Collection agencies need to continue to evolve and expand in order to add value to clients and stay competitive. Furthermore, agencies that are successful today have been able to recognize, embrace and exercise a set of attributes, which has served as the “engine” for many organizations. So what are these attributes, and does your organization possess these characteristics? If not, what can you do to begin improving and enhancing your operation – from people to processes to technology use?

After working with hundreds of clients and obtaining a deeper insight into their businesses, as well as understanding the values and principles within our own collection agency, we’ve determined the following attributes as key to becoming and maintaining an outstanding collection agency business:

• Positive attitude
• Professional integrity
• Compliance
• Collections with empathy
• ACA certified collectors
• Problem-solving mentality
• Involvement with ownership and management
• Dependable and knowledgeable sales representatives who truly love to serve

However, no organization is born with these traits. They are fostered and cultivated through a combination of leadership, teamwork and conducting productivity assessments – internally and externally – on a regular basis. Focusing on specific segments of your business and asking the right questions to continually improve and enhance internal operations are critical to long-term success. Below is a sampling of questions that will help you get started. Take a look at the following and ask yourself how you would respond to these questions today, and how you’d like to respond to them in the future.

Technology:

• How do you safeguard your data?
• Do you provide debtors with convenient ways to pay?
• Do you have an adequate disaster recovery plan?
• Is redundancy built into your system?
• Do you provide a web portal to access reports, review data, place accounts?
• Is predictive dialing important from an efficiency standpoint?
• Do you view your technology provider as a partner or a vendor?

Customer Service:

• Do your customer service representatives understand your clients’ businesses and how they want things done?
• Are you available and easily accessible? Responsible? Do you provide accurate information and advice to your clients?
• Are you easy to do business with or do you find yourself saying “no” too much?

Compliance/Quality Control:

• Do you have a compliance officer who helps drive the organization in the right direction?
• Do you have proven processes that abide by HIPAA, FDCPA or FCRA?
• Do collectors follow specific scripts while remaining conversational? Are they monitored and graded on a regular basis?
• Do you follow through on complaints? Do you keep a complaint log and allow clients to see it?
• Are clients welcome in your office?

Reporting:

• Are reports available on demand?
• Can your clients get customized reports when needed?
• Do you have a web portal?
• Is the web portal easy to use and capable of providing decision-ready information immediately?

Sales/Marketing/Branding:

• Have prospects heard of you?
• How well do you tell your story?
• Have you sought testimonials and references from your client base?
• Do your clients like your company?
• What is your reputation?

These questions help identify your operation’s strengths and areas for improvement regardless of whether you’ve been in the business for 25 years or 2 years. Working through specific areas of your business and possessing a solid understanding of your capabilities today, and what you want to add, change, or augment in the future will help attract the right people and nurture the type of environment that will inevitably possess the key attributes critical to a successful business.

The above article is based on the Keynote address from the 2007 User Group meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada. Columbia Ultimate appreciates Mark Neeb sharing his insights with us.