Category Archives: credit industry

Wescot | Importance of Training to Great Customer Service

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At Wescot, learning and development is a key aspect for the business moving forward. The landscape of the credit industry is changing, it would be short-sighted of Wescot for the company to not devote a lot of time and effort into developing the staff and preparing them for the new strategies necessary to overcome these obstacles. This is in addition to the customer service driven training that all Wescot employees receive upon arriving at the company and continue to develop throughout their time at the debt recovery agency.

Customer satisfaction is one of the main business objectives at Wescot. This goes for their clients, i.e. the companies that are still owed money, as well as the individuals that Wescot are tracking down for remuneration. To this end, there is a dedicated learning and development team at Wescot to ensure that every staff member is on the same page, no matter who a customer talks to at Wescot they will experience a great customer service and knowledgeable reception.

The industry of credit management is facing a turbulent future with the result of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) taking over as a regulating body. Companies that operate in this sector, like Wescot have had to adopt new strategies and business models in order to comply with the more stringent rules imposed on them by the FCA. The learning and development department have been busy too, making sure that their training programmes in the future will focus on the new legislation regarding debt recovery. It is only through working together as a team at Wescot that the company will continue to maintain their lead as the UK’s largest debt recovery company.

wescotConstant training and learning is also important to motivating a workforce. The more time that Wescot dedicates to improving the skills of their employees then they will feel more engaged with the company. This translates to a better, more efficient workforce and will contribute to the success of Wescot as a whole.

Mike Rustill is Wescot’s learning and development team leader and he brings a wealth of experience in managing in house training to the company, an asset to a company with so many staff members to keep developing.

Wescot – Money Advice Scotland annual conference

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Money Advice Scotland hosted its 24th Annual Conference in Glasgow in June 2013. The long-standing event is seen as an important and informative event which is utilised by many people from varying backgrounds. The 24th Annual Conference addressed many different issues, but dedicated a lot of the event to the changes within the financial world and the regulatory process.

One of the key issues at the event concerned the changes in bankruptcy legislation, which will have a major impact on many people and businesses within Scotland itself. Also on the agenda at the conference were discussions relating to welfare provision with particular emphasis being placed on the effect that it will have on the consumer. Many of the changes that have recently been put in place were discussed at the event with many debating who will be the ones to benefit from the changes. The event gave like-minded people the opportunity to meet in one place and talk about issues concerning credit and debt.

The introduction of the Financial Conduct Authority was also addressed at the conference which was once again sponsored by Wescot, one of the largest debt collection services in the United Kingdom. The Financial Conduct Authority has been set up to deal with the conduct of large banks all the way down to small businesses and traders and it is hoped that this new authority will play an important role in the transparency of financial issues in the future.

wescotMany of the leading industry experts were on hand at the conference to offer their expert opinion and discuss relevant aspects concerning the current financial sector. The event once more played host to exceptional keynote speakers such as Margaret Curran MP, who discussed the changes to the welfare system whilst Paul Lewis of the BBC chaired the opening day’s events.

Wescot have been sponsoring the event for many years and are extremely proud to be associated with such a dedicated and comprehensive event. Wescot employ over 650 staff throughout the United Kingdom and are considered to be one of the leading debt recovery agencies in the United Kingdom. The fact that the company sponsors such a prestigious event is proof itself that Wescot are leading players within the financial sector and have a keen interest in the current issues.

Wescot | The Problems with Mis-tracing

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Wescot is the UK’s largest debt recovery company. With offices in Glasgow, Hull and Saltcoats, Wescot employs over 650 people to service the 5 million accounts they receive each year. An essential part of the process of closing an account is to actually track down the people who owe money to Wescot’s clients. Committed to delivering a quick turnover with high customer satisfaction, Wescot utilise a dedicated tracing program that relies on accurate data from several credit reference companies. When this information is incorrect or not validated, this slows down Wescot’s operating time and create unnecessary costs to the business.

wescotMis-tracing as it is known, is on the increase, partly to do with the high number of people who cannot afford to purchase a home. House prices are restrictively high in the UK and as a result, many people either live in rented accommodation or stay living with family for longer. As a result, tracing has become a lot harder, tenancies typically last for six months and because the tenant only has to find a new empty property to move into, people can change addresses quickly. While the tracing service that Wescot provides is efficient, the fluid population movement in this country is proving to be a problem.

