Areas of Interest

By Steve Peterson
Collection Training Consultants
On the Web at: http://www.collectiontrainingconsultants.com/
Visit me here on CU Campus!

In my travels around the country, one of the most often asked questions is “How many accounts should my collector handle”?  The answer very much depends on how you are using that collector. If the collector does nothing but collections, he should be able to handle approximately 175-200 accounts. If the collector tends to wear “many hats” as is the case in many credit unions, these numbers should be revised to 100-150 accounts. Remember, these numbers refer to actual delinquent accounts.  Where do these numbers come from?  They all revolve around something called “follow-up”.

The number one reason that delinquency rates tend to get out of control is due to a lack of consistency in handling the follow-up.  Follow-up simply means how often a collector attempts to contact delinquent accounts.  It is recommended that collection departments do a three business day follow-up.  If the collector makes a call to the debtor on Monday, he should make his next attempt on Thursday; Tuesday to Friday and so on.  Now we get back to the totals.  If the collector is handling an average of 200 delinquent accounts, this means he has to work about 65-70 accounts per day to keep pace. Factor in time consuming issues like skip-tracing, incoming phone calls from debtors, bankruptcy issues and a host of other problems, it’s easy to see how a collector can fall behind in working the follow-up.  Fewer attempts for debtor contacts almost always results in a rise in delinquency rates.  Overloading a collector with too many accounts will most certainly have negative effects. A sense of frustration will build in the collector because he feels  he can never get caught up on his workload.  If this situation happens, a negative attitude will not be far behind.

One of the challenges of management personnel is to create a positive environment for the telephone collector.  One approach I have found that works is to treat your collectors just like a sales department.  Contests and bonus systems are good ways to keep people upbeat.  Sometimes a simple pat on the back can do wonders for a collector’s morale.

Caller I.D. phones are a necessary tool in the collection department.  The credit union should also have a cell phone available to collectors that may wish to make some evening calls from home.  Try to remember that successful collections doesn’t just happen with the hiring of individuals, it takes a good department environment to get the job done.