Outsourcing not for you?

Outsourcing Collections

Have you thought that outsourcing just isn’t something you want to try?  With the economy at full employment, what’s not getting done at your firm?  What impact does that have on customers?  What impact does it have on the bottom line?  For six months, national unemployment has been at a very low 4.1%.  It is a challenging time for clients to find candidates to fill positions.  Candidates are hesitant to pursue credit and collection careers with so many other opportunities available to them.  The way the economy is going, it doesn’t look like finding the right candidates will get easier any time soon.

With so many openings, clients tell us that they lack the staff to fully cover their portfolios.  They are seeing delinquency rates climb higher.  As a result, we see more and more clients turning to outsourcing.  Have you ever considered how an outsourcing strategy would supplement your company’s internal efforts to reduce delinquency and improve customer service?

In-house Coverage Concerns

• Do you have a high volume of transactions that require an inordinate amount of labor? Are these accounts low priority because of limited resources?  Do you feel pressure to use staff to collect from larger, more important accounts?  When you shift resources away from these accounts does it cause problems?

• Do you refer accounts to third party collections that you think could be collected in-house if you had more resources?

• Are you managing processes that are tangential to collections? Some clients tell us they are being asked to manage new account set up, order verification, and a variety of other order management and customer service functions. Do these important tasks take a back seat to other more pressing tasks?

• Is it challenging to achieve a balance with all that your department is asked to do?  No matter how you shuffle and reorganize resources (people and processes), is it causing you to lose customers?

If you can relate to these scenarios, you might benefit from a strong outsource partner. It used to be outsourcing involved sending large segments of your portfolio to an overseas call center.  Often times the accompanying jobs went as well. This approach ran a high risk of disrupting customer experiences.  Much has changed with outsourcing over the last two decades. There are plenty of options in the US for a company that chooses to strategically outsource more specific functions and processes.  Outsourcing has evolved to include servicing unique segments of a portfolio when there is a lack of resources to complete the work.  You keep complete control of your portfolio, while your outsource partner performs the busy work.  This frees you and your team to focus on the more important goals.

Clients find that outsourcing improves customers’ experiences. The truth is, customers are harmed when there are gaps in coverage.  Process gaps convey the message that customers’ concerns aren’t important. Their calls may not be returned for days/weeks. Their emails go unanswered and complaints fester. Good customers may slow their payment habits due to slow responses and risky customers will stall even longer as they aren’t hearing from you.

A strong outsource partner will give you the resources necessary to completely penetrate your portfolio.  As a result, you will notice customer experiences improve.  At Receivables Control we are skilled at ensuring the outsourcing experience is transparent to customers. Customers appreciate receiving faster responses and the proper attention to resolve issues in a timely manner. You will have a cleaner portfolio and lower delinquency while your team is tackling the big issues.  Through outsourcing one segment of your work, you can improve customer service, lower delinquency, and achieve better results for your entire credit operation.  The key is to choose a partner that can assist you in implementing a program that is is accountable to defined, measurable results.

if you are feeling overwhelmed with the quantity of work and lack of resources, call us today to find out how outsourcing can help you achieve your goals.  Contact Jim Fritz at jfritz@rccmn.com or call Jim at (763) 315-9631.  You may also learn more about outsourcing at our website.