Not surprising after the game, both teams, their players, coaches and owners, were commended for their commitment to teamwork and dedication to building and maintaining a team effort. Naturally, it was necessary to name a game MVP but we think many would agree that the team was the MVP in this contest. Teamwork is the result of training.

How much time and effort does your department devote to training? Chances are, the answer is not enough. Even in organizations that are committed to corporate-wide training, the improvement of credit and collection skills is too often a secondary consideration. An analysis of training programs Business Education Services (my organization) conducted during 2003 shows that less then twenty percent were credit and collection related.

One-reason credit departments don’t mandate more training is due to unsatisfactory past results. No matter how much training is going on it must be effective. An effective training program need not be expensive, but it does require commitment and planning. Training has to be built into the department’s budget and made a priority. All too often training is treated as a low priority and is the first item in the budget to be cut or postponed in time of crisis. Training prepares people to be effective and productive during times of crisis.

Managers just like coaches need to be actively involved in the training process. Often is the case, when we get a request for training the manager leaves it to us to decide what information should be presented to their staff. Managers should have already identified the weaknesses of their team so they can communicate to the trainer what performance they want improved. The coach who complains that a seminar or training course was unsatisfactory usually is one who has not fully participated in the preparation of the training material.

How often have we attended a training function our boss has sent us to only to ask our self, “what am I doing here?” The information being provided is something we already know or not relative to what we do. The boss thinks they are providing us an opportunity, however, they sent us to seminar not knowing either the content or our deficiencies. Conducting a training session is a waste of time if there is no follow-up with the employee to reinforce and help put into practice the skills and practical knowledge they have been taught. In sports, the coaches work on improving the players’ weaknesses during the week and then when game day arrives they “test” the players by expecting them not to make the same mistakes made in the previous game. Too often participants tell us during a training session “this sounds good but we don’t do it.” We come away from training session asking ourselves why did we present material that is not practical. The answer is the manager left it to us to create an agenda and material that addressed the topic but they failed to identify if the material met their needs.

At the beginning of every training season, regardless of the sport, the coaches bring the players together and begin working on the fundamentals. Every occupation has a set of basics and as we become more experienced and comfortable in what we do we tend to forget about the basics. After a while the basics are forgotten. This is brought about because everyone is concerned with “advanced techniques.” Probably less than ten percent of the situations that must be addressed in a credit and collection department require any sort of advanced knowledge. As a result, a solid foundation in the basics is critical to the success of the majority of credit and collection department staff.

Training will provide tangible benefits to your organization and credit staff, but not without commitment. Everybody is looking for the “quick fix”, but there is no quick fix. Just ask Bill Belichick or John Fox.

I wish you well.

This information is provided as information only and not legal advice. Legal advice should be obtained from a competent, licensed attorney, in good standing with the state bar association.