Company traces debtors, helps with payment plans
Saskia Hill is the owner of MCS Debt Recovery
What is debt recovery?
We operate as a debt-recovery call centre. We collect bad debt on behalf of our corporate clients. Our clients outsource the unpaid accounts to us, and we use various strategies and technology to assist us with tracing the debtor and then activating the accounts. Where possible, we assist the debtors with payment plans and settlement discounts.
Many of our own agents have been in debt themselves, and this empathy factor does assist while arranging a payment plan with the debtor. In doing so, we can then assist the debtors with updating their credit records once the debt has been settled. What do you do at work each day?
We are target-focused and driven. We have specific key performance indicators (KPIs) to meet each day and month. These KPIs are set by our clients and ourselves. We constantly monitor them (target versus actual) and amend our strategy where necessary.
What makes your job stressful?
As our staff are our most important asset, I know many families rely on me to steer the ship in the right direction, to make the right decisions to ensure the business is sustainable. The positive to this is that we have many long-serving employees.
What did you want to be when you were a child?
A teacher. I used to love teaching the teddy bears in my room. I did the work and then marked it with a red pen. My passion for education started as a young child.
What do you find most meaningful about the work you do?
Creating job opportunities in a country where the unemployment rate is so high. Further, our staff are not required to have any post-matric qualifications — the most important asset to bring to this job is to have the right attitude. I explain to my staff that I am empowering them each with their own “small business”.
Even though they are employees, they have the power to write their own commission cheque. We provide them with the tools to perform the work (including training).
It is then up to them to liaise with the debtors, activate the accounts and arrange payment plans.
We also regularly participate in community activities with the agents, for example, the blood bank comes to our office once a quarter, and we have “adopted” our local primary school and crèche. The staff join us when we visit the school and crèche to deliver equipment and supplies. We also bring in external motivational speakers as well as industry leaders to talk to the staff.
What part of your job would you like to change or not do at all?
I love what I do, and I have my management team, staff and clients to thank for that. If there was only one part of my job I would change, it would be the number of e-mails I receive each day.
I know, however, that I am my own worst enemy with this as I like to know what is happening in all sectors of the office.
I am working on a strategy to streamline the e-mail process in the office. What other work would you like to do?
I am passionate about technology and the future industries. I was fortunate to visit Silicon Valley earlier this year. I enjoy reading up on this topic and was delighted to be asked to present this topic to schools. The title of my presentation was ‘The future started yesterday, and we’re already late’, which is a quote by John Legend. I would like to continue to research this topic as it changes daily.