Operational Healthcheck and Benchmark A CCA healthcheck and benchmark provides an objective, external view of the peformance and positioning of your operation (on CCA's Collections Sraircase and vis a vis your competitive segment) together with a detailed analysis of portfolio performance, existing strategies, agent and process effectiveness, MIS reporting, departmental structure, and systems. It includes rigorous benchmarking to our own very extensive database. The structured methodology we have developed ensures the work will be focused and comprehensive. We have carried out healthchecks of collections, new business, risk management, customer service and customer management functions. Our methodology also covers units where some or all of operations and IT are outsourced - benchmarking data used in these cases is always independent of the third party processor's own database, and can include comparisons with other processors if required. Dialler Programme An eight-twelve week programme tailored to each client's environment and resources which drives up measurable dialler performance and leaves new structures in place for ongoing improvement Segmentation and Strategy Setting A flexible and easy-to-use methodology for evaluating and re-defining customer segments, and identifying the appropriate strategy for each. This methodology also uses proven tools to quantify the bottom-line benefit that changes could bring to overall profit and loss.   It is an important part of our approach to make the best use of an organisation’s existing systems and techniques, and to demonstrate clearly what is and what is not working in the current environment.   Available either as a one-off consulting exercise or as an ongoing outsourced service.   Collections Management Modelling A set of tools to help us evaluate the precise financial benefit that our clients could obtain through changes in the collections process. These tools can be quickly applied to each client’s operational environment to allow different scenarios to be modelled and to calculate the financial impact of:   -         the effect on loss rates of reducing (or increasing) headcount by 10%?, -          the extra staff needed to move the collections emphasis to outbound calling?, -          how to cost-justify new technology?, -        the affect of an economic downturn in terms of arrears workload and staffing requirements? Collections Manager Training Few managers now receive formal training or qualification in collections. Corporate thinking has been: we are a successful and smart credit provider. Person A has proved to be a good customer services operations manager, so clearly he or she can quickly absorb enough technical theory and practice to become a good collections manager. There is no need for formal subject-matter training. A handover or deputising period will achieve this, and our MI will keep him or her on track.   Directly or indirectly, collections managers affect and control 3-6% of our return on consumer assets! Putting someone in charge of any sized collections unit without some formal specialist collections and risk training (the ‘basic driver’s licence’) is therefore a huge risk. Moving upwards in size or complexity, would you aska family car driver to safely handle a 38-tonne HGV, or a private pilot who flys Cessnas with a $35m Airbus and 300 passengers. Your shareholders would expect and insist on a qualification beyond ‘basic driver’s licence’ or ‘private pilot’s licence’.   CCA’s response - training and accreditation ratings:   Ø      CCA’s Advanced Manager rating – for larger units, complex environments (such as customer-level collections) and where advanced tools are to be used (including inter alia automated agent management, champion challenger with segment forecasting, customer relationship and profitability management) and where very low costs of collection are required (‘lean’ collections).   Ø      CCA’s Collections Manager rating – covering all levels up to and including units with predictive diallers, risk-based segmentation and basic champion-challenger assessment.