Data. It's What's for Dinner.
What is data? Loosely defined, data is facts or statistics collected together for reference or analysis. That definition does a poor job of painting a picture to show you what data is, where you can find it, and what to do with it. It’s like the instructions competitors in “The Great British Bake-Off” get during their technical challenge, where they are told to “make bread” or “bake” and not given any additional information. But any collection operation that intends on being around for more than a few more months needs to know a lot more about data than that definition. They need to be eating it, sleeping with it, taking it to meet their parents.
Data should be influencing every decision you make - whom to call and when, what to put in the body or subject line of an email, where to put the “Make a Payment” button on your portal. Data has become a critical asset for making informed decisions and optimizing recovery strategies. As a company focused on helping organizations analyze their data, we’ve seen firsthand how leveraging the right information can drastically improve collection rates and operational efficiency. However, with the vast amount of data available, it can be challenging to identify which data points are truly essential to your collection operation. In this blog post, we'll explore the most important data points you should focus on, how AI in collections and predictive analytics can enhance their value, and provide actionable insights to help you take your collection strategies to the next level.
What makes this such a difficult topic is that this is very much a “your mileage may vary” type of situation. The data that you have access to and that is important to you is going to be different then the data that your peers and colleagues have access to and is important to them. It’s not exactly a snowflake situation, but the nuances and idiosyncrasies of different collection platforms and appetites for risk are going to change the quality and quantity of data inside a collection operation.
Generally speaking, here are some areas that will yield data you can put to good use. Some of this you may have access to and some of it you may not, but you can use this as a departure point.
Customer Financial Profile
- Credit score
- Income level
- Employment status
- Debt-to-income ratio
- Payment History
- Past payment patterns
- Frequency of late payments
- Average payment amounts
Communication Preferences
- Preferred contact methods
- Best times to reach the customer
- Response rates to different communication channels
Behavioral Data
- Website interactions
- Call center engagement
- Response to different collection approaches
Debt Information
- Type of debt
- Age of debt
Now that we've identified some key data points, let's explore how to effectively collect and utilize this information:
- Implement a robust CRM system: Centralize your data collection efforts by using a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system tailored for the collections industry. This will help you track customer interactions, payment histories, and communication preferences in one place.
- Leverage alternative data sources: Look beyond traditional credit reports. Utilize public records, social media data, and other alternative sources to build a more comprehensive customer profile. For example, our web intelligence technology allows customers to access alternative data sources and build dynamic and comprehensive consumer profiles.
- Invest in data analytics tools: Employ machine learning for debt recovery to identify patterns and trends in your data that human analysis might miss. Learn how AI is revolutionizing debt recovery and helping companies identify crucial data patterns.
- Train your team on data literacy: Ensure that your collection agents understand the importance of accurate data entry and how to interpret data-driven insights.
Identifying the most important data points that help improve your productivity and efficiency is crucial to the success of your collection operation. Look at the data your operation is creating, talk to others about what data they are using, and work with your vendors to create reports that yield insightful and actionable insights you can put to work today.
Ready to See What Others Miss?
Resources Post
Reform? Revolution? Or neither? It’s up to you…
Ministers will no doubt have been gratified to read most of the reactions to the Pension Schemes Bill. It’s pretty rare for legislation to attract words like “game-changer”, “blockbuster”, or “a pivotal moment” (other than in ministers’ own press releases, of course) but on this occasion, it seems many - even most - in the pensions industry are positively inclined.
There are, of course, dissenting voices. Former Pensions Minister, Steve Webb acknowledged “many worthy measures” in the Bill, but bemoaned the absence of any measures to boost pension adequacy, warning that “with every passing year that this issue goes unaddressed, time is running out for people already well through their working life to have the chance for a decent retirement”.
Others voiced concerns (not all of them new) about the possibility of government mandating pension investment in UK markets, or of new rules on scheme surpluses affecting members’ incomes in the longer term.
But perhaps a more interesting response came in a blog from the Pensions Regulator CEO, Nausicaa Delfas, in which she welcomed the Bill, but cautioned that it only provides the “pieces of the jigsaw”. The UK pension system, she continued, is “unfinished business”, with considerable room for development in areas like innovation and quality of trusteeship. And, though optimistic that the Bill can be “the defining moment it promises to be”, her conclusion offered a timely wake-up call to the broader pensions sector: “everyone working in the pensions industry needs to be thinking now about their own role in making these reforms a success.”
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What You Need to Know about the Pension Schemes Bill
The UK’s 2025 Pension Schemes Bill introduces some of the most significant reforms in recent years- reshaping how pension schemes manage assets, members, and future obligations.
Here’s a clear, concise summary of what’s changing and why it matters:
1. Consolidation of Small Pots
- Auto-merging: Pension pots under £1,000 will be automatically consolidated.
- Why it matters: With an estimated 3.3 million lost or inactive pots, this reform aims to reduce fragmentation and improve outcomes for savers.
2. Value-for-Money Enforcement
- Mandatory scrutiny: Schemes rated as not delivering value must either improve or wind up.
- Why it matters: Trustees and providers will face growing pressure to prove their costs, governance, and returns are aligned with member interests.
3. Defined Benefit (DB) Surplus Unlocking
- New flexibilities: Trustees may return surplus assets to employers or members, even without pre-existing resolutions.
- Why it matters: While early estimates suggest modest near-term gains (~£8.4B over 10 years), the reform opens the door to long-term changes in how DB schemes manage surplus.
4. Superfund Governance and Consolidators
- Formal framework: The bill defines DB superfunds in law and introduces rules around authorisation, inspections, and penalties.
- Why it matters: With the Regulator now actively supporting “run-on” as a viable model, superfunds- and consolidators more broadly- will face tighter data and governance expectations, especially when onboarding legacy member records.
5. Guided Retirement Options
- Default pathways: By 2027–2028, schemes must offer drawdown and annuity options through master trusts or DC vehicles.
- Why it matters: Personalisation is no longer optional. Member profiling- including marital status, dependents, and location- will be critical to designing appropriate pathways.
The Bottom Line
Whether you’re a trustee, administrator, consolidator, or adviser, one message comes through clearly: The regulatory bar is rising- and data standards must rise with it.
Incomplete or outdated records can delay decisions, block transfers, and create compliance risks at precisely the moment the industry is being asked to move faster and do more.
How Heka Can Help
Heka provides web intelligence to help pension schemes complete their member records — from global contact tracing to verifying life events and eligibility. We’re already working with leading administrators and governance providers to support consolidation, de-risking, and dashboard readiness. If you’re preparing for what’s next, let’s talk.
👉 Download the full Pension Schemes Bill here.
A Letter to the Editor: The Observer
The Observer (tag the observer account) published a piece back in March on the dire state of member data in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme- an all-too-familiar issue across the UK pensions landscape. I submitted a letter in response. It wasn’t published, but the point still stands- and is arguably more urgent now than ever. So I’m sharing it here.
The technology exists. The tools exist. What’s missing is the urgency.
It’s 2025- accurate data should be the baseline, not the exception.
Read the original article on the Guardian.