Operations insights: An interview with Tobias Campbell

By on April 21st, 2020 in Company News, Industry Interviews

TrueAccord is redefining the collections industry, and the fastest way to do that is by building the best teams. I sat down for a conversation with Tobias Campbell, a former operations manager at a payday and installment loan company in charge of in-house collections—and our team’s newest Account Executive—to discuss his experience in the industry, what challenges he faced in traditional collections (including falling right party contact rates and high employee turnover), and why he decided to join TrueAccord.

Welcome to the team! Before we dive in, could you tell us a little about your experience in finance and how your career led you into the collections space?

Prior to my start in collections in 2016, I worked at a large bank in the retail and private banking investment portfolio space. When I had the opportunity to transition to the consumer finance industry working in-house as an operations manager for a larger consumer lending company I wanted to take the chance despite collections’ negative reputation. I knew there had to be a better way to get in touch with consumers and change that perception.

What was your focus as an operations manager when you got started?

Initially, I spent time listening to agent calls and getting a clear sense of how they engaged with customers, and I was really determined to improve our right party contact rate. I helped transform the training process for agents to use more of a sales approach.

We still coached the team on building rapport with the consumers they were reaching, but also leveraged sales strategies in an effort to increase our overall performance. Beyond new training strategies for our agents, we started to dabble a little in sending emails, but they were basic drip campaigns consisting of a few manual emails per person. 

The small changes added up, and we were able to double our right party contact rates. But ultimately those improvements were marginal. Calling to collect wasn’t sustainable and the law of diminishing returns started to kick in, especially as we ran into more call blocking apps and services. 

So when training smoothed out, what were some of the other challenges you were running into? 

Two of the biggest ones we were facing were agent turnover and trying to keep up with the volume of accounts we were managing. We had to bring new agents on pretty frequently because of the high turnover rates. When agents first start there’s an element of excitement because they’re ready to start their new job. They can make a difference. They’d start off strong, but then we’d see those same people burnout in three to six months.

TrueAccord was performing 7 times better than our internal team, and that’s including the service fee that we were paying

It’s a very difficult job. Anyone that’s ever worked in collections knows that even if you manage to get a consumer on the phone, especially with an account that’s been delinquent for more than six months, the likelihood of securing that payment is slim. It’s hard to keep agents motivated and excited through that. Plus, there’s the compliance piece. 

Having the technology in place to ensure your agents meet all of the compliance obligations is a daily struggle. No matter the number of tools available, the amount of compliance training, or the level of oversight, there is always the chance for human error when you have live agents on the phone. 

At the same time, we realized that we were just getting too big, and our internal team could not handle our volume, especially with a declining RPC rate. We had our entire collection strategy in-house for so long, so we looked at our numbers, and the further accounts went into delinquency, the harder and harder it got to reach them. There was a need for a partner that could help us in the late-stage space. 

Our CEO at the time knew Ohad [Samet, the Founder of TrueAccord] and he saw what TrueAccord was doing—leveraging technology and email, which we weren’t really using—so we decided to send over any accounts that went beyond 120 days. We kept 10% of that paper ourselves so that we could compare effectiveness rates between the mostly digital and the call-to-collect strategy. 

What did that comparison look like?

The change was night and day. After six months, we saw that TrueAccord was performing on par with our internal team’s historic performance on those portfolios, but [TrueAccord’s machine learning engine] Heartbeat kept going. At twelve months, TrueAccord was recovering twice as much as we were on a percentage of outstanding debt, and by the time I left in early 2020, TrueAccord was performing 7 times better than our internal team, and that’s including the service fee that we were paying TrueAccord. 

We had customers that would get on the phone with an agent, and they would say “hey, can you send me to TrueAccord?” They would regularly talk about having more options, more flexibility, and the most common one was “they don’t call me 3, 4, 5 times per day!”

When you started to see the difference between TrueAccord and your internal team, was there any plan to try and update your practices to something more in line with what TrueAccord was doing?

We saw consumers gravitating toward digital communications over phone calls, so we recruited a product manager to research and build a digital strategy in house. There was some conversation around improving our email messaging by making the tone softer, since our current emails felt very businesslike and, well, boring?

There was a lot of talk around needing to make these substantial changes, but we didn’t know how. We didn’t have the infrastructure in place, we wouldn’t be able to automate content personalization the way TrueAccord does. Plus, the costs needed to develop the solution were a barrier to entry, especially when we already had a partner providing those services successfully. I decided that I wanted to join TrueAccord because I saw that unfolding, and I knew that TrueAccord had a differentiated product: a flywheel for this industry.

