Weekly blog by Philip King, CEO of the ICM - 'Sharing the golden nuggets!'

I spent a day this week at the ICM's Quality in Credit Management Best Practice Conference in London. The event was for organisations that have achieved, are on the journey towards achieving, or aspire to achieve the Quality in Credit Management accreditation award. What a great day.

 

I'm not going to bang on about the benefits of the Quality in Credit Management Award accreditation scheme (though clearly I could) but rather I'm keen to talk about the benefits of sharing best practice. When you get a group of people in a room who are at the top of their game - either personally or from an organisational perspective - it's amazing what comes out.

 

At the conference, we heard a series of speakers sharing their experiences and giving examples of best practice. Of course, what works for one organisation might not work for another, but hearing and filtering ideas is a great opportunity to improve, and helps meet one of the objectives of QICM, that of facilitating continuous improvement for people and organisations.

 

Some of the ideas were incredibly simple and others far more sophisticated. For example, we heard about the huge impact of introducing very simple and cheap 'music on hold' which made a great positive impression on both customers and the internal organisation.

 

More than one presenter talked about their plans to educate customers to improve their own credit management processes and procedures on the basis that, if they were more effective at collecting cash, they'd be better able to settle invoices promptly. A good example of sharing best practice with the wider business community and particularly with SMEs and micro-businesses who may lack relevant experience and expertise.

 

We saw some impressive dashboards and an explanation of how they can be used to best effect. Letting commercial people understand the value of overdue debt in terms of a number of new salesmen or replacement delivery vehicles, for example, is not a new idea but is very powerful.

 

Afternoon presentations addressed how to energise and motivate teams through periods of change and how to make step changes in performance. Some innovative and invigorating ideas on how to create a culture that is focused, cohesive and driven. The case studies came from large organisations but contained concepts that could be adopted in a variety of environments.

 

What's even more interesting about events like this is that people can contribute more than they realise. Participants turn up expecting to learn from the wisdom and experience of the presenters without realising how good they are themselves, and what nuggets they also have to share. Whether we call it networking or by some other grand name, sharing what we know, what we do, and what we've learnt is one of the most powerful business tools, and we should do more of it.

Guest blog by Charles Mayhew FICM, Director of Moreton Smith Limited –‘Brass Bands and Bacon Rolls’

I was delighted to be asked to be a guest blogger by Philip some months ago, and was wondering what I could write.

How the late payment act is working? Perhaps some interesting stories about collecting debts in the Middle East and so on? So while I was reflecting on a topic, I started remembering all the fascinating people I have met in our Industry, and of course being involved in International collections, many different nationalities.

I was recently made a Fellow of the ICM and a very proud one also. So therefore, having been the recipient of what should be perceived as an Oscar, I am hoping to thank a few people and share some stories of my 20 years in Credit - so far! It’s not over by any means.

It all started in 1994 just after I returned from living and working in Abu Dhabi with my wife and two (then) young children. I was interviewed by a distinguished American Gentleman, Stanley Tulchin of STA Associates who introduced me to the collections industry. His favourite saying was “Volume without yield is an unnecessary expense”. Wise advice from a wise man. Stanley was a great supporter of the American Collectors Association and also the NACM in the USA and insisted that we became heavily involved with the equivalent UK organisation which of course we did. I was lucky enough to travel to Chicago for the NACM conference, the same as the Annual ICM at Gaydon but much larger.

I compared notes on the ICM with Ted Brown, who was spotted in window of the Hotel opposite me in a John Cleese type moment. We couldn’t believe the massive brass band marching through the exhibition halls, the amount of people in attendance, and the lavish stands that many companies had invested in. I also attended the New Orleans NACM conference a few years later, and that was an experience. Then coming back to the UK I remember well the Liverpool and Merseyside conference and Lynne Mills enticing us all to arrive promptly with the lure of Bacon Rolls, which were delicious. It was 1998 before I became an MICM and I actually remember saying to my older brother, himself a Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy, that I eventually had letters after my name.

My Mum was also impressed! I joined Richard Moreton and Mark Smith in 2003 and was grateful for my time at STA but the bright lights of London beckoned, and the opportunity to become a shareholder in a growing business. Again my previous colleagues at STA were household names, who I gained invaluable experience from. Colin Thomas and Kevin Terrel, all with great sayings such as “companies owe money but people pay bills” (I don’t think that’s copyrighted though).

Philip King, Brenda Linger, Stuart Hopewell, Larry Coltman were all encouraging me along with Richard Seadon especially to apply for my fellowship. 

I am delighted that I did, it has made me even more passionate about the industry we work in, and what it has always allowed me to do is to reflect on how many good people have had an influence on my career so far. Over the years and travelling around to see many credit managers as I do, people are always quick to give an opinion on the ICM. Another saying is you only get out what you put in.

I will continue to support our professional body, and perhaps even more importantly the people who are in our industry. Socialising with them is also a healthy part of it, we call it networking. Have a great summer.

Charles Mayhew FICM

 

Next week Philip King’s guest blogger will be Sue Chapple, Head of Revenue Management of EDF Energy Plc.

 

 

Weekly Blog by Philip King, CEO of the ICM - 'Celebrating success'

I'm writing these words ahead of the ICM British Credit awards which are taking place at the Hilton, Park Lane. A night of celebration, networking and fun with about 400 people, many of whom will be hoping that their entry to the Awards has done enough to earn them success. They should all however recognise the achievement of being short-listed - there may only be one trophy but they're all winners!

The success of the Awards has made me reflect on the power of social media. When we held our last Awards Dinner in February 2011, I think I'd just started Tweeting and I was certainly a novice. Since that time, Twitter has emerged as a powerful source and - in many respects - an effective tool. I'm an avid personal user (@philipkingicm) of Twitter but the ICM's corporate social media activity (@icmorg) is driven by my long-suffering Executive Assistant, Tracy Carter (@tracycarter) and she ensures that our activity is as effective as possible, constantly watching for new developments such as pinterest which we'll be using to post pictures from the Awards Dinner at the event and afterwards (http://pinterest.com/icmorg/icm-credit-awards-2013/).

Whether you're a user of social media or not, and whether you believe it has a place or not, there can be no doubt that it is having a major impact. I've just finished listening to Nick Robinson's book 'Live from Downing Street' and he makes the point that phenomena like Twitter mean that politicians and broadcasters are no longer able to control the timing of news being released in the way they were able to just a few years ago. 

The last few days has seen frenetic activity on Twitter and LinkedIn as we count down to our Awards evening, and hundreds of conversations and exchanges have taken place that would never have happened without Twitter. Real conversations are still the best form of communication but let's not knock anything that complements them and allows for networking and communication that otherwise wouldn't exist at all.