Debt Collection Manager
How to be a good Debt Collection Manager
Nobody knows everything and we all make mistakes, and I can tell when I am with a true professional because he/she will always acknowledge his/her mistakes and shortcomings. To say “sorry” or “I don’t know” is a show of strength, not weakness.
The important part of knowledge is not what we already know: it is about identifying what we don’t yet know and need to know.
Capability to learn, use and share knowledge
A good Debt Collection Manager will not be proud: when he/she does not know, he/she will ask someone in his/her team for assistance. Managing people is a mutually beneficial two-way relationship where both Manager and team continue to learn.
The added value of a good Debt Collection Manager is not his/her ability to stock knowledge and information but in what I would call his/her skills as an Architect: building up the business through team leadership, implementing processes, giving team members the right tools, building their knowledge, helping them manage their time better, getting them to understand what it means to be productive.
The good Debt Collection Manager constantly shares his/her vision of what good practice and good customer service really means.
And when a good Debt Collection Manager can deliver, the team appreciates the value their Manager brings and nobody says: “he/she can’t even do my job and he/she’s my manager!?!” or “why is he/she managing me? I know more than he/she does…”
Thriving through ongoing optimisation
The role of a good Debt Collection Manager is to make life easier, create a good working environment and good working conditions. He/she should not be content to simply take care of the implementation of new systems and technologies to improve productivity. He/she is there to create a space where each team member feels he/she has a voice, can use initiative, becomes more confident each day, and embraces the company culture. The good Debt Collection Manager does not know how to do everything but he/she can certainly make everything happen for everybody.
Value working with others and build strong work ethic
When a good Debt Collection Manager needs help, he/she needs to ask for it. Don’t feel you will lose authority or respect. On the contrary : if you pretend you know and you don’t, if you don’t ask your team members for their opinion when you are unsure which way to go, if your team is made to feel that it cannot give you negative feedback, then you won’t achieve making your organisation more efficient.
From a mental health perspective, the good Debt Collector Manager described in this article is happier, less stressed, at peace with him/herself and does not suffer from burnout. Because he/she is able to ask questions and is not ashamed that he/she does not have all the answers, he/she saves time and achieves a better work/life balance. Honesty and transparency always bring peace of mind.
If you aren’t a good Debt Collection Manager yet, why not make it your 2020 New Year’s resolution at work? Be yourself, apply the above principles and get your team on board with your projects!
CLI is a Kent based debt recovery agency specialising in debt collection and customer relationships and international debt collection and international letter before action for over 10 years.