The Role of a Collection Manager

A collections manager should be highly organized and able to multitask.

A collections manager is often someone promoted to oversee employees and accounts for the purpose of collecting debt. Collections managers usually have an educational background or experience that a company desires. In addition to wages earned, the manager might also earn a commission based on collections revenue.

Collections

The term “collections” refers to the process of retrieving a debt owed. A collections manager is someone who oversees a department or agency that is responsible for collecting debt from individuals or companies. This might include managing employees, handling accounts and following overall employment policies.

The Law

There are laws that govern the practice of collecting debt. A collections manager needs to be knowledgeable about the laws to protect himself and his company from malpractice lawsuits. In fact, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was established to stop the “use of abusive, deceptive and unfair debt collection practices” employed by some debt collectors.

Duties

A specific job description for a collections manager asks for a manager who will “play a key role in effectively managing the collections process, including identification of areas for improving processes, implementing best practices and metrics to track performance management, and supervision of staff, including mentoring, training and reviews.” Duties for other companies might include preparing documents, addressing complaints of customers or staff, enforcing quality control standards and performing audits, negotiating and following up on payment arrangements or finding missing clients or tracking down missing client information.

Interpersonal Skills

A collections manager should be fair and ethical. Still, the position requires someone who can be firm with customers and employees. Also, the manager needs to be able to prioritize and multitask.

Work Environment

There are many places for a collections manager to work. Some are employed in doctors’ offices, hospitals and collections firms or agencies. Others are self-employed or work making collections calls from home or overseeing employees who work from home.

Job Outlook

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistic website, account collectors earn an average of $14.73 an hour as of May 2008, with the higher end earning about $22 an hour. The BLS site also reads that jobs are expected to “grow about 19 percent over the 2008-2018 decade.”

References

• Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
• Monster: Collections Manager
• BLS: Bill and Account Collectors