General Archives - Cloud Based Dialer Solutions & VoIP Phone Systems | Arbeit

Keeping Your Business Numbers Free of Negative Labels: Best Practices to Follow

Alex Villafranca — Thu, 09 Mar 2023 19:45:39 +0000

How to Improve Your Business Phone Number's Reputation

With the rise of spam and robocalls, it’s more important than ever to make sure your business phone number has a good reputation. When customers see that your number has been flagged as spam or scam, they’re less likely to answer your calls.

Here are some tips on how to improve your business phone number’s reputation:

Use a consistent caller ID. Make sure that your caller ID always displays the same information, including your business name and phone number. This will help customers to identify your calls and be more likely to answer them.

Don’t call too often. If you call customers too often, they’re more likely to mark your number as spam. Only call customers when it’s necessary, and make sure that your calls are relevant to their interests.

Be polite and professional. When you call customers, be polite and professional. Avoid using abusive language or making threats.

Provide clear and concise information. When you call customers, be sure to provide clear and concise information. Don’t ramble on or try to sell them something.

Offer a way for customers to opt out of calls. Make it easy for customers to opt out of your calls. You can do this by providing them with an email address or a phone number to call.

Check Your Business Phone Number’s Reputation

You can check your business phone number’s reputation by visiting the website of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC provides a tool that allows you to search for your business phone number and see if it has been reported as spam or scam.

Improve Your Business Phone Number’s Reputation

If your business phone number has been flagged as spam or scam, there are a few things you can do to improve its reputation. First, make sure that you are using a consistent caller ID. Second, don’t call customers too often. Third, be polite and professional when you call customers. Fourth, provide clear and concise information. Fifth, offer a way for customers to opt out of calls.

Use a Service Like NumberLab by Arbeit

If you’re serious about improving your business phone number’s reputation, you may want to consider using a service like NumberLab by Arbeit. NumberLab is a service that helps businesses improve their phone number reputations by providing them with the tools and resources they need to identify and address potential problems.

By following these tips, you can improve your business phone number’s reputation and increase the likelihood that your calls will be answered.

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Debt Collection SMS: Should I Use 10 DLCs, Longcodes, or Shortcodes for Texting?

Alex Villafranca — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 18:30:38 +0000

Are you ready for debt collection SMS requirements?

“Consumer preference” is the buzzword (buzz phrase?) taking the debt collection industry by storm.

Communicating with consumers via their preferred channel is not just a nice touch anymore. You must know how your consumers prefer to communicate with you, and meet them there.

One channel that’s been getting a lot of attention recently is texting. Thanks to new regulations from the CFPB, using this channel is more attainable than ever.

Whether you are already using this channel, or kicking the tires on starting, you’re in the right place. Before you can text consumers to your heart’s content, you need to decide what kind of messaging service to use.

We’ll cover:

The different types of messaging services you can use with A2P texting
Features, benefits and deliverability outcomes of each
Our take on the best option for debt collection SMS

In our humble opinion, the power and efficacy of texting is only as good as the foundation you lay when you start. Let’s get you started on the right foot!

What messaging services can you use for debt collection SMS?

TL;DR: Here’s a quick breakdown of the 4 different types of messaging services.

10DLC

10DLC stands for “10 digit long code”. Also known as “commercial long codes”, a 10DLC number is a standard 10-digit phone number that supports high volume messaging.

The benefits of 10DLCs as compared to shortcodes is that each business has a dedicated number. This means that, unlike shortcodes, one bad apple won’t spoil the bunch.

Dedicated Shortcode

A dedicated short code is a 5 or 6-digit number used to send A2P text messages.

Short code numbers can be assigned randomly, or chosen as a “vanity number” (think vanity license plate) – for example, “123456.”

Right now, shortcode messaging offers the highest throughput and fastest send times, but at the highest price tag.

There are no daily volume caps on short code messaging.

Local Longcode

Normal, every-day 10 digit local phone numbers. They can only send at a rate of 1 message per second and only support sending of a few hundred messages per day. They are really only meant for 1 to 1, transactional messaging and phone calls.

Toll-Free Longcode

Standard toll-free phone numbers that support text messaging and phone calls. While they are an alternative for some businesses that cannot foot the bill for their own short code, they can only send at a rate of 3 messages per second and support sending of a few thousand texts per day.

What does Arbeit recommend for Debt Collection SMS?

We firmly believe that if your agency is kicking the tires on text messages as a channel, it’s important to really invest in the success of the channel from the start.

If you can afford to invest in a shortcode, it can be an effective way at building a reputable “brand” that your consumers will begin to recognize and engage with.

Because so many large brands use shortcodes to communicate, it’s become a trusted outlet and recognizable method for notifications for consumers who prefer texting to communicate.

If you prefer not to invest that much into a shortcode (it can definitely be pricey!) we recommend 10DLC. You can still build a reputation with your own dedicated number, and it comes at a fraction of the cost with decent throughput.

Our texting feature is coming soon, but while you wait, you can browse our existing suite of contact solutions here. We’re always happy to help you navigate the world of telecommunications!

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How to Protect Your Agency from “The Great Resignation”

Alex Villafranca — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 18:08:47 +0000

Ready or not, employees are looking for meaning and value in their work. We spoke to debt collection industry experts to learn 3 ways to prepare.

Why should you care about “The Great Resignation?”

According to Harvard Business Review, resignations peaked in April and have remained abnormally high for the last several months. A record-breaking 10.9 million jobs opened up at the end of July.

The pandemic changed our relationships with our jobs.

In an industry like debt collection that already struggles to hire, this is especially relevant. Luckily, four industry thought leaders sat down with us to offer their expertise on what “employee engagement” really means.

Ashley Campanella, Ken Peck, Bethany Robertson and Kim Atwell covered three ways to contribute to meaningful retention:

The power of employee recognition and team bonding
The power of professional development and employee investment
The power of software that sets up your agents to be successful

TL;DR: Your employees want to know and experience a culture that values them – not just as bodies filling a seat, but as real people with unique skills. Find out what motivates them, invest in their growth, and empower them to be successful.

How have employee expectations shifted since the pandemic? (5:00)

Employees Expect Flexibility

“We’re in a time in history where it’s more challenging to find people who genuinely appreciate having employment,” said Ken Peck, SVP of Operations at Valor Intelligent Processing.

And for those who do, organizations have had to remain highly adaptable. For many, the biggest one that comes to mind is remote work. and employees have “reasonable although heightened” expectations surrounding the flexibility that their employer offers.

“There’s a great expectation of work and home life balance due to everything that’s going on outside of work and in the culture,” said Bethany Robertson, Vice President of Debt Recovery Solutions of Ohio.

Employees Expect Communication

In addition to a flexible work schedule, employees are looking for leadership who is transparent and vulnerable about what is expected of them, and what they can expect from their employer in return.

1. How Can Employee Engagement Protect You from "The Great Resignation?"

Does your employee's happiness really matter? (9:05)

“Everybody assumes throwing money at a person is what it is they want,” said Ken. “They want appreciation. They want to have that buy in.”

