Bill collectors, accounts receivable clerks and similar workers must draw from skills in persuasion, customer service and communication to get outstanding debts satisfied. The task of training, preparing and monitoring those who try to collect on delinquent accounts belongs to credit and collections supervisor. The credit and collection supervisor job description includes duties and skills in managing staff and directing the steps taken in handling delinquent accounts.
What Does a Credit and Collections Supervisor Do?
Oversight of a company or organization’s efforts to convert receivables – what is owed – to cash is the essence of a credit and collector supervisor’s job description. To help maximize collections, these supervisors should exhibit a strong command of applicable laws and skills in training and guiding the staff that contact and work with delinquent account holders.
Credit and Collections Supervisor Job Description for Resume — Responsibilities
- Select or fire as necessary bill collectors and credit and collections clerks
- Train and instruct collectors on subjects such as proper decorum on the phone, federal and state collection laws and negotiations
- Review existing accounts to determine whether to enlarge or reduce limits, initiate collection or cancel use of accounts
- Assess the credit risks of applicants for loans and credit and of current debtors
- Set the terms and conditions for credit sales, including periodic payments and interest rates
- Renegotiate terms with delinquent or distressed customers
- Evaluate collection and credit policies and offer improvements
- Advise collection clerks and agents on avoiding violations of bankruptcy orders that prohibit collection efforts
- Ensure company submits timely claims to bankruptcy trustees or receivers of insolvent companies
- Compile and assets results of collection efforts, such as amounts collected and percentage of total debts compromised
Credit and Collections Supervisor Essential Skills
Analytical. Credit and collections supervisors need the ability to understand and interpret the financial condition of applicants and current customers. They may rely on debt and income ratios, payment histories and credit scores to assess risks of delinquencies or defaults. Analytical skills help supervisors determine the effectiveness of collection approaches by reviewing successful resolutions or amounts collected.
Communication. Credit and collections supervisors need to impart clear and concise instructions to collections staff, especially on legal restrictions on collections. Supervisors may deal directly with debtors, which requires the exercise of listening and respectful dialogue to achieve a payment plan, settlement or commitment by the debtor to pay in full.
Decision Making. The job description of a credit and collections supervisor involves deciding on how to handle delinquencies, approving applications for credit or extensions and establishing borrowing or credit limits. The supervisor must grasp the facts and company policies which form the basis of the decisions. Credit and collections supervisors need the confidence to act independently within the guidelines of the company and the law.
Management. Credit and collections supervisors need skills in assessing the talents and performance of collection staff, adequately training the collections staff and ensuring that the collectors observe proper customer service and patience.
Becoming a Credit and Collections Supervisor
Credit collections supervisors equip themselves with a background in business or finance and the ability to manage employees and persuade customers to repay debts. The cultivation of a prospective credit and collections supervisor combines formal education, often at the post-secondary level, and experience in the credit or debt collection fields.
Education and Training
Many employers require or prefer supervisors to have bachelor’s degrees. Some supervisors may successfully rely on experience in credit collection work as a substitute for a college education.
Post-secondary classes cover business administration, finance, accounting and management. In finance classes, students learn the principles of risk, time value of money and debt. Courses also include business law and the legal system. This prepares supervisors to know what is required to establish a legally enforceable debt and seize property through foreclosure, repossession or court orders allowing seizure to collect on property.
Private organizations may afford in-person or online training for collections supervisors and other employers.
Work Experience
Credit and collections supervisors normally start as collections or receivable’s clerks and bill collectors. These introductory-level jobs may come from collection companies, credit card companies, credit departments of businesses and government tax departments.
Beyond collection, future supervisors might work in mortgage companies or loan departments processing applications. Banking jobs such as teller or customer service representative afford a background in financial products. In hospitals and medical officers, employees may process or handle insurance claims, work as medical coders or bill patients.
Employers may also prefer job candidates with prior supervisory experience. This may come via roles as customer service supervisors, crew leaders and shift supervisors in various settings.
Work Schedules
Shifts for credit and collections supervisors normally run during the daytime and weekdays. Due to federal debt collection laws, debt collectors cannot call after 9 p.m. and before 8 a.m. Sunday collection calls are prohibited if they cause inconvenience or interference with customers’ personal activities. As a result, supervisors in collections will find late evenings or weekend work less likely. Weekend duty arises, not so much from collection work, but from attending seminars, conferences and training.
Many credit and collections supervisors can work from home using video conferencing or telephones to instruct or communicate with staff. Computer and internet access allows telecommuting supervisors to pull credit reports and account histories to render decisions on extension of credit, denial of credit or referrals to legal action.
Career Prospects
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a decline of six percent in employment of bill and account collectors through 2024. This reflects the presence of technology and the ability of computers to dispatch collection notices. Also, as collection agencies consolidate and leave fewer large companies in the field, the number of positions may dwindle.
Credit and collection supervisors seemingly may have fewer employees to oversee based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projections. However, tasks, such as aiding in underwriting loans, deciding whether to grant credit and performing other tasks closely related to credit analysts, may sustain demand for these supervisors’ services.
Further, healthcare providers may exhibit strong demand for collections or account receivable supervisors. In these settings, the supervisor must oversee coding of procedures and other practices for collecting medical bills.
Conclusion
Credit and collection supervisors guide employees in collecting delinquent accounts and decide whether to extend credit to customers and the terms of such extension. Collection agencies and creditors rely on the analysis and decision making skills of these supervisors to decide whether to commence foreclosures, repossessions or lawsuits.
Prospective credit and collection supervisors must keep informed on credit collection laws and regulations and help their staff understand the financial conditions of their consumers as they try to establish payment plans and negotiations.