- Unique Sabio solution sees self-service account for 17 per cent of all payments collected by BCW Group plc during the last year
– First successful deployment of speech-based payment application within the UK credit management sector repays investment within six months
LONDON Sabio, the innovative contact centre services and solutions company, has successfully designed and implemented an innovative speech-based self-service payment solution for BCW Group plc, one of Europe’s leading credit management companies. Using the Sabio application, BCW Group plc is now able to provide its consumer customers with a 24×7 debt payment facility, giving then a secure and discrete way of making payments at a time that suits them best.
Since launching the service last year, the Sabio speech-based IVR application has proved particularly successful, effectively handling a volume of transactions equivalent to 12 full-time agents. This has freed up agents to spend more time speaking with customers on ‘value-add’ calls such as making arrangements with customer and dealing with disputes. Self-service payments now account for 17 per cent of all credit/debit card payments taken by BCW Group plc over the last year far in excess of its original target of 10 per cent for the project.
“Innovation has always been at the heart of BCW Group’s approach, and we’re committed to investing in both our staff and in new technology, such as the Sabio speech-enabled payment solution, to provide a competitive advantage to our contact and credit management operations,” commented Bryan Mouat, Group Operations Director at BCW Group plc. “We work hard to create the most conducive environment to allow our people to succeed, and the success of the Sabio speech application allows our agents to concentrate on what they do best dealing with our customers rather than simply processing payments, whilst improving productivity and enhancing customer experience and service.
“Sabio designed the speech application to be as easy as possible for our customers to use, and this has certainly demonstrated itself to be the case, with the volume of customers now using the self-service system far exceeding our initial expectations,” he added.
Before designing and implementing the speech-based solution, Sabio’s Voice Self-Service team worked closely with bcwgroup to clearly identify exactly who and what type of customers might be using the new service and why they would be calling, before identifying the most appropriate way to handle the call.
According to Sabio Director, Adam Faulkner: “BCW Group plc originally thought they would have to go for a traditional touchtone IVR system, but quickly saw how a speech-based solution could benefit their customers. Thanks to our experience in building similar applications, we were able to deliver an application that repaid its investment in just six months. BCW Group plc has achieved all its technical and business objectives with this project, and we’re now working with them to see how we can help them achieve further competitive advantage by adding additional speech functionality.”
Sabio is one of the few contact centre specialists to offer the key elements essential for successful speech applications a specialist, user-centred speech design approach based on conversational techniques, the right persona and customer engagement strategies, business and systems integration skills, and the latest open standards-based technologies from leading organisations. For BCW Group plc, the Sabio speech-based solution was built using core Avaya IVR technology, speech recognition from Nuance and a phone application server from VoiceObjects.
About BCW Group plc
BCW Group plc is one of Europe’s most innovative credit management organisations, providing credit management and consultancy services at every point in the credit management lifecycle for global organisations managing credit risk and customer services. Established in 1983, the company has been selected as one of the Top 100 Companies to Work For by the Sunday Times. For more information, please visit www.bcwgroup.com
About Sabio
Sabio is an innovative contact centre services company focused on delivering exceptional customer contact strategies and solutions. Sabio offers business consulting, systems integration and managed services and has worked with many major organisations across the UK including egg, Enterprise Rent-a-car, ING Lease, Newport City Council, Leeds City Council, Pitney Bowes, Scottish Widows, Sky, Student Loans, Travelex and Yorkshire Building Society. Visit www.sabio.co.uk for more information.