Employees can only be successful if they care. Their participation in human activities- for Ken’s team, this looks like dance-offs, power hours, and recognition on social media – can give you a barometer of how invested they are in your culture and success.

Staying upbeat in an industry that is notoriously stressful will give your agents the feeling of buy-in, and the confirmation that their success matters.

It will also allow you the opportunity to get to know your team on a more human level, and understand what their work life is like.

As Ken puts it: “I’m not talking at them, I’m talking with them.”

Slowly but surely, Ken has seen his team come out of their shell when he engrains these activities into his culture.

Do employee engagement activities take away from revenue-generating activites? (12:23)

Ken explains how a stressful environment like a call center can quickly deflate your team’s engagement levels.

“It’s not many call centers where [agents] get more ‘yes’-es than ‘no’s,” as he puts it.

“Taking their mind off the grind” might temporarily suspend phone calls. But this opportunity to recharge and reset has two key benefits:

It gives employees “a shot in the arm” of motivation to re-engage with their work
It creates evangelists for your company. Your employees will become spokespeople for the positive culture you embody and word about your organization will spread. This will only lead to greater visibility, and in turn, revenue.

2. How Does Offering Professional Development Protect You from "The Great Resignation?"

What is the impact of offering professional development on retention and engagement? (15:45)

“Right now, it seems like every company out there is hiring. But do they show their potential employees that they’re more than just a body to fill a position?”

Kim Atwell shares that at DRS of Ohio, they used to have a retention problem. When they shifted their practices to creating a stronger and more capable team via professional development, it led to almost no turnover.

“[Agents] want to come to work when they know they’re valued and we’ve invested in professional development,” says Kim.

DRS created something called a Professional Growth Achievement Plan (PGA) that includes:

Quarterly one-on-one meetings with leadership to discuss their professional growth goals
Writing down their long-term goals
A discussion about what they’re learning, what they want to learn, and what DRS of Ohio can do to help

As Bethany and Kim attest to, sometimes forcing someone out of their comfort zone can be painful, but it will lead to a more well-rounded and confident team in the end.

In addition to the growth of the team members, Bethany explains how it also opens up the door for more vulnerability in their one-on-one conversations. She shares her own personal goals and the conversation creates a sense of shared accountability, which their team has responded well to.

If there is no guarantee my employees will stay at my company, why should I invest in them? (21:25)

“Stop hesitating. If you’re investing in yourself, why would you withhold that from your employees?” says Bethany.

3. How Does the Right (or Wrong) Software Protect Your Agency from "The Great Resignation?"

How can the wrong software impact an employee’s ability to stay engaged or feel valued? (22:19)

“Technology is making a huge presence in all industries right now,” Ashley explains.

The rise of remote and hybrid work models has led to a big change within organizations. Not just culturally, but operationally.

But as Ashley explains, big changes can lead to pushback from your employees, sometimes especially your tenured employees.

Enforcing big changes can lead to employees feeling isolated and disengaged. Especially if the change involves software that is complicated, difficult to understand, and requires a long onboarding period where employees cannot successfully do their jobs.

When a narrative from leadership is: “This is the product you’re going to use, so learn how to use it,” this can lead to deep-seeded frustration from the team.

Ashley suggests three main solutions to this:

Do adequate research into a product before you purchase it. Flashy features may not actually affect outcomes.
Whenever possible, trial a software before your purchase it and collect employee feedback along the way.
Be sure that ongoing training is available from the vendor so that your team has access to support whenever they might need it.

What is the difference that software can make on a team's productivity and engagement levels? (25:10)

“The biggest thing I see when onboarding clients is that people like easy to use, simple products.”

Ashley explains that software that comes with a lot of bells and whistles might seem like the most exciting, cutting edge option, but often becomes an afterthought when it comes to actually increasing your operational efficiency.

Especially when it comes to debt collection – your agents shouldn’t have to navigate between multiple softwares in order to notate accounts or to contact consumers. As Ashley explains – they should be able to do their job.

We believe the most important features that you should look for in your software are:

Quick and efficient onboarding
Straightforward interface
Reliable (little to no downtime)

(Shameless plug: We can’t help but say that all of our products are all of these things. We hear from clients who onboard with us how painless the onboarding process was, and how easy it was for their employees to learn how to use it. Click here to learn more about our Broadcast Dialer, TCPA Compliant Manual Dialing Solution and our VoIP Business Phone System.)

What can you start doing today to prepare your agency for, and protect from, The Great Resignation? (29:00)

Take action to see that your current employees are being valued – don’t focus all your energy on projecting a culture (that might not even exist) to prospective candidates. Your best bet for new employees often comes from current employee word of mouth.
Find out what motivates your employees. Conduct surveys, have one-on-one conversations, and make sure that those surveys and conversations lead to action.
Start investing money and time into getting to know your employees long-term goals. Be transparent in giving them a bigger purpose for the work they are doing.
Create personal development plans for your employees and hold them accountable to it.
Recognize your employees accomplishments regularly and publicly.

About Our Guests

Bethany Robertson

Bethany is the Vice President, co-owner, and founder of Debt Recovery Solutions of Ohio, Inc. since 2002 where her vision and passion for strategy continues to push the company to new heights. Bethany earned her BA in Business Administration from Mt Vernon Nazarene University in Mt Vernon, Ohio while simultaneously running her own collection agency. Her passions include her love of God and family – especially her two children, Jake and Magey. She is also dedicated to inspiring others to reach their potential and constantly working on being a better version of herself.

Kimberly Atwell

Kim is the Client Care Manager and has been with the company for over 13 years. Kim started out as a collector and eventually transitioned to a much more suitable role handling clients needs. Kim is also involved in the marketing side of the business and works closely with Bethany. In her free time, Kim and her husband do hiking trail maintenance for a local State Park. They also have an old Airstream that they take camping every chance they get.

Ken Peck

Kenneth has over 23 years of experience in credit, collections, sales, and call center industry on the 1st and 3rd party side. He has direct knowledge of managing municipal debt, utilities, medical, student loans, cable, telco, dormant judgments, PDL, and tolling. He has demonstrated a record of exceeding profitability goals, turning around underperforming units, driving in increased revenues for clients. He prides himself on developing both men and women to become not just professionals but future leaders.

Ashley Campanella

Ashley is the Customer Success Manager at Arbeit, handling the relationship between our clients & products and setting them up to be as successful as possible. She was the first woman to be hired at Arbeit 5 years ago, starting as administrative assistant and eventually moving into her current role. Her passions include her two cats Elroy and Tolkein, working out, and helping agencies change the negative stigma around debt collection by helping them have more pleasant conversations with consumers using software.

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Happy Birthday Arbeit!: 8 Things We Did in Our Eighth Year of Business

Alex Villafranca — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 14:28:19 +0000

1. We Went 100% Remote

In March of 2020, our team went remote – temporarily, we thought – to protect our team’s health and safety in the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Our leadership team spent the next few months developing new ways of communicating, keeping us connected and reassured that we, as a team, would make it through to the other side.

As time went by, it became clear that we, as a team, were capable of equal measures of communication and productivity working from home as we were in the office. After many conversations and company-wide polls, it was decided that we would become a permanently remote team in December of 2020.

