Back Office Outsourcing and the Utilities Industry
No matter the scale of your business in the utilities industry, you’re likely facing everyday obstacles and unique challenges. From debt collection challenges to high customer request volumes, it can seem impossible to keep up while also maintaining your other essential business operations.
Customers are increasingly turning to digital platforms for service inquiries and account management. Utilities are investing in user-friendly mobile apps, online self-service portals, and secure online payment options to cater to this growing preference.
Radius Global Solutions has proven processes and technologies in place to help serve your utilities industry outsourcing needs. Read on to learn how call center outsourcing can help solve your utility company’s top challenges
Adding an Outsourced Call Center to Your Utilities Company
Many utilities professionals are facing similar challenges. Just a few that we’re hearing include:
- Recruiting new hires has been difficult, causing existing employees to become overworked and burnt out.
- While hiring rates are decreasing, attrition rates are increasing.
- Utility company employees are scrambling to keep up with customer requests, resulting in high call-out rates and low job satisfaction.
- With a limited number of customer support representatives at any given time, customers are unable to get the help they need in a timely manner.
Businesses in all industries face obstacles on their road to delivering positive customer experiences. However, there is a way to reduce both your customers’ waiting times and your employees’ burnout: utility and telecom contact center outsourcing.
The global telecom outsourcing market is expected to rise up to 4.4% CAGR for a value of about $105.5 million USD by 2023. It’s important not to fall behind and keep up with this trend. Remaining competitive in this industry requires adapting to your customers’ ever-changing needs and higher expectations.
Radius Global Solutions has the manpower and the latest contact center technologies in place to keep both your customers and your staff happy. With onshore and nearshore outsourcing available, we’ll help your business communicate effectively while remaining compliant with strict industry regulations.
Streamlining Your Utility Debt Collections Processes
2020 was a challenging year across industries, and the utilities industry was no different. Utility companies were unable to send past due invoices to collections or charge late fees for several months as a result of the pandemic. Due to this, many companies find themselves with an inordinate amount of unpaid customer invoices and a lack of available staff to solve the issue.
As an established debt collection agency, Radius Global Solutions’ employees undergo weeks of training to ensure that past due debts are handled with care. We understand that utility companies are highly regulated at the federal and state levels. Our team is well-versed in these regulations and our processes ensure that your business remains compliant.
Handling utility collections is a delicate process, particularly in times of financial unrest. Our debt recovery specialists take extra care when interacting with your customers, staying professional and courteous throughout the process.
Get your accounts receivable processes back on track with our customized utility collections programs. This includes:
- First-party collections
- Third-party collections
- Skip tracing
- Omni-channel communications
- Automated and live contact center agents
- The latest debt recovery technologies
Improving the Customer Experience
As digital adoption continues to increase for consumers across the globe, delivering omni-channel communication options is vital to improve the customer experience. Telecommunications companies in particular are expected to keep up with digital trends due to the nature of the industry.
Providing omnichannel contact options to your customers will help take some of the pressure off of your staff. With the current labor shortage, offering multiple ways for your customers to reach out to your company besides a phone call will help reduce overwhelming call volumes.
Our multichannel customer service team can engage and delight your customers through multiple secure channels:
- Live chat
- Video
- SMS
- Online consumer portal
- Traditional phone call
Omnichannel contact center outsourcing is mutually beneficial for your business and your customers. Your customers will appreciate reduced hold times and the ability to reach you via their preferred digital channel at a time convenient for them. Happy customers tend to switch businesses less and help you boost retention overall.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation are transforming both customer service and debt collection. In customer service, AI-powered chatbots handle basic inquiries, while sentiment analysis helps identify frustrated customers for human intervention.
In debt collection, AI predicts payment behavior and optimizes communication strategies, leading to improved efficiency and recovery rates. Additionally, both sectors are adopting secure digital payment solutions and self-service portals for smoother and more convenient interactions.
Your staff will enjoy more manageable workloads and spend less time on the phone handling customer requests. Improved job satisfaction leads to lower attrition rates and decreased onboarding costs.
Best of all for your bottom line, utilities outsourcing is far less expensive than onboarding multiple new employees. You can save thousands of dollars every year just by implementing an omnichannel digital strategy.
Compliant Business Process Outsourcing Services
Improving your back-office operations across the board will set your business up for long-term success. Radius specializes in providing compliant outsourcing services for businesses in the utilities industry.
Regulatory changes are pushing utilities to adapt their customer service strategies. This may involve implementing new communication protocols regarding outages or implementing new billing and payment options.
Whether we’re helping you collect overdue debts or providing a multichannel digital strategy, we adhere to industry regulations in every interaction. Contact us today to learn more and get started on powering the customer experience.
