Utility Week

28 | 15TH - 21ST JUNE 2018 | UTILITY WEEK Customers Market view B ad debt continues to be a problem for utility businesses. Last year a report from Ofwat and PwC highlighted the fact that the amount of revenue owed to water providers alone has topped £2.2 bil- lion. Addressing this must be a clear priority, but it is also essential to safeguard valuable customer relationships – and vulnerable consumers. That calls for a more efficient, customer- focused way to recover debt. The good news is that the latest developments in technology, such as robotic process automation (RPA) – powered by next generation artificial intel- ligence – will deliver specific innovations in revenue collection. Debt recovery is repetitive and process heavy, requiring the management of a sig- nificant amount of oen disparate customer information. When this is performed manu- ally, it can be a laborious, resource consum- ing task that is prone to human error. This makes it ideally suited to RPA. Virtual workforce The technology uses computer soware to mimic human interaction with IT systems, following rule-based processes that can be closely managed. This produces an agile, virtual workforce that can shoulder the bur- den placed on collection agents by handling mundane, repetitive tasks with greater speed and accuracy. The headline benefit of this autonomous support, from a data collection perspective, is a boost in efficiency that reduces costs. But it's not just about productivity gains. RPA can also free employees to focus on complex cases of debt recovery that require a more human touch and to identify vul- nerable customers who warrant a bespoke approach earlier in the collections process. It's an advantage that fits the utility indus- try's requirements perfectly. The UK energy market is becoming increasingly competitive. Switching sup- plier is now easier than it's ever been, mak- ing customer service a key differentiator for providers. And for water firms, the regulatory and financial pressure to hit customer sat- isfaction targets before the industry's price review in 2019 is mounting. Add to this the growing media and gov- ernment attention given to the treatment of vulnerable consumers by major utility pro- viders, and the sector cannot afford to risk hostile customer engagement. Collections have to be approached sensitively, with the wellbeing of the debtor properly considered. Recommended actions Automation can help here by giving collec- tions agents access to an intuitive system that provides a live dashboard of customer information and recommended actions in real time. This kind of tool, which is powered by cognitive technology, can collate data from multiple and sometimes disjointed systems and apply it to the everyday interactions a utility's debt management team has with customers. This offers agents a comprehen- sive view of a customer's habits, outstanding debt, previous contact history and details of any mitigating circumstances. The soware can then harness this infor- mation to develop bespoke strategies for agents to use while they're interacting with a customer. This can minimise average han- dling time and reduce the number of poten- tially uncomfortable questions that have to be asked before a case is resolved. It can also take the responsibility of making a par- ticularly difficult decision out of the agent's hands, reducing the likelihood of human error and further increasing productivity. Human supervision The benefits automation can offer a collec- tions department will accelerate as the tech- nology is integrated with more advanced AI. At the moment, automated systems that support agents are rule based, and require a significant amount of human supervision. But soon, automated systems' capability will be able to understand the nuances of human speech and recognise more complex patterns in processes. This means the scope and scale of tasks in the debt recovery process that can be fully automated, in both the front and back office, will leap forward. Eventually, utilities will be able to standardise, digitise and design systems with the integration of automation in mind. For collections, this means even greater efficiency, more support for agents and, ultimately, a better, more bespoke expe- rience for customers. New demands With these new opportunities will come new demands. Large-scale automation and the advent of true AI is still some time off, but utilities should recognise the way the world is changing, look at important functions like collections, and start to prepare. Pilot schemes that test the impact of automation on a specific process and honing recruitment strategies to look for digital skills is a sensi- ble place to start. It's clear that a key part of the solution to the revenue collection challenge facing utili- ties is the effective management of customer experience. By exploring automation now, collections departments can be well-posi- tioned to leverage the customer relationship and productivity benefits the next generation of the technology is set to deliver. Debbie Nolan, commercial director, Arvato Financial Solutions The future of debt recovery Recovering debt is time-consuming, awkward and occasionally upsetting – but it is also entirely necessary. Debbie Nolan says automation is the solution. Key points Utilities need more efficient ways to recover debt without alienating customers and threatening the vulnerable. Debt recovery usually involves collation of data from disparate sources – a process that is fraught with human error. Computer systems that mimic the interac- tion of humans with IT systems are ideally suited to this task, and they can do it faster and more accurately. These systems can help develop strate- gies for agents who deal with more complex cases that need a human touch.

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