News Archives

September 15, 2009
New ERS IVR Solution Improves RPC

RENTON, WA — ERS has launched a new, internally developed IVR solution that gives the company a competitive edge in the field of automated contact management. By taking advantage of the latest technology, ERS has improved its ability to perform automated right party contact calling, with full database integration, at a greatly reduced cost.

Using an open architecture software base, VOIP SIP routing capabilities, and working with partners Ampersand, Ontario Systems and Interactive Intelligence, ERS was able to leapfrog existing commercially available systems while achieving unparalleled integration with our main collection software system. Derek Whitaker, Chief Technology Officer said, “Taking advantage of open architecture software is the key to significant savings as well providing a flexible system that can integrate with future technologies. By using web services, Voice XML and other telephony development platforms, we were able to develop some key components of the system that saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in start up costs.”

According to Jeff Hunter, Sr. VP Operations, “This new IVR process has really energized our operations team, because we no longer have to do downloads and uploads to an external IVR. Now, within seconds, managers and supervisors can build a pool and start an IVR campaign, or change what is in the pool if we are not getting desired results.”

Mot importantly, with the new in-house IVR system ERS is able to eliminate the time it would take an external vendor to connect the call to our call center and get the correct account number to a collector via an ANI pop or whisper. With the new system, ERS is now attaining transfer times under one second versus 8 to 12 seconds previously, a hold time reduction that directly translates to a higher RPC rate.

About Convergent

ORGANIZED IN 1998 through the combination of seven existing collection companies with strong management teams and solid local or industry reputations, Convergent today is a leading competitor in each of its chosen markets: healthcare revenue cycle management (AHC), credit cycle management (ERS) and commercial collections (CCH). Our client list includes the most sophisticated and demanding companies in each of these industries.