After 19 full months of remote work, we have fully embraced the challenges and privileges of remote work. We’ve brought on team members from all over the U.S. and Brazil, and some of us have used the opportunity to relocate to new states. We continually innovate new ways to stay engaged from our homes and coffee shops.

We might send a lot more Slack messages than we used to – and our team bonding looks a little different – but we are grateful to our leadership team for the sacrifices they made during the last year to keep our team unified and working towards the same goals.

2. We Hired 12 New Team Members

The last year was full of unpredictable twists and turns that our leadership team navigated with grace and precision. Because of this, our team grew – a lot. From admin, to development, to product, we brought on 12 new team members who embody our Nerdy spirit and values as a team.

Each one of them has made our team better, and we are so proud to call them all one of the Nerds at Arbeit.

3. We Celebrated 24 Spirit Days

Thanks to the creativity and innovation of our Admin team, we all found out that Spirit Days are still a lot of fun, even if you’re not in high school.

Bi-weekly on Fridays, we choose a Spirit Day theme and the #random channel in Slack is filled with our team’s contributions. We’ve celebrated Tourist Day, Plant Day, and of course, Halloween costumes.

The tradition allows us access to our coworkers in a remarkably special way – and really, it’s just fun.

4. 75 Organizations Joined the Arbeit Family

Part of our mission statement as a company is “to value people as much as profits.”

We believe the two go hand in hand. As many small business owners became keenly aware over the course of the pandemic, you cannot have one without the other.

We couldn’t have maintained the positive culture we’ve been talking about without revenue growth. Over the last year, 75 organizations made the switch to our powerful communication solutions, despite an at times volatile environment to be in business.

We are always grateful to be trusted with new business, and never take it for granted.

5. We Conducted 37 Interviews with Industry Thought Leaders

If you are familiar with Arbeit, you might know that we take our YouTube channel pretty seriously. Before we transitioned to remote work, we had a filming studio complete with a couch, coffee table, lapel mics and plants.

One of our favorite things to do was bring guests into our office space to film videos on topics like hiring, data security, debt collection skills and more.

Now that we rely on video chat to see each other’s faces, our film studio has a new look, but we were still able to publish 37 videos that highlight debt collection industry thought leaders, members of our own team, small business owners and communication experts.

We’re so thankful for every single person who took time out of their lives to share advice and expertise with us.

6. We Sold Our U.S. Team’s Office Space

Before we were fully remote, we were a dispersed team. With part of our team based in Buffalo, N.Y. and the other in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, we got creative with our communication and found the balance between the energy of an in-person team and a reliance on Google Hangouts.

In 2019, we gutted, renovated and moved into an office space that would act as our U.S. HQ for one sweet year. But life doesn’t always play out the way we expect it to.

Just one year after moving in, Covid-19 struck. For the best interests of our entire team, the difficult decision was made to sell the building. Just a few months after being on the market, our beloved office space was sold to a brand new team who will surely enjoy it as much as we did.

Although we will always love the space and consider it home, we are forever grateful for the privileges that have come with a 100% remote work model.

7. We Added 8 New Pets to the Arbeit Family

In case you’re new here, you should probably know we’re big pet people. One of our favorite pastimes is sharing photos of our pets existing whenever we get the opportunity. They also make frequent appearances in our backgrounds on calls, and nobody gets mad. With the addition of 12 new hires brought 8 new lovable furry coworkers.

8. We Promoted 5 Arbeit Nerds!

Our team was proud to celebrate 5 team members outgrowing their roles and taking on new responsibilities over the last year. Watching our team grow and evolve is one of our favorite things to do.

If you’ve made it this far, we want to say thank you for being a part of our 8th birthday celebration. We wouldn’t be here if not for our amazing community of clients, partners and friends. Here’s to the next 8!

The post Happy Birthday Arbeit!: 8 Things We Did in Our Eighth Year of Business appeared first on Cloud Based Dialer Solutions & VoIP Phone Systems | Arbeit.

Arbeit and ZIZO Announce Integration

Alex Villafranca — Mon, 23 Aug 2021 20:28:35 +0000

Arbeit, a leading contact software provider for the debt collection industry, and ZIZO Technologies, a performance management system and gamification platform, have recently announced an integration between their two softwares.

Previously, KPIs that call centers use to track success, such as calls made and talk time, were pulled manually. This takes up valuable time and allows room for human error.

Now, users of Arbeit’s VoIP business phone system, Arbeit Voice, and ZIZO’s platform, can automatically aggregate KPIs like talk time, call made, and calls received, and use those metrics to gamify their call center. This substantially increases the efficiency and accuracy that KPIs can be measured and acted upon.

“We are excited to be partnering with a company that shares our mission to empower people as much as profits. We see this integration as a way that agencies and call centers can further engage their employees to have better conversations, both internally and externally, and do so in an efficient way.” – Alex Villafranca, Arbeit CEO & Co-founder

Our integration arrives at a time when engaging your employees in ways like gamification is critical. Many employees are seeking out work environments that take an active role in their future success, according to a 2021 LinkedIn Survey.

The reliability of Arbeit’s Voice system and the innovation of ZIZO’s platform makes the integration a perfect fit for debt collection agencies and call centers who want to efficiently and effectively take their employee engagement to the next level.

Organizations who sign up during the month of September 2021 will receive 6 months of ZIZO’s platform for the cost of 3 months, and have any integration costs waived. To learn more or take advantage of the offer, click here.

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How Real Estate Professionals Can Navigate the Impacts of COVID-19

Alex Villafranca — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 09:00:00 +0000

How COVID-19 is Impacting the Real Estate Industry

Volatile Residential Real Estate Demand

Everyone knows that home buying ramps up during the Spring season. Unfortunately, that spike in demand will be dampened during the upcoming months as a result of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

The Mortgage Bankers Association has warned that those who were considering buying a home before the outbreak may choose to hold off until the outbreak is more contained and the economy has somewhat stabilized. On the other hand, COVID-19 has required individuals and families to make significant life changes, some of those being related to relocating for jobs and to care for ill family members.

When stay-at-home orders have been lifted, many home owners and renters that have spent months alone may make the decision to move closer to family, friends or a significant other. This means that there will still be some demand for residential real estate during and after the pandemic.

For the supply side of things, residential construction has actually increased during the pandemic. This will support buyers when housing demand begins to recover.

Stricter Mortgage Lending Requirements

Mortgage lenders are tightening requirements for borrowers due to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of these tightened requirements is to protect against borrower default, but unfortunately this makes purchasing a home difficult for some potential buyers. According to a HousingWire article, here’s what some lenders have been doing:

Increasing the minimum FICO credit score needed to qualify for a Federal Housing Administration loan
Adding extra verification of employment checks on & near closing day
Shortened age of document requirements for income and asset documentation
Tighter verification of employment requirements for self-employed borrowers
Increasing minimum lending standards

These restrictions may be slowly starting to loosen though. As reported by HousingWire on April 23rd, Movement Mortgage has lowered its minimum FICO credit scores on FHA & VA loans to 620. They are also moving towards servicing on most GSE and government loans.

Prior to this move by Movement Mortgage, mortgage servicers developed a more positive outlook when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced that servicers are only required to advance four months of missed payments for loans in forbearance, and that they’d buy loans that go into forbearance within the first month. As of May, one million GSE mortgages are in forbearance at Fannie Mae and that number is expected to grow as stated in one HousingWire article.

Mortgage Delinquencies & Refinancing

According to one HousingWire article, mortgage delinquencies almost doubled in April with Nevada, New Jersey and New York seeing the biggest increases.

As of May 20th, the Mortgage Banker Association’s Associate VP of Economic and Industry Forecasting Joel Kan, stated that over the past five weeks there has been a weekly increase in mortgage applications to purchase a new home. This is a sign that the housing market may be beginning to recover from the impacts of COVID-19.

Joel also goes on to say that “a strong pace of refinancing for the remainder of the year because of low mortgage rates” is to be expected. This happens to be good news for those who are currently out of a job. With the sudden boom in refinancing, the mortgage industry is one of the lesser known industries that is ramping up hiring right now. A HousingWire article shares some of the companies that are currently hiring:

These companies are recruiting everything from salespeople and inside staff to information technology professionals.

Record Low Mortgage Rates

According to a HousingWire article, as of July 16th, average mortgage rates have fallen to 2.98%. In the last five decades of data, these are the lowest rates experts have seen.

The primary cause of the low rates, according to chief economist Chris Low, is that the federal reserve is continuing to support mortgage markets by spending $4.5 billion per day on securities containing home loans. The belief is that these record low rates will boost home sales and motivate contractors to increase home building activity.

Accelerated Adoption of Teleconferencing & Digital Tools

Real estate professionals are being forced to adopt new technology quickly in order to communicate with clients, conduct home showings, and handle the closing process, but all of their hard work will not go to waste.

When social distancing guidelines become more relaxed, real estate agents will have found a streamlined & simple way of effectively communicating with their clients. Teleconferencing, e-signing, and online notaries are all tools that can be used now & after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Real Estate Brokerage Layoffs & Cost Cutting

Unfortunately, large real estate brokerages, including those with strong financial backing, have already begun laying off & reducing employees’ salaries due to COVID-19.

Compass

Compass decided to lay off fifteen percent of its employees, scale back its Compass Concierge services, pause marketing spend, reduce office expenses, reduce the executive team’s salary by twenty-five percent, and halt all non-essential projects in anticipation of a COVID-19 related economic slowdown, referring to it as a “standstill” rather than a recession. The company’s CEO, who is forgoing his salary, stated that projections of a six month 50% decline in revenue were the reasoning behind the decision.

Realogy

Several well-known brands are managed under Realogy: Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Corcoran, ERA, and Sotheby’s International Realty. The company has decided to temporarily reduce the “majority” of its employees’ salaries (including the CEO and senior executives) and has initiated marketing expense pullbacks, according to a Housing Wire article.

iBuyer Disruptions

Some iBuyers have decided to bring business to a halt, while others are continuing to trudge along and adapting to the new way of work. For those that have chosen to adapt, there has been a rise in offer requests and additional flexibility provided to clients.

Keller Offers

According to a Housing Wire article, Keller Williams has made the following changes regarding its Keller Offers iBuyer product:

Offering 3D virtual tours
Scheduling live virtual open houses only
Allowing clients to push closing dates out

Zillow Offers

Zillow has decided to pause Zillow Offers, it’s iBuyer product. Here’s what the company is doing:

Providing added financial support to each seller
Supporting buyers in a contract that are no longer able to purchase their home from Zillow
Pausing all open houses in all of its markets
Including 3D home technology and virtual consultations with all Zillow owned homes

Opendoor

Opendoor has also decided to temporarily suspend its iBuying platform. This means that:

Current customers are being requested to expedite or delay their closing date until shelter-in-place mandates are lifted
Sellers in contract are able to cancel if they’re uncomfortable moving during the pandemic
Home offers are temporarily paused
Affected customers are being connected with third-party buyers that can transact without in-person interaction
The company is partnering with local real estate agents that can help customers list their homes virtually

What Real Estate Services are Considered Essential?

Real Estate Agents

The National Association of Realtors reports that the following states are considering real estate to be an “essential” service, business or operation:

Arizona
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Maine
Minnesota
Mississippi
New Mexico
New York
Nevada
Ohio
Oklahoma
Wisconsin
West Virginia

In states such as Pennsylvania and Vermont where real estate has been deemed non-essential, real estate activities must be done remotely to the fullest extent. Even in states where real estate is considered essential, remote work is being encouraged and gatherings of ten or more are being prohibited.

In New York state, which had previously considered real estate services to be non-essential, Governor Cuomo stated that “residential home and commercial office showings, home inspections, and residential appraisers” would be considered essential going forward, but would still need to operate in accordance with CDC guidelines. For example, agents and brokers can only visit properties to conduct virtual showings.

The safest thing to do right now, regardless of the state you do business in, is to work remotely to the fullest extent possible to keep others and yourself safe.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has included residential real estate on its list of essential services during the novel coronavirus outbreak. The list only serves as guidance for state & local officials though, so be sure to review your state, city, and local guidelines.

Appraisers

Due to the in-person nature of the job and high demand as a result of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, many industry professionals are questioning whether this role is considered “essential” during the outbreak.

According to the Appraisal Institute, These states have explicitly stated that appraisals and appraisers are considered “essential”:

Arizona
Hawaii
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Massachusetts
Minnesota
New York
Ohio

Keep in mind that the majority of states mentioned above are requiring that appraisal services be conducted for financial & lending institution purposes only. Appraisers in these states are also required to take the necessary safety and sanitation measures such as social distancing, using personal protective equipment, limiting human interaction, conducting exterior drive-by appraisals, and are being given the right to work on non-interior inspections if they feel uncomfortable.

Notaries

Notaries face especially difficult challenges as a result of COVID-19 due to the in-person requirements of the job. Notaries are required to meet clients in-person to notarize contracts and titles relating to the home buying and selling process.

According to the National Notary Association, notaries do provide an “essential” service. This means that Notaries will need to think outside the box to find ways of meeting with clients while social distancing and limiting in-person contact.

Homebuilders

According to the National Association of Home Builders, so far every state except for Pennsylvania and Washington has classified homebuilders as essential. The main reasoning behind this determination is that homebuilders cannot work remotely. Constructing a home can only be done on-site and in-person for obvious reasons.

How Real Estate Professionals are Adapting

Conducting Virtual Home Showings

Nearly all real estate companies have paused in-person home showings, but the demand for open houses is still there according to a Redfin report. The report states that they’ve seen a 494% increase in requests for agent-led video home tours over one week. Zillow has also seen a large 191% increase in 3D home tours. So although traditional open houses have come to a halt, their virtual counterparts are on the rise.

In a Housing Wire article, one real estate agent shares an advantage she’s seen from using these video home tours – improved communication:

“I’m talking more than I would on a traditional tour, pointing out things that would be obvious in-person but that aren’t as clear through a camera lens, like the quality of workmanship on any repairs or whether or not a room would fit a king-size bed.”

Zillow also shared that before COVID-19, listings including a 3D home tour were saved by users 50% more and sold 10% faster on average. So although the implementation of this is being somewhat forced by the current circumstances, this could help real estate agents sell homes more effectively & efficiently in the long run.

What You’ll Need to Get Started

Mobile phone
A mobile-friendly video conferencing application for conducting virtual open houses
A 3D home tour service (Zillow, Redfin, Immoviewer, etc.) for the listing

Focusing on Real Estate Marketing

With everything going on, you’ll likely have more free time than you did during the last Spring season. This is a great time to fine-tune and expand your real estate marketing strategy. Here are some things you can focus on:

Cost-benefit analyses of marketing activities
Growing your online presence
Learning a new skill and framing it as a competitive advantage
Launching a podcast
Creating real estate videos for potential home buyers and sellers
Building strong relationships by reaching out to current and past clients to check in on how they’re doing

Additionally, Kristi Kaczarowski of The Certo Team told us that to build connections and stay top of mind, she sends handwritten notecards to her clients. This helps her break through the noise, and as Kristi says, “At this time, anybody would love to get anything but a bill.”

What You’ll Need to Get Started

Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets
A CMS and hosting company for your website (Wix, WordPress, Weebly, etc.)
A YouTube Channel
A device to record videos on (a mobile phone will work)
A platform to share your podcast on (Spotify is pretty popular for this)
A VoIP phone system that allows you to communicate with clients from the comfort of your home or via mobile phone when you’re on the go

Psst… If you’re looking for some podcast and video inspiration, check out our [UN]Traditional Industries Video Series!

Working Remotely

Professionals in the real estate industry, especially agents, tend to be fairly familiar with the idea of working remotely. Whether it’s making calls to clients in the car after a showing or answering client calls after standard working hours, they have some experience with remote work.

The only thing that has changed with the new COVID-19 stay-at-home orders is that remote work will now be required full time, and in-person interactions with clients will be very limited.

To stay in contact with your clients, team, and other key parties you’ll need a reliable phone system that enables you to work from home and on the go by facilitating clear communication.

What You’ll Need to Get Started

A working computer
A physical or softphone (we offer this as an add-on with our phone service)
A reliable VoIP phone system provider with mobile features
A VPN for additional security
Sufficient internet bandwidth (we can help you determine this)

Presenting Offers & Conducting Appraisals Virtually

If you have an offer to present to your seller, consider presenting it virtually rather than meeting in-person.

According to Ryan Lundquist, founder, and owner of Lundquist Appraisal Company, if you are an appraiser that typically conducts evaluations by entering clients’ homes, consider trying out a desktop or drive-by appraisal. A desktop appraisal doesn’t require you to leave your home or office, while a drive-by appraisal only requires you to look at the exterior of the home and make use of tax record information.

In addition to these methods, you can request that homeowners conduct a live video walk-through of the house for a more accurate appraisal without having to physically enter the home.

When working with technology shy clients, you’ll want to get even more creative with your approach. We spoke to one real estate agent, Kristi Kaczarowski of The Certo Team through MJ Peterson, who shared her creative approach to accommodating these types of clients.

“I’ve actually had to make copies of the documents, highlight everything, drop it off in the mailbox, wait a couple days, then go back and pick it up. And of course explain everything over the phone with them,” Kristi says.

For her more tech-savvy clients, Authentisign facilitates virtual signatures amid social distancing.

Want to see what other creative approaches real estate agents are taking? You can watch our full discussion with Kristi here.

What You’ll Need to Get Started

A web-based video conferencing tool that you & the client can use
A webcam for you & the client
Access to an internet connection for you & the client
Access to a computer or mobile device for you & the client
A secure eSignature platform (optional)

Acting as Leaders in Their Local Communities

Real Estate Agents are often informal leaders in their local communities, whether they know it or not. Focus on using your marketing channels and existing connections within the community to make a difference during this outbreak.

By doing this you’ll feel accomplished and build stronger relationships with individuals in your community, who may need your help with future real estate endeavors. You’ll achieve name recognition much greater than the results you would see with a traditional paid marketing campaign.

You can get started with this right away! Just reach out to your connections and see if they or someone they know needs assistance.

Legal Issues to Consider

Fair Housing Act Compliance

To remain compliant with the Fair Housing Act and maintain positive relationships with your real estate clients, ensure that with all of the changes going on you don’t discriminate against a specific segment of the population. Unfortunately, with pandemics like COVID-19, people may have intentional or unintentional biases towards specific segments of the population.

In the time of COVID-19 (and always!), this means you should never refuse to assist a home buyer or seller based solely on their gender, religion, sexuality, race or nationality. The National Association of Realtors suggests reducing any unintentional biases you may have by determining factors that you can apply equally to all segments of the population.

For example, to determine if it is safe to enter a client’s home for a virtual open house you could create a set of questions similar to these to ask ALL of your clients:

Have you or any members of your household traveled domestically or internationally recently?
Have you or any members of your household been experiencing signs of respiratory illness?
Have you or any members of your household been in contact with an individual that has tested positive for COVID-19?
Are you and members of your household working from home or going into work?
Have you and members of your household been practicing the social/physical distancing guidelines issued by the CDC?

Make sure that you also set a threshold when deciding which actions to take after receiving answers to these questions. For example, if any client answers no/yes to at least 3 of the questions above I will take additional precautions or refrain from entering their home.

Note: Keep in mind that if you’re still conducting in-person open houses in states that haven’t issued a stay-at-home order, you should ask visitors the same questions you ask your clients before entering the home.

Include Additional Language in the Purchasing Agreement

If you choose to opt for virtual home showings during the COVID-19 outbreak, make sure you remember to protect yourself from potential risks and liabilities.

The National Association of Realtors suggests including “language in the purchase agreement that acknowledges that the buyer – not the listing broker, agent or seller – is responsible for personal verification, walk-throughs, and professional inspections to confirm condition and that any given property is satisfactory.”

With protective equipment, extensive sanitation measures, clear communication, contractual adjustments, remote work tools, and a whole lot of patience and perseverance, real estate professionals can continue operating (the best that they can) during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Have questions about how to properly set your office up for remote work or which tools to use? Contact the team at Arbeit. We have extensive experience with working remotely and have some cloud-based communication tools that can help you with the transition. No pressure though; this isn’t a sales pitch. We just want to help you out.

We’re all in this together! The Arbeit team wishes an abundance of health and safety for you, your family, and team.

The post How Real Estate Professionals Can Navigate the Impacts of COVID-19 appeared first on Cloud Based Dialer Solutions & VoIP Phone Systems | Arbeit.

Real Estate Communication During The Time of COVID-19

Alex Villafranca — Mon, 04 May 2020 09:00:00 +0000

How do you stay connected with your team and clients while maintaining social distance?

Kristi Kaczarowski of The Certo Team through MJ Peterson explains how her team is supporting eachother and their clients, and what this means for the future of the real estate industry.

How to Communicate With Your Real Estate Team Remotely

Bi-Weekly Phone Calls

Kristi & The Certo Team schedule bi-weekly phone calls to talk about their professional and personal lives. During times of crisis, it’s important to focus on social connections in addition to professional communication. The Certo Team is very connected inside and outside of work-life, so they enjoy mixing professional and social communication on their bi-weekly phone calls.

Professionally, they discuss the different deals each person has going on, and support eachother by sharing suggestions and tips. To connect on a more personal level, they alot time for a little bit of fun by doing things like sharing some of the funny happenings at home.

If your team isn’t very close-knit or connected, now is a great time to build relationships. Depending on the current communication level & availability of your team you may want to schedule more or less frequent phone calls. Have an outline for what will be discussed during the phone call meeting and let your team know how to prepare ahead of time. Be sure to alot time for your team to bond, discuss what’s going on outside of work, and encourage open communication. “You need to laugh!” Kristi says.

Monthly Video Meetings

Once a month, Kristi & The Certo Team engage in a meeting via video conferencing. The purpose of these meetings is to keep eachother accountable for end of the month goals and results. This is also a great opportunity for the team to share advice and suggestions on how to meet any goals that were missed.

Support Your Team From Afar

Kristi really values being able to rely on and support her team during these uncertain times. Bi-weekly phone calls and monthly video meetings only provide value if your team is able to openly communicate and support eachother through the good and the bad.

Kristi and The Certo Team value being able to communicate openly about the successes and challenges they faced that month during their virtual meetings. It’s motivating to know that if you try your best, but don’t succeed, that your team is there to support and motivate you to keep moving forward.

Proactive Communication With Clients During COVID-19

Before COVID-19, Kristi was able to interact with her team and clients through happy hours and events hosted by The Certo Team. Since that is no longer possible because of social distancing guidelines and stay at home orders, she and her team have had to become more proactive in the ways they communicate with their clients and eachother.

Consider Your Clients’ Preferences

The best thing you can do, Kristi says, is to communicate in a way that is easiest for the client. People are going through a lot right now, so work to make your interactions with clients as pleasant and stress-free as possible.

Also, keep in mind that not everyone is tech savvy! If you’re using something like video conferencing, make sure the interface is easy to use and accessible by your client. Kristi explains how she adjusts her approach for clients that aren’t comfortable using certain virtual tools, like Authentisign:

And right now, in-person communication is out of the question! Not only with your clients, but with appraisers, buyers and other involved parties. So video may be your best alternative for replicating that in-person

Choose Effective Communication Methods & Virtual Tools

Some of the communication methods and virtual tools that have helped Kristi stay connected with her clients are:

Video conferencing platforms
Frequent e-mails
Frequent text messaging
Phone calls
eSignatures

Using virtual communication tools, Kristi is able to obtain signatures from, conduct home showings, see, talk, and write to her clients while social distancing. Virtual tools may not be able to fully replicate your previously normal day to day activities, but they are the best alternatives.

Kristi and the Certo Team take a personal approach in communicating with their clients using these methods and tools. In whichever way they choose to communicate, they make sure to let clients know that they are there to help them.

Biggest Real Estate Challenges During COVID-19

Some of the biggest challenges that real estate professionals like Kristi are facing due to COVID-19 are attracting new customers and getting sellers to put their house on the market.

Acknowledge Client Concerns & Empathize

One way that Kristi and The Certo Team are working to overcome these challenges is by empathizing with their clients, and really just letting them know they are there to help them through this and answer their questions.

For example, when asking clients to leave their home for a short while Kristi says it’s important to clearly communicate the reasoning behind it. In order to maintain social distancing and follow CDC guidelines you may have to ask your client, the seller, to leave their home for a short period of time so that you can take notes, pictures, measurements, and videos of the property and it’ features.

Keep a list of everything you need to get done while the seller is out of their home to ensure you get everything you need for the online listing. Try to limit the amount of times you’re asking the seller to leave their home.

Real estate professionals need to communicate clearly. One way that you can explain your reasoning to your client is by letting them know you’re taking every step necessary to keep both of you healthy, while eliminating potential friction points in the home selling process.

Get Creative

Communicating and showing properties to buyers during COVID-19 presents a whole other set of challenges. Understandably, buyers can feel uneasy about not being able to walk through the interior of the property. For these clients, Kristi communicates with the seller to set up an appointment where she can walk through the property wearing personal protection equipment, and record a video or video chat with the buyer in real time.

Taking on a strategy like Kristi’s can help you provide your buyers with some peace of mind. Currently, buyers have to wait until the home inspection before they can physically walk through the property. That can be 5-7 days after they’ve already made an offer, which is a big commitment for a property they’ve never physically visited.

“People are buying houses site unseen,” Kristi says.

The reason? Her clients can get out of their contract if something comes up during the inspection. This safety net provides buyers with peace of mind during COVID-19.

When working with a seller, Kristi keeps buyers interested in the property by allowing them to examine the exterior in-person. Kristi warns though that you must check if its okay with the seller, and let them know when the buyer will be stopping by as to not cause any alarm.

Tips for Working Remotely

Kristi suggests incorporating the little things from your previous routine of going into the office into your new work from home routine. Her motivation for the day? Simply, “I got to put lipstick on,” she says.

Maintain Your Schedule

You can’t replicate your morning commute (and honestly who wants to), but you can still shower, get dressed, and wake up like you’d normally do when going into the office. Incorporating the little things from your previous routine into your new routine will make your home office feel more like going to work.

Take Breaks

In addition to maintaining the little things in your morning routine, take short breaks and a lunch like you would at the office. Set a timer when you’re on break and schedule them ahead of time to keep yourself on track and balanced.

The best part about working from home? You can get a lot done around the house, go for a walk, or hang out with your dog from the comfort of your home. Take advantage of the things that would be a bit trickier to do when you were working in an office.

Take Time to Catch Up

If you’ve seen a slowdown in business, use the extra time in your workday to catch up. Kristi suggests updating your database and contacting your clients, including the ones you haven’t spoken to in a while.

If you’re looking to build real connections and be more than just another missed call or unread e-mail, Kristi suggests writing and sending out personalized handwritten note cards. They’re memorable, not easily ignored, and genuine. Perfect if you’re looking to stand out from the crowd (in a good way).

“At this time, anybody would love to get anything but a bill,” she says.

How COVID-19 is Changing the Real Estate Industry

Incorporating cloud-based communication tools and providing more detailed information prior to showing the home in-person may become a new normal for the real estate industry.

Online Listings

Fortunately, the Board of Realtors has increased the number of online listing photos allotted from thirty-six to fifty. Kristi says this allows her to take photos of all the “nooks and crannies” of the property.

Because buyers are unable to physically walk through the property, you have to change the way you approach taking photos for the listing. Use the increase in allotted listing photos to your advantage by showing more details, the pretty and the ugly.

The hot water tank, furnace, air conditioner and sump pump are obviously not the prettiest things to look at, but they are more important for buyers to see on the listing now that they’re unable walk through the property. Additionally include close-up photos of the features you want to highlight like crown molding, granite countertops, hardwood flooring, windows, skylights, light fixtures, showerheads, cabinetry and the ceiling style.

If you find yourself running out of room for these more detailed photos, limit your exterior photos to one or two. Although the buyer cannot walk through the home, they can drive by and see the outside of the property!

The maximum number of characters for the property description has also increased significantly. This allows agents to share more information on the property, potentially attracting more serious buyers. We’ll have to wait and see if this change sticks after the pandemic.

In the future, including more details on the listing could become more commonplace. Attracting more qualified buyers upfront saves time for you and the seller!

Home Showings

Virtual home showings may take some time to get used to, but they do allow for greater flexibility when attracting buyers. Potential buyers are easily able to attend open houses from the comfort of their home, using streaming tools like Facebook live. The ease of access could potentially improve open house attendance.

More Than Just a Phase

Some realtors believe that the current trend of implementing virtual communication tools is just a phase that will pass. Unfortunately, real estate professionals that fall under that line of thinking may struggle to bounce back after the time of COVID-19. Kristi believes that the trend of moving towards virtual tools and expanding remote capabilities will continue to accelerate long after the pandemic.

In the future, using virtual communication tools alongside in-person interactions will prove to be more effective for real estate professionals and their clients. Why? The efficiency and “work from anywhere” characteristics of virtual tools improve productivity and increase flexibility. Alongside genuine in-person interactions, the two perfectly complement eachother. Additionally, virtual communication tools allow real estate professionals to communicate with clients when in-person interactions are not possible, like in the case of out-of-town clients.

To learn more about how COVID-19 is effecting the real estate industry, see our recent post that outlines additional ways for industry professionals to navigate the impacts of the pandemic.

About The Speaker

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Arbeit Software becomes “Arbeit,” Celebrating New Brand and Direction

Alex Villafranca — Wed, 04 Mar 2020 09:00:00 +0000

Introducing the updated face, new name and exciting future of Arbeit!

Arbeit Software is now Arbeit, signifying a refreshed brand and exciting growth.

We got our start with a powerful broadcast dialer designed for the accounts receivables management industry.

We’ve since expanded our product offerings to include a TCPA Compliant Dialing Solution, the first to remove voicemail detection from the beginning of connected calls, and a Tier 1 VoIP Office Phone System. These product offerings have expanded our user base beyond debt collection agencies to industries like logistics, sales, and manufacturing.

“Arbeit is a customer-focused organization, building products that solve real pain points. Our new brand is a visual change that reflects the internal shift in mindset which has become our #1 priority.” – Alex Villafranca, Co-Founder and CEO

In the last four years, we’ve doubled in size and revenue, experiencing more than 300 percent growth since we were founded. With more innovation on the way, we’ve grown far beyond our origins, leading to the new name: Arbeit.

Beyond a new look and name, we have a reinvigorated focus on building customer-focused products and remaining true to our fun, innovative, relentless, adaptable and energetic personality.

Arbeit emphasizes its products’ ability to reach consumers in a modern, friendly and less annoying way. We have spent years intentionally learning about the industry we serve and found that, in a changing call landscape, equipping your business with easy to use and powerful communication tools is more important than ever. The evolution of our brand represents a new era, not only in the industries we serve, but in the culture of our company.

Our new brand represents change. Arbeit is changing because the industry we serve is changing – and we are determined to never stop leading the way in innovation, transparency and personality.

The post Arbeit Software becomes “Arbeit,” Celebrating New Brand and Direction appeared first on Cloud Based Dialer Solutions & VoIP Phone Systems | Arbeit.

5 Actionable Time Management Tips to Improve Productivity at Work

Alex Villafranca — Thu, 26 Dec 2019 09:00:00 +0000

A common resolution people make for the coming new year is to improve their time management skills, but how many people end up putting this into practice for the long haul?

According to the U.S. News & World Report, eighty percent of individuals break their New Year’s resolutions by the second week of February. We spoke with Amy Perkins from insideARM about actionable time management tips for 2020, so that you (and the team at Arbeit) can become part of the twenty percent that sticks to their resolutions.

Tip #1: Take Control of Your Time at Work [1:24]

Imagine this – it’s the first week of the new year and you’re at your desk, ready to commit to your well-crafted time management strategy. 15 minutes into the day you get the dreaded “ad hoc” request. “This needs to be completed today,” your colleague states.

Now you’re feeling the pressure; you think to yourself, “how could I have possibly planned for this?” The answer is that you couldn’t have. You reluctantly complete the task and at the end of the day realize you didn’t get anything that you had planned to complete done.

In this situation, you’ve given someone else full control over your time, and have left them responsible for the outcome of your day. The first step to a better outcome and improved productivity involves better communication – not just on your part, but for the company’s leaders as well.

As a member of the leadership team, you need to set clear priorities for your subordinates’ tasks to reduce inefficiencies.

How to Take Action: Separate your team’s tasks into two or more categories based on importance and urgency. An example of this would be to create one category deemed “1st Priority: Necessary to Achieve Business Objectives” and another deemed “2nd Priority: Non-urgent Accessory Tasks.”

As a team member directly reporting to a member of the leadership team, for each “ad hoc” request have the member of leadership answer the following question – “Is this task the most important thing that I need to dedicate my time to today?”

How to Take Action: When putting this into practice, it’s important to frame the question mentioned above in the right way. You don’t want to come off as lazy, rude or arrogant. One way of doing this is to calmly explain the list of priority tasks you originally had planned for the day. If the “ad hoc” request is more important than those, this would be the time for leadership to let you know. This will help you appropriately adjust your time management strategy without neglecting the most important tasks.

You’ll find that with clear communication among leadership and subordinates, it’s more manageable to maintain the high level of self-discipline that’s required when sticking to a time management strategy.

Tip #2: Everyone Can Benefit From an Effective Time Management Strategy [5:02]

We’re not implying that certain personality types don’t have a natural ability to manage their time effectively. We’re simply stating that everyone can benefit from having a concrete strategy in place, especially for more creative types.

Have you ever caught yourself brainstorming idea after idea, with no execution of those ideas? This is where a time management strategy can help.

Do you catch yourself consistently getting distracted by your surroundings? A concrete time management strategy can help you hold yourself accountable for the tasks that need to get done and stay productive throughout your work day.

You may find that after having a time management strategy in place for some time, you’ve developed an instinct for managing your time at work more effectively.

How to Take Action: Hold yourself accountable and improve your personal productivity by creating lists before the workday begins. Create three lists: tasks to complete today, this week, and during free time. Then organize the tasks on each list by importance, A1 being the most important for today, B1 for this week, and C1 for time leftover. For each list, make sure you have some time where you’re able to attend to “ad hoc” requests if need be. If you’re lucky and none of those requests come up, you can use that time to complete the tasks that need to be done on the “this week” or “time leftover” lists.

Tip #3: A Work-Related Email or Text Isn’t Always Urgent [7:42]

This ties into our first tip, taking control of your time. Have you ever achieved a deep focus at work, only to be disrupted by an incoming message? I think it’s safe to say that we all have.

How to Take Action: Ask yourself, does the sender specify a time that the task needs to be completed, or message must be responded to by? If not, you’re guilty of assuming the worst. Most likely the email or text was sent as part of the sender’s priority list – don’t assume that taking immediate action has to be on yours. The best way to manage this is to explain that you received the message. Explain your priorities for today and this week, and suggest a time that you’ll be able to complete the task by. If that doesn’t work, you’ll know that the task takes precedence over your existing list.

Tip #4: Remember That You’re Not Responsible for Everything [8:23]

It’s highly likely you have a team of skilled individuals at work that can help you out if need be. These individuals may be more suited than you to complete certain kinds of “ad hoc” requests. Dare we say, they may even have some free time during their day or week. The thing is, you’ll never know if you don’t ask.

How to Take Action: Assess the “ad hoc” request. Is there someone else who is more skilled in a specific area and better suited to handle the task? If so, see if that individual has any free time on their schedule. If they oblige, you can communicate to the requester that your schedule is full, but you know of an individual who has the time and skills to complete the task.

Tip #5: Make Time for Yourself Outside of Work [9:53]

Achieving a promotion and being granted additional work responsibilities can be great for our careers, but it often comes at the expense of our personal time and productivity. This doesn’t have to be the case.

How to Take Action: Each time you earn a promotion or salary increase, try to outsource one of your “less than desirable” responsibilities outside of work to another individual. This will help you free up some of your mental space so you can focus on what’s most important to you.

Practical Time Management for Debt Collectors [10:44]

Since Amy worked her way up in the collections industry, from a debt collector to the president of InsideARM, we thought we’d ask if she had any time management tips specifically for debt collectors.

Here are her recommendations for staying productive:

‣ Have a system in place for each day and stick to it – Amy developed specific systems for handling each type of account

‣ Challenge tasks that don’t make sense to you – when Amy supervised collectors, she made sure that they felt comfortable making her aware of the tasks they felt had little value

Amy also discusses how time management can be extremely challenging in an industry with regulations and policies that are constantly changing. You can take some of the legwork out of implementing procedures that adhere to these with Click, Arbeit’s TCPA compliant dialer.

About Our Guest

The post 5 Actionable Time Management Tips to Improve Productivity at Work appeared first on Cloud Based Dialer Solutions & VoIP Phone Systems | Arbeit.

SHAKEN/STIR and Its Impact to Call Center Operations

Alex Villafranca — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 09:00:00 +0000

In the world of call blocking and labeling, one of the most talked-about anti-robocalling initiatives comes in the form of the SHAKEN/STIR protocol.

It’s a big fancy-sounding acronym that we’re about to break down for you, identifying what it is, who is involved, and what (if anything) you need to do to be prepared.

SHAKEN/STIR: What It Is

SHAKEN (Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs)/STIR (Secure Telephone Identity Revisited) is a framework designed to assign a certificate of authenticity to each phone call for use across the telco network. These certificates will act as a digital signature of trust passed from carrier to carrier. Through the implementation of this framework, it will become possible to identify the originating carrier of a call terminating on a consumer’s device. The absence of this technology in the past is what has allowed illegal robocallers to represent themselves as someone they’re not by illegally spoofing or hiding behind a falsely presented telephone number.

In layman’s terms, SHAKEN/STIR is a framework that can be used to verify the point of origination of a call in order to provide the ability to trace back to this origination should illegal activity be discovered in relation to a phone number’s usage.

SHAKEN/STIR: What It Is Not

Now onto what SHAKEN/STIR is not. While it is a tool to help identify bad actors, it is not a tool to eliminate illegal robocalls all together. It is not a silver bullet solution and it cannot help to determine the illegitimacy or legitimacy of the intent of an incoming call.

What this means is that SHAKEN/STIR will validate that an incoming call is originating from a real phone number, the number is not being illegally spoofed, and the originating calling party is authorized to use the incoming phone number. However, this framework does not have the ability to ‘weigh-in’ on whether or not the content of the call itself is potentially malicious or unwanted.

To put it another way, through SHAKEN/STIR implementation, when an authenticated incoming call is received to a device (the exact presentation of SHAKEN/STIR authenticated calls is still a work in progress) this will mean that the incoming call has originated from a real number that the caller is authorized to use, but no indication will be given as to whether or not the user can trust the caller to be someone they want to speak to or that they’re calling for a legitimate business purpose. Another layer is needed on top of SHAKEN/STIR call authentication in order to deliver this trust, which, in the industry, is referred to as attestation.

SHAKEN/STIR: What It Seeks to Accomplish

For a view on how this will affect the call delivery ecosystem, some of the intended outcomes of SHAKEN/STIR deployment are as follows:

To address the security of the use of a telephone number for the person or entity who is legitimately associated with it
To provide a technical framework that supports policy and enforcement goals
To provide an additional data point to improve the relevance and accuracy of call labeling and identification analytics

As of this July, Vonage, T-Mobile, Verizon, Bandwidth, AT&T, and Comcast have all confirmed that their organizations are in various stages of successful, active deployment. Ongoing testing will continue as SHAKEN/STIR ‘signed’ (originating source validated) traffic continues to be successfully ‘passed’ from service provider to service provider.

FCC Chairman Pai released a recent statement on August 14 addressing the progress made by AT&T and T-Mobile in their efforts toward SHAKEN/STIR implementation. We expect additional announcements from the other Tier 1 carriers to follow; continued support for SHAKEN/STIR deployment is widely received.

Illegal Spoofing vs. Legal Spoofing

As ‘call spoofing’ was identified as the tactic SHAKEN/STIR seeks largely to combat, we wanted to take a moment and provide clarification around illegal spoofing vs. legal spoofing.

Call spoofing is used by a number of legal businesses for legitimate calling purposes as a means to present geographically familiar phone numbers to their consumers. Legal call spoofing will not be interrupted or negatively impacted by SHAKEN/STIR. Organizations using this tool for legitimate business reasons may continue to do so. (In other words, if you are using RCIs, this is outside the purview of SHAKEN/STIR.)

As call spoofing is a tool used by both legal and illegal callers, removing the ability for illegal callers to exploit this tool will reduce a large volume of illegal robocall traffic. However, call spoofing is not the only tool bad actors use, so SHAKEN/STIR will not provide a solution to thwarting all types of illegal call traffic.

Is There Anything I Need to Do?

Implementing the SHAKEN/STIR protocol is the responsibility of carriers and service providers, not the responsibility of an enterprise call originator. As you engage with your originating carrier or telco provider, one thing you can do would be to ask your service provider “what they are doing to ensure your calls will be properly signed, attested, and passed to other terminating carriers once SHAKEN/STIR has been deployed.”

As the industry continues to work toward a solution to stop illegal robocalls while allowing legal, wanted calls to get through, Numeracle provides a path to proactively identify a call originator as a trusted, legal caller in order to improve the likelihood of your calls being properly delivered and answered. We are working in parallel with the implementation of SHAKEN/STIR across the carrier network to apply trust to a call originator’s phone numbers to improve accurate call presentation both today and in a world post-SHAKEN/STIR.

To learn more about how to certify your organization as a trusted calling entity and register your phone numbers across the ecosystem, click the link below!

The post SHAKEN/STIR and Its Impact to Call Center Operations appeared first on Cloud Based Dialer Solutions & VoIP Phone Systems | Arbeit.