If you had to offer a final takeaway piece of advice to other lenders doing in-house collections, what would you tell them?

Don’t lose sight of the backend of the business from a revenue perspective. There is typically an intense focus on attracting new consumers to the product, and we start to forget about previous customers that still owe money on their account.

I would advise other managers in the collections space to think about building a digital line of defense, especially in preparation for a downturn or recession. When consumers are in a difficult situation, digital approaches can better connect with them and will lead to more dollars recovered.

Are you ready to invest in a sustainable digital infrastructure? Get in touch with our team today!

A new decade for debt collection

By on January 8th, 2020 in Industry Insights

A new year often marks the time for resolutions and major change. Goals are set. Budgets are ready to go. Product roadmaps start to unfold. For us, change and growth don’t just start and stop in January. TrueAccord is working to be better every day, and this year is no different.

We know that the collections industry is changing quickly, and we’re ready to ride the wave. Check out what TrueAccord’s leadership has to say about the future of collections and what we expect to see in 2020 and beyond!

Ohad Samet, CEO

We’ve seen a recent growth of digital debt collections strategies for to the benefit of both collectors and consumers. As the industry jumps forward, what do you see as the biggest challenge facing teams in the collections space?

The collection industry has been fighting a losing battle against the demise of phone calls as a valid contact channel. Rule changes and consumer behavior are rendering phone calls obsolete, and we’ve started to see the result in consolidation and closures. This trend will accelerate in 2020, and the realization will come, whether in 2020 or subsequent years, that companies will need to adapt.

And what makes this change such a significant challenge to existing collectors? Could a traditional call-based agency simply start sending emails to consumers in debt?

This shift isn’t only a conceptual one; it has deep technological and operational implications. Operating digital channels at scale is a new challenge, completely different than calling using a dialer, and traditional providers will find it increasingly difficult to catch up at scale. 

Emails and text messages aren’t simply cheaper alternatives to letters—they are two-sided, complex media that require data and inference infrastructure that’s difficult to build and maintain, especially with thin margins. Clients will need to re-evaluate how they work with a narrowing landscape of skilled, at-scale providers who can handle this new world.

Sheila Monroe, COO

As Ohad mentioned, the collections industry has largely remained unchanged for years and relied heavily on call-based collecting as its primary contact channel, what will make the 2020s different?

Technology is advancing exponentially. When combined with the lightning speed of adapting consumer expectations and a regulatory landscape driven largely by consumer advocacy, leaders in this industry will anticipate and create the way forward. Those playing catch up, or missing the cues, will inevitably struggle to survive. 

Those that lead the charge in the 2020s will drive a focus on machine learning, AI, advanced analytics, and automation as the entire industry finds itself at a tipping point in this new decade.  

New technologies are often developed to address a specific problem. What is the main issue you feel these new technologies are working to solve? 

The digital revolution has already started. Much of the technology exists, and many creditors and collectors are experimenting with digital channels such as SMS and email. That said, being able to close the gap between consumer expectations and creditor or collector offerings represents a high hurdle for many in this space that more complex machine learning and AI can help to address.

Kelly Knepper-Stephens, VP of Legal & Compliance

Rapidly advancing technology is complex in and of itself, but collections is also a carefully regulated industry. The last major update to collections law was in 1977, long before most of today’s technology was even a possibility.

We’ve spoken before about how the CFPB’s NPRM has set out to make major changes to existing laws in order to incorporate new technologies into collections regulation. How will those updates shape the industry going forward into 2020?

The NPRM, which should have a final rule sometime this year, makes clear that “modern” forms of communication (email, text, and others) are methods by which agencies can use to communicate with consumers. Those agencies who haven’t invested in these technologies yet are all starting to broaden their communication tools now in order to prepare.

As we move into the new decade, innovative agencies will continue to build out ways to reach consumers based on their preferences, using tools we don’t even know about today. We might even see the reputation of the industry shift as these friendlier collection methods allow consumers the freedom to choose how best to communicate and resolve their debt.

Looking ahead

Consumer communication preferences are evolving, new channels are becoming available to collectors, and merging these shifts together will be the key to successful collections through the 2020s.

TrueAccord launches redesigned website

By on November 12th, 2019 in Company News

TrueAccord is redefining the collections experience. In order to grow as a company and continue to revolutionize the industry, we’ve redesigned our website to better reflect our dedication to a positive user experience!

