Cash Flow Management With A Remote Call Center Staff

When call centers recently had to turn to remote work to stay running, many were doing so as a short-term arrangement. Companies are finding now, however, that a remote call center staff is sustainable in the long-term and can cut costs on office space. With this new type of work culture emerging, it’s time to fine-tune cash flow management within your remote workforce to maximize productivity and revenue.

Set Clear Expectations For Agents

Remote call center agents who are used to working in a traditional office setting may need to adjust to working in their homes. Managing remote staff requires clear communication. Provide a detailed policy and procedure manual that outlines compliance, work schedule and other expectations for your agents.

Cash Flow Management With A Remote Call Center Staff

In addition to conduct and professionalism, you should provide work from home staff with the training and knowledge they need to increase your company’s cash flow.

Increasing Accounts Receivable Payments

In businesses where a good or service is provided before payment is received, late payments will always be a reality. How well your front-line accounts receivable agents interact with late-paying customers is a main concern in cash flow management.

Remote call center agents must have the same level of training an in-office staff would be given if you expect them to close accounts and maximize payment amounts. Train remote workers in:

Communication skills - call center agents can’t successfully increase cash flow for your business if they don’t know how to appropriately interact with consumers. In your training, emphasize conversational intelligence, empathy, and genuine connection with consumers.

Payment negotiation tactics - Payment negotiation skills are a must for any accounts receivable agent. Inform employees on how to negotiate larger payment amounts from consumers when possible, how to diffuse angry phone calls and how to discuss finances with empathy.

Train remote staff to identify when a consumer truly can’t pay their bill and help them to explore their options. Make sure they know that empathy in the short term is more likely to result in a resolved account in the future when your consumer is in a better financial position.

Responding to stalls and objections - Many consumers offer payment stalls or objections when discussing their bills. To avoid a cash flow problem in your business, you need these bills resolved. Prepare remote staff to handle nonpayment excuses just as you would an in-person team. Equip them with recurring payment options or other solutions that will help both agent and consumer come to an agreement.

Payment Negotiation Tips for Accounts Receivable Teams

Keep Remote Call Center Staff Engaged

In any business, company culture and high morale are the best ways to ensure employees are doing their jobs the best they can. When your staff is happy, you will see their best work. Offering tokens of appreciation can be a challenge when staff all work from their homes but there are still ways to motivate and reward remote call center workers.

Incentives For Remote Call Center Staff

Keeping employees engaged and fostering team building can happen in many different ways. Check in with your employees in groups and individually to stay informed about challenges they are facing and to celebrate the successes they have had. You can also run contests to push employees to meet team and personal goals. Keep cash flow steady by appreciating your front line.

Arrange regular virtual meetings - Maintain a good relationship with staff with a mix of group and individual meetings. Also be considerate of the times you are scheduling meetings so employees don’t feel rushed, and can be fully present.

Promote social media engagement - When employees don’t work in the same building it may be harder for them to relate to coworkers and management. A strong social media presence centered around company culture can help staff feel more connected. Creating themes employees can participate in – for example, sharing pet photos – fosters virtual team building.

Arrange meet-ups, if possible - Social distancing restrictions may make it hard for all remote workers to meet in person for a team lunch but if you get creative you can still offer in-person perks. For example, you can arrange a drive-by at office headquarters where employees can have a coffee or treat delivered to them curbside.

Run contests - Many in-person call centers set goals and run contests to incentivise agents. This can still be done with a remote staff. Share rules, goals and progress with the team through your office messaging system so all employees can stay informed and keep motivated to reach their goals.

Back End Cash Flow Management

The amount of cash your call center brings in can’t rely solely on your agents. You can also increase revenue by making intentional decisions about the payment options you offer and the software products you use.

Inbound Traffic

Many people pay bills in evening hours or on weekends. Many consumers don’t want to take a call from a business if they know it’s regarding a bill or it’s an inconvenient time. A robust inbound payment campaign can lessen cash flow management concerns and ease the burden for staff.

Your company’s website is the first place consumers are likely to go to learn about the options they have for resolving a bill. Use good website design to your advantage by funneling consumers to your online payment portal, the phone number to your IVR system, or training staff that operate your web chat tool to direct consumers to their payment options.

Cash Flow Management Software

It’s a delicate balance to manage your cash to increase revenue while maintaining PCI compliance among remote staff. Using the right accounts receivable software can offer payment security and compliance to your remote call center without sacrificing a quick and easy payment workflow.

PDCflow’s FLOW Technology is an ideal solution for accounts receivable call centers looking to reduce risk and maintain PCI compliance for remote staff.

PDCflow’s FLOW Technology allows agents to direct a consumer through the payment process while removing the need for staff to ever have access to sensitive credit card data. This allows agents to guide consumers through the process – ensuring payment – while keeping compliance requirements at a minimum.

For more information on how FLOW Technology can benefit your remote call center staff, reduce your risk and keep cash flow up, download the FLOW Technology For Remote Work Compliance And Security How-To: