rants & raves

If you’ve downloaded and thumbed through my ebook, Beyond the Headset, then you are probably aware that I’m a big fan of “upward feedback.”   

If you’re not familiar with the concept of upward feedback, it can be summed up as a method for having your employees provide you with input on your effectiveness as they see it. That’s right — you’re employees tell you how well you’re doing your job.   

I firmly believe that upward feedback is a valuable process for helping to assess the health of a team’s heart (i.e., the team’s leader).   

I recently had the opportunity to write about upward feedback in an article for insideARM.com’s newsletter, The Talented Collector. A portion of the article appears below along with a link to the full story.    

Our heart is the most important part of our body. It pumps blood throughout our system to supply energy for everything that we do. If a team were a body, the supervisor would be the heart. He or she would be responsible for pumping vital motivation, feedback, and inspiration throughout the team.  

One of a supervisor’s secret weapons for fighting employee disengagement is an employee feedback survey. Not just the run of the mill, do-you-like-your-paycheck variety. Something better. Something deeper. Something that allows employees to measure their supervisor’s effectiveness. This “upward feedback” can be a catalyst that helps companies improve employee engagement as it can help to pinpoint areas of strength and weakness within the heart.    

To continue reading the story, please visit “Are You Measuring the Health of Your Team’s Heart? You Should Be.“   

Question: Do you use upward feedback in your organization?   

Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

This article orginally appeared on insideARM.com on June 8, 2011.

In the popular remake of the movie Meet the Parents, actor Ben Stiller plays the role of Greg Focker, a man who will be meeting his girlfriend’s parents for the first time. The girlfriend’s dad, Jack, played by Robert DeNiro, gives Greg a lesson on the importance of trustworthiness by teaching him about the Circle of Trust. The idea is quite simple: Inside the circle are people you trust; outside the circle are people that you don’t.

One of the most unforgettable scenes is when Jack checks in with Greg to ensure he understands the concept.

To view the video clip and continue reading the article, please click here to go to the insideARM.com website.

By Stephanie Eidelman | President, Kaulkin Media

This week we officially opened our annual Best Places to Work in Collections program for registration!

Now in its fourth year, insideARM.com’s Best Places to Work program recognizes the most positive workplace environments in our industry.  Winners have enjoyed great benefits including enhanced reputation with creditors, morale boost, and recruiting support.

Compete against companies of your own size.  No need to feel that you can’t measure up against the benefits and resources of a large company, or the family feeling of a small company.  Rankings are determined within three size categories: small (15-74 employees), medium (75-249 employees) and large (250+ employees).

It works like this:

1. Employers complete a questionnaire on workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems, benefits, and demographics. It can take about 8 hours to gather all of the info for this questionnaire – but hey, if it was totally simple, it wouldn’t produce meaningful results – and if you register now, you’ll have months to pull it together.

2. Employees are asked an in-depth set of questions — you choose online or via paper format; either way it takes about 10-15 minutes to complete.

That’s it. Within about 6-8 weeks of completion, our partner, Best Companies Group, will produce a list of winners and we start to make announcements.

Rest assured insideARM staff does not have access to employee responses; Best Companies Group has no connection to the debt collection industry (with the exception of their role in this program).  If your staff is — ahem — less than kind, nobody will know but you.  But YOU should know!

Participating companies will receive a free one-page “Employer Benchmark Summary”, and will have the opportunity to purchase the full “Employee Feedback Report” that provides valuable data including a spreadsheet summarizing employee feedback, written employee comments, and industry benchmark information.

These reports offer incredibly valuable information at an unbelievably fair price, regardless of whether you are selected as a winner.  The value in having a 3rd party conduct this survey is that you get candid information from your employees; your HR department could never gather this type of information.  And if you chose to do it independently, you’d pay thousands of dollars.

Please, take advantage of this great opportunity to learn what your employees really think.  After all, aren’t they the ones driving your revenue?  If your staff is unhappy, do you think they are as productive as they could be, or that they are representing you and your clients as they should be?

Yes, it will require some time to complete the company portion of the survey, but it’s not due until mid- summer, so you’ve got plenty of time to deal with it if you get started now.

Simply participating will show your employees that you care.  And just read what your peers have to say about the benefits you’ll enjoy if selected as a winner!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I’m the president of Kaulkin Media and publisher of insideARM.com. Our mission is to “shift the public conversation about the ARM industry.” When we started in 1999 this was a really niche topic. Today, our arena truly is the news of the economy and touches nearly every consumer. After a brief “first-job” stint with a regional accounting firm, I worked for Disney as a stage manager for a few years, then went to UCLA to get an MBA. From there I went to AlliedSignal Aerospace and had probably my most challenging and rewarding professional experience, as a materials manager for a manufacturing line. In the mid-90’s I joined Citysearch.com, one of the original Internet startups. After several years of opening new markets and working with newspaper companies on their local and classifieds strategies, I joined the family firm, Kaulkin Ginsberg.

