The combination of AI-driven Real-Time Guidance and customized industry playbooks takes the pressure off agents in a collections business relying on compliance confidence

The Challenge

Keeping agents self-assured, engaged, and compliant in a high-stress industry

The collections business can take a toll on even the most experienced agents. They contend with hang-ups, strict conduct rules, and a new learning curve with every call.

Accelerated Receivables Solutions (ARS), a family-owned Scottsbluff, Nebraska-based collections agency specializing in the healthcare industry, is well-versed in the challenges. ARS opened its doors in 1932, prioritizing ethics and dignity — a mission that relies on its team, the lifeblood of the business.

One of the most significant challenges ARS consistently faces is compliance in an ever-changing healthcare industry. Agents abide by strict regulations on what they can and can’t say, and a wrong turn can lead to litigation. So, interactions were often fear-based, with a success rate that had plenty of room for improvement. In 2019, ARS was in the hunt for a solution.

Randi Gabel, Collections Floor Manager and ARS veteran of 17 years, knew firsthand the challenges agents faced, having started out making collection calls herself. She shared the company’s primary objectives when tackling compliance concerns:

  • Establish a confidence level in agent compliance knowledge
  • Decrease hang-ups and increase success rate
  • Eliminate fear-based interactions, easing the stress for agents

“When I saw Balto, I saw the opportunity to have a compliance confidence that we had never had before to ensure that all of our disclosures, our cans and can’ts were completely covered.”

Randi Gabel, Collections Floor Manager, Accelerated Receivables Solutions

The Solution

Eliminating agent apprehension with Balto’s Real-Time Guidance platform customized for collection agency compliance

Contact centers can be high-stress work environments, and there’s added pressure in collections as there’s no freewheeling conversations. The most successful agents, new and seasoned, strike a proper balance of adhering to industry guidelines and compassionate, personal engagement. 

ARS achieved that balance with the help of Balto’s Real-Time Guidance. The AI-driven platform, combined with customized scripts based on input from the entire contact center team, removes the fear of making mistakes leading to noncompliance. Each agent has their own style, so conversations aren’t robotic. But, if an interaction starts to veer in the wrong direction, on-screen guidance prompts them on what to say to get it back on track.

Instead of running on fear, Randi Gabel instills in her team the importance of relying on Real-Time Guidance. “Use it exactly how it’s designed and how it’s being presented to you, and you will never be at risk.”

Simultaneously, Balto allows Randi to review, listen, communicate, and coach from one screen. She doesn’t have to navigate within multiple tools, as Balto provides the reassurance that the team remains on track.

Key Results

ARS sees measurable increase in agent preparedness and confidence, faster training, significantly reduced call escalations, and a near-perfect compliance rate

Real-Time Guidance by Balto has been a success story for ARS since its implementation in November 2019. The all-encompassing training, compliance, and motivational platform continues to produce quantifiably improved results.

Some of the benefits that ARS has experienced include:

  • Expedited training – shaving two weeks off the process
  • An 11% higher connection rate (fewer hang-ups)
  • Rapid and consistent decline in call escalations
  • A cohesive team environment where everyone participates in best practices
  • Perceptible increase in agent confidence
  • Diminished risk of noncompliance 
  • Improved agent satisfaction through motivators and rewards

Balto’s Real-Time Guidance ticks all the priority boxes for ARS. It instills compliance confidence, results in fewer hang-ups, and translates to engaged and motivated agents who have a virtual partner guiding them through even the most challenging interactions.

Compliance was one of the driving factors behind ARS’ decision to adopt Real-Time Guidance. But ARS utilizes the entire package. Even little things, like confetti shooting on the screen after a successful call flow, lighten the atmosphere for agents in a relatively high-stress industry.

“Real-Time Guidance just keeps them engaged and more confident. So, they’re not as fearful when they come out in their roles on the phones. We’ve had new hires that sounded just like our seniors.”

Randi Gabel, Collections Floor Manager, Accelerated Receivables Solutions