Over the years SRA Associates has developed into one of the most dependable results-oriented service providers in the industry, offering customers a cost-effective extension to their in-house recovery efforts.

 

SRA's professionally trained collection staff is comprised of a team of experienced managers who are armed with the latest technology to assist in their quality and training efforts. One such tool is Virtual Observer, a call recording technology they recently implemented to provide call recording and quality monitoring throughout the call center.

 

SRA Associates' mission is simple and clear: to constantly exceed client expectations while outperforming the competition. Being that success is totally dependent on performance, it became increasingly clear that adding a call monitoring solution such as Virtual Observer would help them differentiate their level of customer service.

 

The account receivables management industry is extremely competitive and labor intensive. In order for an organization to be successful, it requires low turnover and a continuous influx of highly skilled and trained individuals who are motivated to consistently deliver results that are superior to their competition. One of the main benefits of implementing a solution such as Virtual Observer is that it reduces agent churn. Automating performance evaluation, scoring and training methodologies can result in dramatic quality improvement in a short period of time.

 

SRA's call center has tripled in staff over the last five years or so. It started as a very manual environment which has blossomed nicely with the additions of phone upgrades, a full time dialer and now the use of virtual dialers as well. "In addition we are now recording our calls using Virtual Observer, which is an important piece to our puzzle. We'd like to handle all incoming calls efficiently and effectively," offered John Chiara, president of SRA Associates.

 

"In addition, we want to make as many outgoing calls as possible to generate right party contacts and return phone calls, which, ultimately leads to our revenue stream. At some point we would also like to work towards getting a better system for skills based routing. We're currently using technology such as an auto-dialer, call accounting and a small-scaled IVR in the contact center. We believe that our call center is comparable to others, but we are always looking to improve."

 

SRA experiences a wide range of customer service calls. Most of the customer services issues stem from abandoned calls. Customer service is extremely important in the collections business. With about 10,000 to 15,000 calls per day, Responsiveness is the key to a long term relationship with a customer. SRA evaluates a portion of these to make sure agents are handling customers with the care expected. By viewing screen activity, managers can also make sure company applications are being used properly.

 

SRA started researching call recording options when they began dealing with a number of "he said, she said" complaints. Virtual Observer enables SRA to effectively eliminate that situation, as well as the benefit of all of the quality features. Supervisors at SRA really appreciate the ability to hold employees accountable for their conversations and performance. With Virtual Observer, "we track the outgoing and incoming call volumes on a per collector basis. Using the system to improve agent performance has had a huge impact - our complaint levels have dropped significantly since the install of the product," Chiara added.

 

The Virtual Observer team implemented a system to record calls of SRA’s Samsung (News - Alert) phone system. Using an SMDR feed, the calls are able to be tied back into the agent database. Screens are captured and synchronized to give SRA a complete perspective on the customer's interactions. SRA leverages the integrated evaluation, screen capture and performance reporting to automate the quality process and reduce agent turnover as well as improve customer satisfaction.

 

Coordinated Systems, Inc., the developers and distributors of Virtual Observer, presented an affordable entry price and a low cost of ownership over the long haul, making it a logical choice for the collections company.

 

"Virtual Observer presented a strong value proposition, and I would recommend it for any financial services organization," offered Chiara, as he turned on his pc screen, which showed thumbnails of his entire staff's desktops. Using VO Live technology, John can double-click on an agent desktop, go full screen, take control, or chat for assistance. "VO Live is one of the features that sold me. The power was apparent," John added.

 

About SRA Associates

SRA Associates is a nationally licensed and bonded receivables management services organization located in Southern New Jersey. Founded in 1994, SRA Associates quickly established a reputation for delivering superior debt liquidation results while also providing unmatched customer service. For more information, please visit the Web site here.

 

About Coordinated Systems, Inc. and Virtual Observer Established in 1972, Coordinated Systems, Inc., has consistently evolved its call recording solutions over time, building high-quality, long-term relationships with customers and partners. CSI's flagship product, Virtual Observer (VO), is a call recording and quality assurance solution for call centers. VO provides an extremely high value to price, along with tremendous customer satisfaction. For information, visit the Web site here.

 

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Media Contact for CSI:

Rich Marcia

Marketing Director

Coordinated Systems, Inc.

860-289-2151