Selecting the right call center software for your collections agency or BPO may seem daunting. Before making a decision, conduct deeper research into the functions call center software should have to keep you competitive. Below is a non-exhaustive list of what to look for:

• Third-party system compatibility 
• Omnichannel capabilities 
• IVR
• Versatile dialing options including automation and manual
• Self-service options
• Consent management
• Agent scripts for compliance and risk mitigation
• Secure payment capture

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Regulation F has made omnichannel debt collections more crucial than ever:

• Collectors must adhere to these evolving rules and make regulatory compliance a top priority
• On November 30, 2021, new CFPB rules took effect addressing debt collection communications
• These rules interpret and clarify the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) under Regulation F (Reg. F)
• Reg. F is designed to address consumer concerns about debt collection communications
• The ruling establishes a wide range of requirements and limitations for interacting with consumers

Collectors must be proactive and ensure they have the right technology and tools in place to: 

• Control contact attempts
• Manage consent and revocation
• Monitor phone calls

When collectors adopt an omnichannel strategy, customers can seamlessly engage on any channel at any time, no matter what their preference is:

• Improved CX due to availability of self-service options
• Automation results in a significant reduction in the amount of manual work required to set account processing in motion
• Compliance and control are improved due to the virtual agent executing channel content and scripting in a consistent yet fixed manner.
• Vendor management becomes less onerous because the requirement for multiple suppliers is eliminated
• Scaling an operation to deal with increases in volume or unexpected events is seamless.
• Adding additional channels is simple, with very little change or integration work required

When collectors adopt an omnichannel strategy, customers can seamlessly engage on any channel at any time, no matter what their preference is. As gathered in a 2021 Forbes article, the data speaks for itself:

• Omnichannel campaigns saw an 18.96% engagement rate, while single-channel saw just a 5.4% engagement rate (source: Omnisend)
• Consumers are no longer using only 2 touchpoints per purchase; it’s now tripled to 6 (source: MarketingWeek)
• 90% of customers expect their interactions to be consistent across all channels (source: BusinessWire)
• Nearly 88% of Gen Z say they expect brand experiences to occur among digital and physical channels (source: MarketingDive)
• 78% of Boomers report that they’re unhappy when they have to restart a conversation with a brand (source: The Drum)
• The customer is not a stagnant data point; 60% of customer identity data is outdated within two years (source: AdAge)