How Behavioural Science and Intelligent Automation Combine

When we spoke about Voicescape Agreements Manager at our Income Innovation Day in February, the sector was introduced to never-before-seen capabilities and new possibilities for landlords in arrears recovery, financial planning and tenant relationships. However, it has been a number of years since we first identified this area as our next evolution in income analytics.

On the journey to this revolutionary launch, we conducted half a decade of landlord research followed by forensic analysis, design, and the development of technology concepts that would help us realise this solution’s potential. 

While our previous blog explored why the sector needs this technology, here you’ll discover how these concepts work – as we break down the theory, foundations and application that Voicescape Agreements Manager is built upon. We’ll also demonstrate how this can be applied to your arrears management system to reduce debt, limit risk and create better financial outcomes for all.

Introduction to Agreements Manager

Voicescape Agreements Manager is a first-of-its-kind solution to help landlords better manage the mass of unsecured debt tied up in tenant repayment agreements in a lower risk way. Our team, like most of the sector, views repayment agreements as a powerful, ethical and flexible arrears recovery tool – as well as a catalyst for improving tenant relationships by offering a solution-based rather than problem-based approach to debt. 

However, outdated systems and poor data quality drive up both management overheads and agreement break rates. This results in debt normalisation for the organisation and the tenant, reinforcing negative human behaviours. Therefore, when we developed Agreements Manager, we didn’t just aim to help landlords reduce debt and risk – we wanted to change historic patterns, behaviours and norms that have formed around repayment agreements. 

Ultimately, we’re reinventing the way housing associations leverage repayment agreements while empowering tenants to take back control of their arrears. Here’s how… 

Behavioural insights

Evidence-based practice is at the core of every solution in the Voicescape product suite. We applied this to Agreements Manager through the statistical analysis of rent accounts and qualitative officer research of more than 30 landlords over five years. An evidence review was then enacted using behavioural science insights. 

During that process, the following best practice framework for behavioural approaches was identified to reduce the likelihood that an agreement is broken:

• Collaboration – Co-create with tenants. Agreements should be co-created with the tenant. This collaborative approach promotes empathy for the tenant’s circumstances, builds commitment through shared ownership, and has powerful ‘reciprocity’ effects.
• Conditionality – Introduce an element of eligibility. Unconditional access to agreements as a means of resolving arrears devalues their importance, normalises arrears, and diminishes commitment. Introducing an element of ‘eligibility’ into the process or conversation will slow down these wear-out effects.
• Cadence – Optimise the instalment. An agreement’s instalment amount and duration are key predictors of success. Optimising the frequency, number and value of payments helps create an agreement that’s both achievable and impactful – even if it doesn’t clear the whole debt with a single agreement.
• Commitment – Incorporate commitment devices. Intentions are key predictors of behaviours. In the absence of some sense of psychological commitment, it becomes easy for tenants to give themselves ‘internal permission’ to miss payments. Incorporating subtle commitment devices will help set the agreement up for success and create ongoing ‘nudge’ opportunities to reinforce adherence.
• Consequences – Ensure a timely response. An absence of negative consequences for non-adherence can signal ‘external permission’ to break an agreement and positively reinforces non-payment behaviours. On the other hand, rewarding adherence – even if just through gratitude – can positively reinforce payment behaviours and help build new habits.
• Competition – Get in first. In many cases, rent and agreement payments are in active (and fierce!) competition with other payments the tenant needs or wants to make. Whilst it’s essential that we collect with care, timely and persuasive intervention is essential to ensure that tenants prioritise their rent debt to protect the security of their home.
• Communication – Maintain engagement. Effective and efficient communication is foundational to all the above principles. Interpersonal communication when establishing the agreement and ongoing communication throughout its course gives the tenant the best possible chance of success in the face of competing payments, cognitive biases and emotional tensions.

When applied systematically within the Agreements Manager solution, behavioural insights and data analytics of real tenant behaviour enables landlords to trust and leverage AI as a decision support system to help triage and categorise agreements. Human oversight becomes central throughout the entire process. 

To learn more about behavioural insights and their potential for your organisation, watch the replay of our recent webinar and hear directly from our independent behavioural science expert, Steven Johnson. 

Risk-based system

The ethical and effective use of AI – infused with behavioural insights and machine learning – has driven intuitive Voicescape solutions that empower landlords with accurate insights. These increase foresight, quickly presenting actionable suggestions as to how to approach tenant engagement on a case-by-case basis. 

When using Agreements Manager, landlords can leverage Voicescape’s predictive models and machine learning to recommend agreements options to income officers. They can then consult with tenants to formalise new agreements based on tailored instalment values and durations. These repayment values and options are presented in the system as follows:

• Long – Based on the court-mandated minimum
• Recommended – What we predict will be the most effective option to sustain the agreement while bringing in the most cash
• Short – Should you wish to quickly bring in as much cash as you can

To inform the ‘Recommended’ option, Agreements Manager analyses previous and current repayment agreements and tenant behaviour. Landlords can then tailor the most achievable and impactful agreement going forward.

Automated tracking and engagement

Voicescape leverages automation to free up capacity for officers and managers to conduct the complex tasks and meaningful conversations required to achieve the best outcomes for both landlord and tenant. Landlords can leverage this within Agreements Manager with accurate visibility into the status of individual cases and cases overall. 

Day-by-day updates on the risk level of an agreement are delivered through automated notifications, empowering officers to track and monitor the status of every agreement – ensuring continuous tenant engagement at scale. With constant insight into the progress and risk level of each agreement, landlords are able to identify failing agreements early and make the necessary interventions to sustain them.

The next step towards risk-based predictive income management

Ready to target this huge untapped debt type in your organisation? The technology within Agreements Manager can be configured and attuned to your preferred adherences and agreement types, helping you support different tenants in different ways and drive positive results quickly. 

As part of our Manager Suite, Agreements Manager can be integrated with Caseload Manager or launched within your organisation as a standalone solution. However you choose to implement it, our Customer Success team will be right there to guide you through the process and help you get the most from this breakthrough innovation for maximum value.

Visit our product page to discover more about how you can reduce more debt with less risk, or book a demo with our sales team.