Race cars, Power Rangers… There are a number of different analogies and examples that can be used to describe how all of the employees inside a collection operation need to be performing together for the operation to be successful. Looking at all of the employees inside an operation as a team can help boost performance, make sure everyone is rowing in the same direction, and keep everyone accountable, shared the panelists of a webinar on performance management. This webinar was sponsored by Peak Revenue Learning.
The topic of performance management — monitoring the productivity of employees as a way of maximizing their output — not only helps the business, but also shows you care about your employees and are willing to invest in their development, the panelists agreed. The right kind of competition can be healthy inside an office and can spur employees to want to do better, whether they are competing for a prize, or just to have their name on the top of a leaderboard.
Measuring performance objectively, using data and statistics, is the best way for employees to see how they are doing and identify possible areas for improvement. If a collector sees that the amount of time he or she is spending on the phone with consumers is two, three, four minutes longer than others in the office, that should cue the collector to try and get through calls faster, the panelists said.
“It helps us when we look at it and we can say, you can see in the statistics that an agent is potentially got some knowledge gaps because their hold time gets really high and the percentage of calls they put on hold or their transfer rate is high, those are indicative,” said Bettina Hagey, the head of Quality Assurance at Credit Control Corp. “They create an image and a portrait for us that can direct that coaching. And so the agents need to be aware, but we as a corporation need to be directed by that content as well, in order that we can target our coaching in the right places.”
Trying to measure the level of customer service that a collector provides is not always possible to assess objectively. There are subjective aspects to whether a consumer was satisfied or not and those components are not as easily measured. Sometimes, noted Hal Trapp of Receivable Solutions, you need to look for the effect of a subjective component to find something that can be objectively measured. For example, if a collector is abrupt with a consumer during a call, that might lead to a request to speak with a supervisor or even a complaint, and those are objective data points that can be tracked and used to help improve performance.
Setting attainable goals — not ones that are too lofty and lead to employees cutting corners or being too cutthroat — is the key to a positive work environment where everyone is moving in the same direction for the same reasons, said Mindy Chumbley of Solverity.
“Sometimes your goals are either too high or you expect people to outperform all the time,” she said. “You risk burnout or unhealthy competition where people start cutting corners and caring more about the stats. If you get too competitive and too pushy, then you come up with other unhealthy things where people are cutting corners or they’re stealing payments or, you know, some of those things that are happening. And so I think sometimes getting to profitable and sustainable is a better business model than getting to 100%.”
Audio:
Performance Management - Managing Individuals to Drive for Best Results
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By AccountsRecovery.net