We’re excited to announce the launch of the Outstanding Collection Professionals program to honor front line employees in the credit and collection industry who perform their duties at an outstanding level of service and who represent the industry in a positive, professional manner.

“It’s no secret that the bad actors of the industry get more time in the spotlight,” said Gary Jensen, editor of collector mentor. “This initiative seeks to shift some of that attention towards those individuals who are committed to doing the right things for the right reasons and have a track record to prove it.”

The Outstanding Collection Professionals Program uses a nomination driven approach. Nominations can be submitted by anyone, however, managers and supervisors can benefit by using this program as an opportunity to recognize staff member contributions. Submissions can be made using an electronic online form or by accessing and downloading the hard copy equivalent.

“This program is a fantastic way to highlight not just the positive attributes of ARM companies, but to recognize the hard work of real people on the front lines of this industry who day in and day out do their jobs with dedication, integrity, and ethical responsibility,” said Michael Klozotsky, managing editor of insideARM.com.

Nominations will be reviewed by Jensen and by members of the editorial advisory board. Candidates will be selected on, but not limited to, the following criteria:

• Treats consumers with respect and dignity and adheres to all industry laws, rules, and regulations.
• Committed to the mission and values of the organization and serves as a role model for others.
• Projects a positive “can-do” attitude with teammates, clients, and consumers.
• Embraces Collector Mentor’s PAID Values Model (Professionalism, Accountability, Integrity, Dedication)
• Takes initiative, embraces change, and produces high-quality work.
• Is dependable, reliable, and goes the extra mile for the industry, their company, and the community.

“I’ve served in the credit and collection industry for more than 12 years,” adds Jensen. “I’ve met many incredible collectors along the way and I feel a recognition platform for those individuals is long overdue.”

Press Release | May 11, 2011

HOUSTON, TX — Marion Financial Corp. is pleased to announce that two high school seniors have each been awarded a $5,000 scholarship for the 2011–2012 academic years.  The recipients of the twelfth annual Marion Financial Corp. Scholarship Award are:

• Ashley Vandenbroek, whose mother is employed at Continental Service Group, Inc. (“Conserve”), plans to attend Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
• Alexandra Huffman, whose father is employed at CBE Group, Inc., plans to attend the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa.

The purpose of the Marion Scholarship is to provide assistance to further the educational development of students who have an affiliation with the Accounts Receivable Management Industry.  The competition for this year’s awards was open to the graduating class of 2011 high school students who are employed, or the child of an employee, in the Accounts Receivable Management Industry. 

The Marion Scholarship is for high school seniors beginning their first year at any accredited public or private college, university or trade school.  To apply, students were asked to complete an application form and submit an essay entitled “Why Further Education is Important to Me”.  The recipients were selected based on their essay, grade point average and extra-curricular activities.

Marion Financial Corp. would like to extend their gratitude to judges Dan Desatnick and Loraine Lyons for their continued commitment to the scholarship selection process.

For more information, contact Tom Edens or Amy Vacek, Marion Scholarship Committee by phone at (713) 988-8000, or by e-mail: scholarship@marionfinancial.com.

Let’s face it–the credit and collection industry generates some pretty negative news stories from time to time. And, while I could rant about the $7.9M settlement that West Virginia AG Darrell McGraw recently reached with debt agencies or the fake courtroom that collectors out of Pennsylvania had going, I’m not going to. Ranting, well, it can get a little old.

Raving, on the other hand, never tires.

And, that’s why I want to take a moment to shed light on a story out of Texas involving a collection agency that recently raised funds for a good cause.

The agency, Southwest Credit, recently raised $9,649 for the United Way. The funds will be used to help “improve income, education, and health …”. You can read the full press release here.

What I thought was really cool was the fact that four employees chipped in and donated $1,000 each. Now, that my friends, is worth raving about.

You can now find collector mentor on your favorite social media sites!

Tweet with us on Twitter, Friend us on Facebook, or join our group on LinkedIn.

•  Twitter/ click here

Follow our tweets and we’ll point you to interesting articles and relevant resources, not to mention take time to interact with you on a personal level–all in 140 characters or less of course!

•  Facebook/ click here

Befriend us and have access to our blog feed without ever leaving the comfort of Facebook. Here you can comment on updates and take part in discussions.

