A collections supervisor works in the credit collection department of a business or for a company specializing in collecting overdue monies for other businesses. He or she oversees a team of credit collection employees. Collections staff tries to recover owed amounts from customers who purchased items on credit, but neglected to pay the amount owing on time. It’s the collections supervisor’s responsibility to guide his or her team in collecting owed monies, while also upholding company policies and following the legal system.
Most collection agencies and departments that hire a collections supervisor want him or her to immediately attend to handling larger collecting issues. They expect the supervisor to ensure that the collection agents who report to him or her have the correct tools to deal with customers to resolve delinquent accounts. The collection process in company credit departments usually begins by sending notices asking customers to pay the overdue amount.
Although collection departments of businesses may be more polite than agency workers when speaking with delinquent customers over the telephone, laws state that collections workers must not harass people. It’s within the legal right of businesses and collection agencies to call and send letters to collect their owed monies. Creditors always have the right to try and collect what’s owed to them, but they have to follow strict laws and regulations. A collections supervisor must be up to date on all of these limitations and make sure the restrictions are being closely followed by all those who report to him or her.
The size of a collection team a collections supervisor has responsibility for varies widely. The supervisor must administer performance evaluations and development opportunities to current staff as well as have orientation meetings with new workers. Employee retention is an issue that employers hiring collections supervisors usually want them to work on since the collection industry has a high turnover rate. The collections supervisor usually has to keep striving to create a positive, supportive work environment conducive to retaining credit collection staff.