- Home
- Bankruptcy and Bankruptcy Code
- Business Entities
- Departmental Operations
- Allowances
- Bad Debt Write offs; Bad Debt Losses
- Calculating Bad Debt Reserves
- Bad-Debt Write Offs; Uncollectible Accounts Receivable
- Computer Skills and the Credit and Collection Function
- Consignments; Consignment Sales
- Credit and Sales; Using Salespeople as Collectors; Team Based Account Management
- Credit Department and Organizational Structure
- Key Activities of the Credit Department; Role of the Credit and Collections Department
- Credit Department Goals and Objectives
- Credit Department Organization; Centralized vs. Decentralized Credit Operations
- Credit Policy Overview
- Divestitures
- Downsizing the Credit Department; Planning and Pitfalls; Outsourcing
- Economic Downturns; Recessions; Layoffs
- Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
- Finding, Attracting, and Retaining the Best Employees
- Escalating A/R Problems to Management
- The Credit File; Keeping the Credit File Current
- Improving Inter-Departmental Relationships
- Lockbox; Bank Lockboxes; Improving Cash Flow
- Motivation and Performance
- UCC 1 Perfection by Filing
- Required Areas of Knowledge for a Credit Professional
- Impact of Bad Debt Write Offs; Bad Debt Losses
- Shipping Procedures
- Improving the Effectiveness and Efficiency of the Credit Function
- Building Bridges Between Sales and Credit
- Dormant Accounts
- Training Collectors
- Customer Retention
- Working Proactively in Credit and Collections
- Goal Setting for the Credit Department
- Myths about Credit Management
- Credit Practices
- Collection Practices
- Financial Analysis
- Financing Methods
- International Credit
- Laws and Regulations
- Payment Methods
- Performance Measures
- Security Instruments
- Career Management, and Job Change
- Credit Website Tools
- Upcoming Educational Events
- Credit and Collections Tools and Tips
- Tips on Creating Better Emails
- Generating Effective Credit Correspondence
- Exporting
- Accounting
Training Collectors
The trouble with on the job training for collectors is that it is usually unplanned and unsupervised. As a result, new collectors learn by trial and error. Errors can be serious, and they can easily be avoided by developing a training program for all new collectors. The goal of any training program is to make the new employee as productive as possible as quickly as possible. A formal training program has a much higher success rate than an informal program, or worse, on-the-job training and in particular any type of training that essentially involves the sink or swim method of new employee training and performance evaluation.
Unfortunately, some collectors do not learn, or do not learn enough, or do not learn quickly enough from their experience. It has been said about many collectors that rather than having ten years of experience, their performance suggests that they have one year of experience repeated ten times. Collectors need to learn from their mistakes, and from others.
Credit managers need to develop a formal training process, and encourage informal discussions among collectors. These discussions can be a valuable source of new collection ideas, and should be actively encouraged rather than discouraged.
© 2009 by Michael C. Dennis. All Rights Reserved. Michael is the author of "Credit and Collection Handbook."