Voicescape Helps Rugby Borough Council Boost Collection Rates and Enhance Customer Engagement

First

automation tool introuced into the Revenues team

20%

uplift in payment arrangements post-Voicescape implementation

£1.5M+

arrears targeted during initial campaign

Introduction

Rugby Borough Council is one of the fastest-growing local authorities in the UK, managing significant growth of approximately 1,000 new residential properties annually, equating to around 10,000 additional households over the last decade. The council’s small but highly dedicated revenue team is tasked with the collection of council tax, business rates, housing benefit overpayments, and sundry incomes, handling approximately £190 million in annual collectible revenue.

With pressures from rapid growth and limited staffing resources, Rugby Borough Council needed an innovative solution to streamline collection processes, increase efficiency, and improve resident engagement, without significant new investment in personnel.

Challenge: Growing Demands with Limited Resources

Rugby Borough Council faced considerable challenges:

• Rapid borough expansion: With approximately 1,000 new properties added annually, revenue demands have continuously risen, stretching existing resources.
• Under-resourced team: The council’s revenues team comprises just 12 staff (only two full-time), significantly fewer than comparable neighbouring councils, despite having a similar workload.
• Increasing arrears: Prior to implementing Voicescape, the council was grappling with approximately £3.1 million in cumulative council tax arrears, reflecting collection challenges and resource constraints.
• Manual and inefficient processes: The previous approach, using bulk SMS without effective control mechanisms, overwhelmed their customer service teams and provided a poor customer experience.

Richard Moore, Revenues Manager at Rugby Borough Council, recognised the need for a more strategic, automated, and customer-friendly solution. As Richard explained:

“With our limited team, handling arrears manually or through uncontrolled SMS blasts just wasn’t sustainable. We needed something different that allowed us to manage customer engagement more effectively.”

Solution: Implementing Voicescape Collections

Voicescape introduced its intelligent, automated Collection solution to transform the council’s revenue recovery process. The council piloted Voicescape’s solution through a Proof-of-Concept (PoC), quickly witnessing impressive results and immediate benefits:

• Controlled, automated outreach: Voicescape replaced uncontrolled bulk SMS messages, allowing Rugby’s team to distribute messages systematically, ensuring a consistent workflow without overwhelming call volumes.
• Tailored customer communication: By employing Voicescape’s targeted messaging capability, the council personalised its approach, increasing responsiveness and reducing stress for both staff and residents.
• Easy-to-use platform and excellent support: Richard praised Voicescape’s intuitive system and proactive customer support, emphasising ease-of-use and smooth integration:

“The system was incredibly easy to set up, and the support from Voicescape was excellent. It gave us confidence right away.”

Richard Moore, Revenues Manager at Rugby Borough Council

Results: Significant Financial Impact and Improved Collection

After fully implementing Voicescape, Rugby Borough Council quickly achieved substantial financial and operational outcomes:

• 20% uplift in Arrangements: Approximately 20% of contacted residents promptly entered payment arrangements following the deployment of Voicescape’s automated communication campaigns.
• Boosted collection performance: The council significantly improved its arrears management, with effective, automated outreach increasing overall collection rates and reducing outstanding arrears.
• £1.5 Million in-year arrears targeted: In just one targeted campaign, Voicescape enabled the council to effectively address approximately £1.5 million in-year arrears, demonstrating immediate and tangible financial benefits.
• Operational efficiency: By introducing automation and self-service channels, the council substantially reduced the burden on their limited staffing resources, improving both internal productivity and external resident satisfaction.

Richard highlighted the broader operational benefits as well:

“Our collection philosophy is to help people out of debt, not just get debt out of people. Voicescape has really supported us in achieving this vision, ensuring residents receive targeted, supportive engagement, rather than overwhelming contact.”

Future Outlook: Expanding the Partnership

Encouraged by initial results, Rugby Borough Council views Voicescape as a critical part of its ongoing collections strategy. They plan to expand their usage into other areas of income collection and adopt Voicescape’s multi-channel communications approach further, capitalising on residents’ preferences and maximising opportunities for engagement and self-service.

Richard summarises:

“Voicescape has become a core part of our strategy to handle rapid borough growth effectively. It gives us control, flexibility, and helps deliver a superior customer experience. It's not just about technology; it's about better relationships with our residents, improving our collections rates, and ultimately supporting Rugby’s continued growth and success.”