Outbound Call Center Featured Article

Penncro's 'Noble' Recording Solution

By Brendan B. Read
Senior Contributing Editor

Accounts receivable management, a.k.a. collections and customer service, are two of the most intense functions firms can provide via their contact centers.

In each of these areas there is the potential and the reality for often emotionally-intensive “I said/they said” conflicts, and in collections there is also the need to comply with strict regulations. That requires high-quality and flexible call recording solutions.

Penncro Associates is a multi-site financial services company that specializes in accounts receivable management and customer relationship management for clients.

Headquartered in Southampton, Penn., it has four contact centers with approximately 400 licensed agents.

In 2006 Penncro turned to Noble Systems and selected the Noble Recorder as its call recording solution. Carolynn Horrell, Penncro’s chief information officer of technology solutions, explained that the company had a need for one for compliance, training and quality assurance reasons.

Prior to installing the Noble Recorder it had no recording solution to speak of. The firm selected the Noble Recorder in large as it had been using Noble Systems’ (News - Alert) Noble Solution for its contact centers since 1999.

Penncro uses the Noble Recorder for tasks such as delivering feedback to clients and to agents, improving internal processes and validating payment accuracy. It works by digitally recording agent calls and producing a high-quality online record within seconds. The file is then organized for storage. The record is archived within minutes and can be easily accessed with a log number for instant playback. Clients use their own log numbers, so that along with the use of interactive voice response tools, they can dial in and listen to their own recordings without the need for an outsourced third party verification service, which saves them time and reduces costs.

The recorder also includes integrated quality assurance features that help companies build quality management programs.

“There are multitudes of reasons to leverage that recording,” explains Horrell. “Along with really making sure we’re doing the branding and are listening from a client standpoint.”

The Noble Recorder has made a difference in Penncro’s operations. It has enabled the firm to improve its collections by enhancing agent training, helping the company maintain compliance and resolving customer disputes. Horrell reports there have been times when customers have authorized a payment only to later come back and dispute it. Having the Noble Recorder allowed Penncro’s managers to go back to specific recorded conversations and verify that the payments were, in fact, authorized.

The recorder allows Penncro’s management team to review calls quickly and efficiently. During the review, managers look for average call duration, short calls, and long calls in order to locate outliers. Through this review process, they found what things are working well and where there is room for improvement.

“So you’re hearing the effects of your training and then you’re able to see how well your training has been transitioned to your floor,” says Horrell.

Horrell adds the screens of the recording solution provide ease of access in that there are a number of ways an account can be looked up and accessed.

“So there’s really quite a bit of ease and flexibility in looking for an account,” she says. “And when you’re researching something, it’s really critical that you have multiple elements to be able to hone in on and find that ‘needle in a haystack’ or that specific call.”

Penncro is now considering adding speech analytics to the Noble Recording solution. Powered by Nexidia (News - Alert) it would enable the firm to gain actionable business intelligence and make it possible to analyze call recordings to spot trends, identify the underlying reasons for customer calls, improve quality assurance, measure script adherence and determine training needs. The analytics tool uses the patented Phonetic Search Engine that enables an audio-video search for phonemes, the smallest unit of human speech that produces accurate and relevant results.

Horrell says from a business perspective the Noble Recorder is “meeting its mark” with the features and functionality available. And then speech analytics would take it to the next level, opening contact center operations up to a whole new and innovative way to use call recording and review.