•   LinkedIn/ click here

The LinkedIn group is designed exclusively for subscribers. It is an online discussion forum that allows readers to discuss articles in detail and network with fellow industry professionals.

Photo on Flickr.com c/o Spencer E Holtaway

Four industry pros add perspective, ensure balanced editorial

ADEL, IOWA — Skills World, publisher of the popular credit and collections training publication collector mentor, announces the appointment of Gary Kinne, Bryan Leib, John McNamara, and
Gina McNaughton to the publication’s editorial advisory board.

“Our subscriber base has grown tremendously over the past year,” said Gary Jensen, chief learning officer for Skills World. “collector mentor is now read in more than five countries, and our subscribers represent every market in the industry. The additional board members’ perspective and experience will allow us to continue meeting our goal of ensuring well-balanced, high-quality editorial that meets the diverse needs of all our readers.”

As the premier skill-development publication for frontline credit and collections professionals,
collector mentor delivers insightful and powerful articles in the areas of collections, credit, skiptracing, industry regulations, and soft business skills.

The new board appointments include:

Gary Kinne
Kinne, president and owner of Asset Recovery Inc., has been in the collection industry since 1978. In addition to having third-party collection agency experience, he has also spent time in the healthcare industry. Kinne has been involved in both the state and national levels of ACA International, The Association of Credit and Collection Professionals. On the state level, Kinne served as chair of the Education Committee, and as secretary, vice president, and president of the Georgia Collectors Association. On the national level he has served on ACA’s Online Committee, the Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee, and the Education Council. He is a renowned industry trainer who has presented over 350 seminars, including more than 100 in his role as a certified instructor for ACA International.

Bryan Leib
Leib is vice president of operations for international commercial collection agency Leib Solutions based in Gibbsboro, New Jersey. As a second-generation collector, he has grown up in the industry and is actively involved in several industry associations, including serving on the board of directors for the International Association of Commercial Collectors. He has served as a columnist for collector mentor since July 2009, and has a wealth of experience in business-to-business collections. Leib holds a Senior Certified Collection Professional designation, and was named one of the Top 50 Most Influential Collection Professionals in 2008 by Collection Advisor Magazine. In addition, Leib was recently selected to serve on the United Way of Camden County Emerging Leaders Committee.

John McNamara
McNamara is the chief marketing officer at technology firm LiveVox based in San Francisco, California, and also serves as director for third-party collection agency Fidelis Recovery Solutions in Atlanta, Georgia. With more than two decades of experience, McNamara is a highly respected member of the credit and collections industry and is a regular contributor to industry conferences and publications. He was named one of the 50 Most Influential Industry Executives in 2006 by Collection Advisor Magazine, and was the recipient of ACA International’s 2009 Kurt Swersky Leadership Award. McNamara started in the industry as a collector for American Creditors Bureau in 1983. He’s also held the position of senior vice president of banking and retail for First Data, and chief operating officer for Asset Management Outsourcing.

Regina McNaughton (Harris)
McNaughton is a partner with The McNaughton Group, a boutique consulting firm located in Fullerton, California. She has more than 20 years of industry experience, including 16 years with NCO Group, where she started in 1990 at NCO Financial Systems, Inc, in an entry-level position. McNaughton was promoted several times and moved throughout the country to transition several acquisitions. She is recognized as an expert in healthcare collections. In her last position at NCO, she served as regional vice president. In addition, she is active in several industry and philanthropic associations, and the owner of the Debt Collection FDCPA–FACTA–GLBA–FTC Regulations Forum LinkedIn Group.

The editorial advisory board also includes Matthew Campbell, collections manager at Remit Corporation; Ronald S. Canter, Esq., founder of The Law Offices of Ronald S. Canter; Michelle Dunn, president of Michelle Dunn’s Credit and Collections Association; Carol Freeland, president of Acts Plus; David Glezerman, bursar at Temple University; Matt Twitty, customer care manager at Advantage Travel; and Debra Schulze, director of loss prevention at GTE Federal Credit Union.

For more information about collector mentor, or to download a sample electronic copy, please visit www.collectormentor.com.

A collection agency based in Bloomington, Minnesota had its collection license temporarily suspended by the Minnesota Department of Commerce for allegedly failing to remit recovered funds to its clients within 30 days. According to an article on InsideARM.com, the Department of Commerce claims the agency used the money to fund operations.

The abundance of negative news stories can make it very difficult to keep in mind the positive impact that collectors have. So I thought I’d share an article with you.

This story, Making a Difference One Call at a Time, appeared in the Nov/Dec issue of collector mentor.

We hope you (and your staff) enjoy.

Gary Jensen editor