Worse than losing a great collector?

Adding an ineffective collection supervisor.

Too often, we take our best collectors and ‘award’ them the position of supervisor. Yet the skills that served him or her so well in motivating delinquent customers to pay are not the same for motivating team members.

Of course, accounts receivable are not the only area where this mistake is made. Sales is an example, but also outside of business. In the sports world, this mistake is made all the time. Just ask hockey player Wayne Gretzky who was nicknamed ‘the Great One’, for his skills on the ice. Off the ice, behind the bench as a coach? Not so much.

If it takes a whole new skill set to be a team leader or supervisor, doesn’t it make sense that the questions, criteria and training should also be different?

What I call the ‘Gretzky Conundrum’ is one of the five mistakes in Accounts Receivable that I’ll be addressing in my keynote speech at the World Credit Congress in Dublin in October. To find out more.

If you can’t make it to Ireland, I’ll be publishing some of the ‘top mistakes’ after the conference.