Tips: Debt Collection and Recovery Strategy Implementation

Tips: Debt Collection and Recovery Strategy Implementation

Thodoris Psilopoulos |

In an increasingly competitive arena, debt collection and recovery departments need to become more inventive and make sure to implement the right strategic decisions. With the relevant info & intelligence provided by Collections & Recovery systems, strategic implementation can be facilitated in a significant degree.

To make sure of being present in the right strategic trajectory, firms must spot and take into account every component that may act as an important success or fail driver.

A successful implementation of C&R strategy will enable a fast paced and high collection rate but will also bring customer satisfaction. To achieve this you may want to read before the following tips in order to limit any error margin.

Here are 7 valuable tips:

1) Establishing the software platform and migrating internal and external data is the 1st thing to consider. Testing and modelling real-life examples of the process will ensure that the system is fit for purpose and adjustments can be made before it is fully implemented.

2) These should be benchmarked to levels of success across the DCA community, where the results achieved by collection and recovery specialists can be expected to be at the highest levels.

3) Rich data, coupled with refined modelling, increases the likelihood of achieving high rates of collection success.

Follow a strategic roadmap to C&R Success

4) Data and process need to be harnessed to the customer interface. Ensuring collection and recovery specialists occupy roles throughout the internal customer facing team can help to ensure that the right culture and understanding of how to treat customers is maintained.

5) This demands that high calibre staff are recruited. These could include data analysts, portfolio managers and operations experts. Such highly skilled staff will capitalise on available data and apply best practice to continuously improve collections efficiency and portfolio performance.

6) However, continuing training of all staff is a necessity. Regulatory measures across the financial services sector continually change and increase in rigour and complexity. It is vital to stay abreast of them and maintain good compliance standards.

7) Add to this careful supervision. Assign cases to the right agents to ensure optimal recovery results. Call listening, scoring and closely monitoring customer behaviours will indicate strengths and weaknesses, while recoveries and customer retention will confirm if the process is working optimally.

As time goes on and more information is gathered about what achieves success and what doesn’t, the process can be further enhanced.