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Call monitoring is a useful tool for evaluating and improving collectors' skills. But many collections operations don't use this training method to its full advantage.
The backbone of any collections operation is the individual collector. And the key to an effective collector lies in training. But oftentimes, collections departments don't make full use of a powerful training tool: call monitoring.
Call centers around the world perform periodic call monitoring. Call monitoring is the practice of observing how agents handle calls in order to improve their skills and to enhance customers' experience with the company. Call monitoring includes the following three steps: listening to the telephone conversation between the company representative and the customer; viewing how collectors access systems, screens, and information in order to respond to the customer; and analyzing and recording the results of the call.
The main objectives of call monitoring in a collections operation are identifying opportunities for collectors to improve their communication skills in order to get firm commitments to pay from customers, ensuring that collectors are following company policies, and verifying compliance with state and federal regulations. Secondary objectives may include improving the quality of customer service, identifying training needs, recognizing good performance, and improving the relationship between supervisors and collectors.
Call monitoring is a judgmental process most often performed by collection supervisors. In most cases, the supervisor listens to calls to evaluate their content, observes how the collector manages the collection process, records his analysis of the call on a procedural form, and then gives feedback to the collector.
There are many different call-- monitoring operational practices. The most common are side-by-side monitoring, real-time silent call monitoring, recorded silent call monitoring, cross-monitoring, auto-- evaluation, and peer monitoring.
Side-by-side monitoring requires minimal technology and occurs when a supervisor sits next to a collector and listens to calls in real time. Collectors know their work is being observed. A supervisor may use a headset or speaker-phone to listen to both sides of the conversation and can view collectors' management of the systems, how they access the information needed to complete the call, and the various screens they refer to during the call.
A Motivational Tool
During a side-by-side monitoring session, a supervisor can provide immediate coaching and feedback both...