Ever heard Linux? You’re probably this well-known operating system. Well, Linux is open source software with its source code made available to the public for editing and modification. The copyright holder maintains the license for the rights to distribute to anyone for any purpose, and open source software has been affectionately termed collaboration software by some.

ChaseData is one of best reviewed call-center software suites available, pulling an enviable five out of five stars on both ease-of-use and customer service across a number of industries from outbound telemarketing, to hospitality industry call centers, debt collection, and help desks. Now the company is making things even easier for the boots on the ground – the call center agent. The new agent workstation application with the new ChaseData agent interface is fully onboard as of January 2018. The native Windows app has been developed to make the frontline agent’s job easier and provide the customer with a faster, more complete, and more satisfactory.

Debt collection does not have to be a drama. In fact, training your collection agents in good debt collection techniques can result in a higher rate of successful collections and less stress for your agents. People expect the debt collection agent to be the heavy and the bad guy, so giving them someone personable and professional may be enough to get them on board with a payment plan. Training your collection agents with good debt collection techniques means that they are compliant with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Let’s look at some common-sense training techniques, scripts, and strategies.

The sound of phones ringing at the office can be music to your ears. When things are going well, it's like the sound of money.

Then there are those times when a high call volume is wholly unexpected. That's when all that ringing turns into your worst nightmare.

Tornadoes in the south, hurricanes along the coast, earthquakes in the west. Disasters come in many forms and usually unannounced.

Would you be surprised to know that some collections call centers are still working with paper files and 3”x5” index cards? In fact, some small collections agencies are still operating with little more than OEM software that came with the desktops – that are still running on Windows 7. They’ve cobbled together apps and workaround that work, but might not work together, resulting in extra steps to make sure everyone is on the same page regarding a collection. The big problem is that none of these approaches specifically address the needs of a modern call-center that needs to reach out repeatedly, often through multiple channels, to contact clients and maintain a file of their interactions, recording calls, and keeping track of transactions. When a call center brings in debt collection call center software, the focus is taken off the agent and correctly retargeted to the client.

As robocalls continue to make the news and show the call center industry in a less than flattering light, it is time to remind everyone of the basic tenets of outbound call compliance. It is up to the good actors in the industry to shine a light on the bad actors, and in some way make the public understand that not all outbound callers are scam artists. The news media makes little differentiation between legitimate calling operations and fraudsters, making it necessary for call centers to refresh their memories on the basics of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and outbound call compliance. All new call centers should have an orientation to bring everyone up to speed on this legislation.

Despite its unpopularity, the debt collection industry continues to grow. Nearly one in 10 Americans have a minimum of one debt in collection whether it is for medical bills, mortgages, credit card debt, student debt, or automobile loans. Businesses are placing more debt with collection agencies than ever before, and aggregate household that is still rising – portending a need for debt collection agencies long into the future. Even without a recession, debt recovery services are a big business. However, collection companies need to do a lot to improve their collections rates and move into the era of big data that is generated by their own call center software.

While you may wish that your call center ran as smoothly as a well-oiled machine, it’s critical to remember that your customer service representatives are anything but machines! With humanity and live answering services come mistakes and occasional decreases in call center efficiency and productivity. However, there are ways to reduce the number of these mishaps and achieve your goal of a highly-functioning call center featuring steady, positive results and impressive commercial progress.

While some strategies to increase productivity stem from taking good care of your agents, others rely on the idea that you are willing to change the structure of your call center’s operations and implement changes that will improve both the customer’s and operator’s experience.

The essential differences between a traditional call center and one that uses call center software to deploy a campaign are speed, intuitive user interface and reduced integration time. Speed is achieved through cloud-based technology, putting information at the agent’s fingertips about a lead, whether it’s an inbound or outbound call. The intuitive user interface with today’s modern software means it’s a point, click and learn scenario, with additional training at the behest of the business. Reduced integration times means the difference between switching over to a system that takes days to do versus software which can take a matter of hours to load your data. Here a few other key reasons why software is the key to contact center efficiency.