In order to overcome this large problem, credit reference agencies (CRAs) have to be diligent when it comes to recording information. False information can result in a mis-trace very quickly and this is costly to businesses like Wescot. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is taking those CRAs to task who are mishandling information and as such the process is becoming easier to avoid mis-traces. Good news for Wescot, however the debt recovery company still faces mis-traces that are largely as a result of miscommunication between the CRAs.

If one CRA finds invalid information on their database, this can be removed but up until recently, they were not required to inform the other CRAs. Because Wescot are thorough and believe in the protection of their customers, when tracing they often use multiple sources. However, when the sources are not communicating with each other, this can produce misleading information.

Under the supervision of the FCA mis-trace frequencies are being dealt with, so that in the future, companies like Wescot can move forward unhindered by this nuisance.

Wescot | New Developments for Debt Recovery Firm

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With an evolving future for debt recovery, it is important that companies who operate in this industry do everything they can to adapt to the new changes and remain at the head of their game. One of the major factors that is affecting the industry at the minute is the change in regulations, as debt recovery now falls under the jurisdiction of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA have implemented a number of stricter rules to regulate the way companies operate when recovering debts for their clients. Furthwescoter to this is the decrease in average disposable income, which will increase the amount of time it takes for companies to recover debts and thus increase running costs. To overcome these obstacles, Wescot has changed the way they work in a variety of ways.

In businesses such as debt recovery, there is a need for a high volume of correspondence using traditional mail. A hard copy that informs customer that they need to repay their debt is far harder to ignore than an email that might never be read. The disadvantage to using letters is the cost of sending out large volumes, as well as the time it takes to create the mail. Adare is a company that has developed new software called ‘SmartEdit’ which dramatically reduces the time it takes to change small details on letters and therefore speed up the delivery. The debt recovery company is making full use of the SmartEdit technology to alter documents quickly and use preapproved templates to rapidly produce the volume of letters they require.

One of the greatest changes that the FCA have made to the debt recovery is a demand for a more efficient complaints management process. Equinti, a software and IT company from the UK that provides automated procedures that will speed up their background processes has been contracted by Wescot to automate their complaints system. Equinti’s Perito software revolutionises complaint management as it can prioritise important complaints as well as provide user definable fields to further increase efficiency.

The final change for Wescot is the employment of Claire Larson as Operational Risk Manager. It is hoped by the debt recovery company that Larson will be able to shake up the risk management systems at the company to deliver far greater results in the future.

Wescot | CCR Magazine Announces New Sponsor for One Day Event

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Credits Collections and Risk (CCR) magazine is the UK’s leading publication for the credit industry. Covering many topics from bankruptcy, debt recovery and the management of individual debt, CCR is full of important information for businesses in the industry, as well as customers themselves. Published monthly, CCR consistently reports on the most relevant news to appear in the credit industry, and with the many changes that are facing the financial sector during the recession and moving forward, the magazine is a significant information outlet. As well as publishing the most read credit magazine, CCR also host their popular one day event, the CCR-Interactive. This conference brings together many leaders in the credit industry, as well as inviting individuals who wish to learn a little more about the business. And even as large as CCR-Interactive requires a great deal of organisation as well as funding and in 2013, CCR announced Wescot to be their new sponsor in the future.

Because CCR-Interactive has grown in popularity and attendance from year to year, company spokesman and magazine editor, Stephen Kiely has said that they are delighted to have Wescot as their new sponsor. The company, which is one of the biggest debt recovery agencies in the UK is set to attract even more big name businesses to the one day event and drive up its exposure.

