
ontariosystems.com | 800-283-3227
Bilingual Messaging Change in Real-Time
Peak Dialer
• Features items such as zip code look up with safe dialing times, call count scrubs, cell scrubs based on state or other parameters.
• The bilingual messaging and scripting features the ability to change in real-time.
• Features agent call waiting, also known as two-line call blending, allowing agents to receive additional inbound calls while already on another call. Rather than working all day to make a contact and then missing the contact’s return call while busy on another call, agents can preview incoming calls, identify high priority calls, and determine which calls to accept and which should be passed to other agents.
• Features integration with other payment IVRs, collection software, or other CRM software.
What Users Say
“The Global Connect team and product is a tremendous asset to our organization,” said Tony Coffman, partner at Horizon Financial Management. “On average we are working three times the number of accounts each day with Global. The number of RPCs [right party contacts] has increased exponentially so our agents are having real talk- off opportunities on almost every call. On our old system one in ten may have been a talk-off opportunity. Given the number of increased RPCs, collection dollars have also increased.”
GC1 Peak Dialer | Global Connect
gc1.com | 888-421-4151
Rules Builder to Meet Regulation
Genesys Proactive Customer Communications
• The IVR solution includes local caller ID, IVR prompts, and wireless identification.
• The list and campaign management functionality allows users to create, monitor, and tune outbound contact strategies.
• The self-service rules builder allows users to customize outbound campaigns with granular control to meet regulatory requirements.
• Outbound IVR is part of an integrated suite of outbound channels, including dialer, voice, text, email, mobile web, and push notifications.
• On-premise, cloud, and hybrid deployment options available as a standalone outbound solution or as an integrated inbound/ outbound solution.
What Users Say
“Clearly the Genesys Outbound solution and the strength of the dialer and inbound/outbound IVR put our minds at ease,” said John O’Donnell, vice president of receivables at Afni. “The fact that we can ratchet agent schedules up and down while balancing inbound vs. outbound without hurting abandonment rates, was extremely attractive to us and resulted in a measurable improvement in our collections success.”
Genesys Proactive Customer Communications | Genesys
genesys.com | 888-436-3797
Male & Female Voices in English & Spanish
CT Center (on-premise/cloud)
• Users can choose from dozens of professionally recorded messages known to generate callbacks and collect debt, including demand for payment, early-out/pre-collect, payment reminders, broken promises and simple callback messages. Interactive and non-interactive messaging, as well as right party-identification and transfer to agent options. Male/female voices are available in both English and Spanish.
• System can take both inbound and outbound calls. During office hours, blending dialogues can answer, prompt for account information and route calls to the designated dialer agent using a screen pop.
• Message with multiple payment options, including unattended check/credit card payments.
• Speaking full names in messages using text-to-speech technology from Nuance.
What Users Say
“IAT’s IVR solution does a lot of behind the scenes work,” said David Broussard, information systems at Receivable Recovery Services. “We create multiple lists for low balances and things you don’t want collectors to spend too much time on, and find that people will pay quickly without involving an agent. It allows us to go through a huge chunk of accounts and if a human is needed there’s an option to transfer.”
CT Center (on-premise/cloud) | IAT SmartDial
iatsmartdial.com | 800-574-8801
Real-Time Operational Statistics
TCN Platform 3 IVR
• As a cloud-based solution, no hardware is required.
• Features text-to-speech.
• The user’s dialer capacity will go untouched.
• Features escalation-based routing.
• Decision blocking can be based on time of day, phone number, last dial attempt, agent availability and dual-tone multi-frequency input from the caller.
• Users can port existing numbers.
• Features real-time operational statistics and reports on agent efficiencies.
• Support available 24 hours a day, 235 days a year.
• Features toll free and local direct inward dialing.
• Includes call recording with interrupt.
What Users Say
“With TCN’s IVR outbound ability to utilize customized thresholds for sequential dialing, I get 3 times the link-backs for the same number of accounts,” said Ryan Kazmark, managing partner at P&B Capital Group. “It has made all the difference for us.”
TCN Platform 3 IVR | TCN, Inc.
tcnp3.com | 866-305-8262