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Automation Debt
Automation Debt-In the debt collection industry, collectors are a company’s front-line offense and defense. They bring in revenue and are the first point of contact for debtors. The higher the productivity of your agents, the higher the income of your company.
Debt collection has traditionally been a call-and-respond industry. Collectors would attempt to locate and contact a debtor directly, and any automated processes still involved a human element making decisions or performing a task at every level. Now, more automated tools are available to improve the process and remove the potential for human error.
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as automated chatbots, interactive voice response systems, opt-in short message service (texts) and website portal negotiators, have grown exponentially in the debt collection industry. However, human agents are still necessary in the decision-making processes of collections. It’s up to leaders to determine where automated AI tools can be used to improve their agency’s offensive and defensive strategies to produce the most effective and profitable outcomes.
Offense
Even though tighter debt collection margins and increasing difficulty in reaching customers have affected the industry, properly implemented automation can improve profitability and productivity. Debt collectors and agents — the “offense” — who make contact with customers concerning queries about payments and account information can use such automated tools to better manage their time and decisions. AI can offer deep insights using data to suggest collection trends and patterns. A manager could use that data to identify which employees are good at collecting which accounts and examine the amount of time spent on individual accounts.
Agencies can also deploy virtual assistant channels, allowing creditors to respond to customers’ queries in a time-efficient manner through automated outbound calling and live chatbots. Automated tools can also perform transactions and collect information for payments, freeing up time and increasing productivity for collectors. Employing artificial intelligence in debt collection also improves collectors’ responsiveness to customers by allowing collectors to access documents and data more easily.