CCR-Interactive is a significant date in the credit industry calendar as it brings together many businesses that otherwise would rarely come into contact with one another.wescot Not only this, but it provides a forum for individuals struggling with debt to voice their opinion, or just to seek advice on the best way to manage their debts. Over the course of the day there are plenty of opportunities to network and the event culminates in a large dinner in the evening, and the awards ceremony.

Sponsors of CCR-Interactive are also responsible for funding the dinner and awards, giving Wescot the best platform to promote their company, as well as showcase what they can do for their clients. The CCR awards are some of the most prestigious awards available to businesses in the credit industry and as such, the awards ceremony is perennially popular with attendees.

Wescot | Tracing Services Available

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Wescot is the UK’s largest debt recovery companies, with three office locations in Glasgow, Hull and Saltcoats, the company employs 650 people to help process the 5 million accounts they receive every year. Wescot’s primary service is to help clients who face unpaid loans get their money back from their customers. By adhering to the new, stringent regulations in place from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Wescot have ensured that in the many years they have been operating they not only deliver a high service to their clients, but go a long way to protecting the needs of the account owners that they correspond with.

Recently, Wescot have been involved in a philanthropic endeavour, when they were approached by Swift Advances, a loans company. Swift specialise in delivering niche loans to people who would otherwise struggle to receive credit from high street banks wescotand other creditors. In this case, however, they required Wescot not to recover debt for them, but to help trace people who were eligible for remediation payments from the Swift Group. By using the same techniques that the debt recovery company uses to trace customers that have yet to pay up, Wescot were able to trace 80% of the people that Swift owed money to.

The exercise was a success, and a spokesperson from Swift Group said that they had 2000 customers who all needed tracing and the ‘process was extremely effective and involved minimum effort on our part.

Wescot were able to trace so many people by using the original contact details that they had left with Swift Advances while taking out a loan. They are then able to use those details to trace anyone who had left the original premises, or if all contact had been lost and even if residency at a given address is yet to be verified. While in this instance, the techniques employed by Wescot enabled many people to receive remediation payments, they are keen to point out that they are equally applied to recovering loan payments for their clients.

Even in a constantly shifting environment in the UK where people often change addresses throughout their life, it is testament to Wescot’s ability in tracing customers that they could find 80% of Swift Advances’ clients in a short space of time, delivering satisfaction to the client.

Wescot | Importance of Learning and Development

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For any business in the modern world, having a strong learning and development programme is key to maintaining the success of the company. People change jobs far more frequently than they used to, so getting a new influx of employees on the same level as the rest of the team is important, not to mention enhancing the skills of the staff already employed there. Wescot is the country’s biggest debt recovery company and employs over 650 people, one of the reasons they are able to handle all 5 million of the accounts that they process every year is through the dedicated training that the staff receive at the company.

Wescot is a customer focused debt recovery agency, at the highest priority is maintaining a positive working relationship with all of their clients. One of the ways that Wescot can do this is through their extensive learning and development scheme that regularly twescoteaches the staff that the customer is necessary. So for every person who works at Wescot, they will deliver the same high standard of service to every one of the debt recovery company’s clients.

There are many ways in which Wescot ensure the success of their learning and development. Linking all training to the performance of their employees is an effective way to show that by learning x, they are actively improving their ability to perform y. The reviews that Wescot perform on their employees is an integral part of this process as the learning and development team can monitor how effective the training has been. Another objective of Wescot is to ensure that their training is fun and engaging. For any employee to feel respected and valued by their company, they have to be engaged through learning activities. This then translates to a greater performance from members of the team that go through this training and therefore a greater customer service from Wescot as a whole.

The learning and development team comprises of some of the leaders in their field. For instance, Mike Rustill who leads the team, has joined Wescot from O2 where he was head of training there and he has won several awards for the success of his training programmes. Clients can rest assured that their needs will be met as a result of the high training standards set by Mike Rustill and the team.

