By: Tom Gillespie, President – Access Receivables
One of the hardest things to do in business is to change a department or a process. In the collections industry, I see it all the time. Business change can be very difficult for your managers and your staff when they are comfortable in a process. But, change is necessary and inevitable. We sometimes hesitate to ask ourselves the tough questions. Is that process serving you well today? Could it be better? Could it be more efficient? Once we build a process, it is hard to let it go. Never get complacent. The process might work well but have you considered a different approach? Have you considered “what if?” Innovation comes from throwing out the rules periodically and asking yourself the question “What if I were starting from scratch today? What would I do differently?”
Act Like a Consultant. Don’t just tweak a few things. Throw out the rules, start with a fresh piece of paper and pretend you were hired to be to come in and create the process from the ground up. In this approach, you do not know the people, the politics, the organizational challenges or the negative attitudes. You just have a vision. Now, build a process on paper that is better, faster and cheaper. After you have done this, something new will literally jump off the page! You may or may not decide to completely revamp your organization or your process, but you will have a roadmap. That roadmap will become your guide for change management. You do not have to completely abandon what has made you successful nor should you. But, if you implement one small thing at a time to consistently build a better process and keep your organization in the forefront, you will be an innovator and a leader.
The best example I can make for throwing out the rules was Henry Ford. He asked himself the question? “How can I make a car for under $500 that the average person can afford?” You probably know that story. Cars were built one at a time by craftsman. Hiring and training was a big problem. Production was limited to dozens of cars not thousands. Because of this process, cars were very expensive. In 1910, there were hundreds of car makers in America. Over the next ten years, only a handful survived. Henry Ford not only innovated, but he also took ownership of a new industry and dominated the market. He threw out the rules, got a fresh piece of paper and became obsessed with figuring out a better way. He built the assembly line. It did not require craftsman, just people trained to do one job and do it repeatedly. His passion for throwing out the rules made Ford Motor Company the leader in its field for many decades to come.
During the last financial crisis in 2010, Access Receivables invented an avatar based virtual agent that speaks to customers and increases self-service online. It was invented after many years of asking the question; “How can we engage more customers, who do not wish to speak to us by phone?” Today, Zoey has become even more relevant as more and more of our delinquent customers prefer self-service options over phone conversations. She is just one tool in our arsenal. We are continually looking at every process. Achieving the best results possible and doing that efficiently requires continual analysis of the changing landscape. I believe in throwing out the rules and periodically taking a fresh look for ways to be better, faster and cheaper. Never be afraid to change.
Reprinted from Forbes
