How to optimize customer-centric debt collection workflows for performance | C&R Software

Both businesses and consumers alike have run into challenging financial landscapes in recent times. The latter is facing increasing rates of delinquency while the former is facing a drop in collections performance as a result. In today’s fast-paced environment, technology has become an important part of battling these challenges by optimizing collections processes and making them more customer-centric.

Workflows are a key example of a system that can help your business be more effective in guiding people with distressed debt towards regaining their financial health; they help automate time consuming tasks so that the customer’s experience and journey is kept as a priority while KPIs are successfully hit. Let’s take a look at the specifics surrounding debt collection workflows, and the ways they help improve the journey of those facing real difficulties.

What are the features of debt collection workflows?

Debt collection workflows automate the simple processes so that you can focus on the complex ones. They work hand in hand with Machine Learning (ML) and segmentation technologies to determine the right action at the right time for an individual account. Workflows distinguish when best to send reminder letters, SMS messages, or recommend a phone call to reach an outcome that benefits both the customer and the business; all automated in real-time.

Each customer faces different challenges with their debt, and it’s important to understand the individual to better humanize your approach and reach a resolution. Workflows that are built on a strong foundation of data and ML act as a useful tool to find the right solution for each customer, resulting in hitting KPI’s more efficiently. Additionally, they’re sensitive to the time-based and action-based decisions that come with managing accounts and customers over time. This should be appropriate to the risk-profile, behavior, account history and stage in the debt lifecycle that a customer is at to best identify the right treatment path.

What are the building blocks of a successful workflow strategy?

• Systemizing – The first step is to assign workflows with predetermined decision logic to automate the management of accounts. The logic is based on the desired outcome of a business, and eliminates the manual processes that would traditionally be involved. This allows you to move more quickly to resolve a customer’s distressed debt with less human errors along the way.
• Auto-assignment – Automatically segment, group and distribute records to working groups within your team. This ensures that accounts are in the to-do list of the team that’s in the position to most effectively manage them. They can then focus their efforts on customers that’re most likely to achieve a positive outcome, leading to increasing collection rates.
• Automate jobs – These are the individual actions (i.e. SMS message, email, phone call, etc.) that need to be taken for each account. Workflows can automate much of the standard work required to send letters, modify interest rates, forward accounts to third-party, setting statuses and calling rules. By automating these areas, you’ll be in a better position to support and help customers directly.
• Data & optimization – Recording and collecting data in real-time to optimize the treatment path for each customer. All data feeds back into the initial decision logic where you can determine what those rules are based on analytical models. By using the data extracts, you can guide and enhance ML models to efficiently hit KPIs.

Seamlessly integrate successful workflows with Debt Manager

Technology has changed the way the debt collections and recovery industry operates. Workflows have enabled businesses to be more productive, efficient and focus their energy on humanizing their approach to customers that require person-to-person engagement. Overall, they have allowed collections teams to recover more debt, in a more empathetic yet effective manner.

At C&R, we allow you to customize, configure and adapt elements of workflows that suit your decision logic in real-time. Our industry leading Debt Manager platform brings each aspect of debt collection and recovery into one holistic and configurable system, with workflows woven throughout. With simplicity and seamless support at the heart of Debt Manager, you can help customers regain financial health while efficiently hitting KPIs. To find out more about how Debt Manager can help you seamlessly integrate successful workflows into your operations, contact a member of our team today.