Designing for the user

Being a leading modern debt collection solution means striving to provide a better experience for consumers in debt and creditors alike. The first step in this design process was revamping the website architecture to reflect our business growth, with industry and role-specific pages, as well as more details around our unique product and superior performance. 

Fig. 1: The new homepage (left) provides an immediate look into who we are, what we do, and (literally) illustrates our value propositions for everyone to see! 

If a user arrives on the site without any knowledge of AI or machine-learning, we still have to be able to explain what we’re capable of! This is why we’ve also included our awesome product showcase video below and directly on the homepage!

Designing for the future

We recognize that the collections industry is often cast in a negative light, and TrueAccord is here to create an empathy-driven collections experience. Right now, not everyone fully understands what that means. Having a platform for our brand’s voice and mission means we can more accurately and effectively reach creditors looking for a collections solution. 

With this improved website redesign, we can ensure that when a creditor is looking for a new collections strategy, they recognize that today’s customers expect a service that considers their experience. We know that the future is digital, and now we can share evidence of that with everyone! By proving that we’re worth listening to and making TrueAccord a collections authority, we will redefine the industry.

The impact of change

I had the chance to sit down and speak with Shannon Brown, TrueAccord’s Head of Design and lead designer on the website rebranding, and Vivian Chau, Senior Manager of Brand and Content Strategy, to discuss the intent behind the redesign, the power of future-proofing our strategy, and what’s next for TrueAccord’s image. 

How do you feel the new site will help us better serve our audiences?

Brown: The first thing, I think, is that we’re a digital-first, technology-driven company in an industry that isn’t always fluent in the language of technology.

Chau: Right, we knew that the website had to showcase what makes us a leading tech and customer-focused collections service, and the next step in drawing attention to that is having a website that helps potential clients learn about how collections fits into their revenue cycle management.

We still want to be able to showcase our modern collections approach and how we leverage machine-learning, but the heart of that is driven by customer empathy.

With dedicated sections on industry-specific information and more details highlighting our product performance, I’m excited to share and build upon TrueAccord’s new digital storefront.

Brown: We also worked closely with our sales and client services teams to understand questions our clients have and included a Solutions section to better address how TrueAccord can help businesses across different industries and roles. 

That leads to the next question, then: are there any features of the new site that you’re especially excited about?

Chau: Yes! I’m particularly excited to have our new website on a standalone Content Management System. Our content team will be able to add and optimize the website without having to ask for Engineering help which gives us a lot of flexibility. I see this project as a jumping off point for our marketing and brand initiatives, as our website, as should our brand, needs to continually evolve and change with the company as it grows. 

Brown: Speaking of growth: we’re working to attract top talent here, so I’m excited about our revamped careers page. It truly reflects the experience of working at TrueAccord and gives prospective employees more information about what it’s like here. Part of that TrueAccord experience is that we’re working to stand out in the industry.

Our new About Us section really highlights our commitment to empowering consumers and delivering great user experiences, and that our mission and company values tie everything together.

You both touched a bit on the impact that a clearly stated mission has on a company’s brand reputation. How did you go about the design process knowing with TrueAccord’s consumer-driven mission in mind?

Brown: We wanted to give consumers a space on the site. A lot of consumers receive an email from us and come to TrueAccord.com to see what we’re all about. The previous website spoke to our partners, but didn’t really give consumers information about how the TrueAccord experience can benefit them!

A big part of that was redirecting our focus to how our technology increases recovery rates and creates great consumer experiences instead of explaining the technology itself.

Chau: It was important too that we created something that was easy for everyone to understand. We still want to be able to showcase our modern collections approach and how we leverage machine-learning, but the heart of that is driven by customer empathy. The redesign articulates that and the hope is that it excites prospective clients and potential job candidates. 

TrueAccord is on a mission to change debt collection for good. With powerful tools in place, we continue to expand and grow and better showcase our product, highlight our performance, and demonstrate our values to clearly illustrate what sets us apart in the collections space.

Want to learn more about TrueAccord? Connect with our team!

CFPB Gets Tough on Debt Sales with a JPMorgan Chase Settlement

By on July 9th, 2015 in Compliance
CFPB

It’s taking a herculean effort to not title this, “We told you so.” Just a few months after our CEO, Ohad’s, Op-Ed about debt buying practices got strong responses from the industry, JPMorgan Chase & Co. is currently in trouble with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to the tune of at least $136 million. The reason? Problematic data management and debt sales practices.

Continue reading “CFPB Gets Tough on Debt Sales with a JPMorgan Chase Settlement”