Ricoh France

Training a team in the field of debt collection

Denise Bechard – Head of Collections and Litigation

“When RICOH decided to bring debt collection back in-house, the issue of training the teams became crucial. What expertise should be passed on to people from diverse backgrounds who had primarily administrative skills but no knowledge of the debt collection business? Here is the story of how they acquired that expertise, as told by Denise Bechard, Head of Collections and Litigation at RICOH France.”

How did the rein-in-house collection process go?

Denise Bechard: “Through an internal volunteer program. The team was made up of several employees from the sales administration department, and others from telesales… All of them needed training in the specific field of debt collection, both in terms of communication and negotiation and the legal aspects of contracts.”

So you put together a training program?

D. B.: “We placed our trust in the Cabinet ARC, which was already handling litigation for RICOH and therefore had a thorough understanding of our challenges. They offered us a customized training program based on real-life cases involving our own clients. The real-world scenarios were an undeniable asset in helping the team ‘get a feel’ for the business.”

In practical terms, what was the program?

D. B.: “The training took place on-site, in our everyday work environment. The team learned a set of best practices: how to respond quickly, prepare for interviews effectively, listen actively, use the ‘right words,’ identify the right person to contact… but also—and this is very important—the legal fundamentals of contracts, which are central to our organization. This training in best practices for debt collection gave our employees confidence and laid a solid foundation for the team. Especially since the trainer was both approachable and highly professional, and had a thorough understanding of our specific situation. The team felt confident.”

Can you quantify the results of this training?

D. B.: “In addition to helping us build a strong in-house team, I’ll give you just one figure: in six months, we reduced our DSO from 57 to 43 days! So we’re completely satisfied.”

“The team has developed a working method, but also—and this is very important—a solid understanding of the legal foundations of contracts, which are central to our organization.”