Wescot | Customer Driven Learning and Development

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Wescot is a debt recovery company that is based in Hull, Glasgow and Saltcoats. Employing 650 people, Wescot are able to process the 5 million accounts per year that they receive, to the high standard for each of the company’s clients. Customer satisfaction is a philosophy that runs right through Wescot and is most pronounced in the learning and development Wescotprogrammes that the team put together. With the changes that the debt recovery industry is currently undergoing, there is even greater emphasis on a successful training department to better cope with these new changes.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has recently taken over as the regulator of debt recovery companies. This means that the team at Wescot behind learning and development have worked hard to make sure that the training that their staff receive adheres to the guidelines set out by the FCA. Complaint management is an area that has received greater scrutiny amongst other areas. For Wescot, it is important that they are able to maintain close relations with their clients and the employees at the company are trained to explain to clients exactly what they can expect under the new rules from the FCA.

In order for employees at Wescot to feel motivated to convey the company’s philosophy of customer satisfaction, they have to feel engaged with the company. One of the most effective ways of increasing their engagement level is to enhance their training and skills. Wescot’s learning and development department have put together a training programme, that through reviewing all employees they can work on the areas that need improving. What this means for Wescot’s clients is that every employee should be dedicated to satisfying their needs and everyone delivers the same high standard of service.

Ultimately, employees at Wescot have to be aware of what the company’s aims and objectives are. The learning and development team have a comprehensive induction process that relays this information to all new employees but they also extend this throughout the whole company. Under the leadership of Mike Rustill, a highly trained and educated L&D leader that joined Wescot from O2, the L&D department ensure the success of the company through their training and review processes.

 

Wescot | Updating the Debt Recovery Process

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The current economic climate, despite showing some signs of recovery, is still putting a lot of pressure on people financially. This has a knock-on effect to companies involved in the credit process and as such the six years since the credit crunch has forced many creditors to update their operating procedures in light of the changing industry. Couple this with the changes implemented by the new regulation body, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which has in fact put greater pressures on credit manawescotgement companies then businesses are in a state of flux. Wescot, the country’s largest debt recovery company has however, adapted some of its processes in order to remain at the head of the game.

The average level of disposable income for 2013 was £139 per week. For anyone with outstanding debts then this severely reduces the amount at which they can pay and puts pressure on debt recovery companies as the timescale on a collection is lengthened. To overcome this problem and still deliver a high standard to their clients, companies must be forthcoming with what targets they can reasonably achieve.

When the FCA began regulating the debt recovery market, one of the new rules they introduced meant more efficient complaint handling from debt recovery companies. In order to handle the number of complaints from account owners, Wescot turned to Equinti, a software company that creates programmes to drastically change the efficiency of background processes. Their Perito software has enabled the debt recovery company to organise their complaints better and ensure that the most pressing matters are dealt with first.

In the debt recovery industry, there is still a need for traditional snail mail as a physical letter is far more persuasive than an email that gets ignored in the inbox. During the recession it is important that all businesses operate as efficiently as possible. To this end, Adare is a company that effectively handles large volumes of mail, both by delivering the letters themselves, to speeding up the process of creating the correspondence in the first place. SmartEdit is a programme from Adare that Wescot have utilised to rapidly speed up the time it takes to write letters out, as many are fundamentally the same with some minor changes.

By updating their processes, debt recovery companies can remain on top whilst the industry changes.

Wescot | Learning and Development Culture

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Wescot, the UK’s biggest debt recovery company, is keen to promote the strong learning and training culture that exists within the company. Everybody from the managers, to the learning and development team themselves, right to the freshest employees are encouraged to further improve their abilities and skills. This means that for a customer driven company like Wescot, everybody that works for the company is able to deliver the high standard of customer service that is expected from them.wescot

The learning and development programmes developed by Mike Rustill and his team are engineered to motivate the employees at Wescot to give the best customer service that they can. Client satisfaction is of the utmost importance at Wescot and it is seen to it that everybody that works at the company shares that philosophy. The learning and development team hold regular reviews of every member of staff, so that their strengths and weaknesses can be highlighted. In the case of further training being required, the reviews will go a long way to informing the learning and development team which areas an employee might need extra education. With an extensive training process, clients of Wescot can expect that no matter who they talk to, they will be left encouraged by the friendly and knowledgeable staff who work at the company.

To exhibit just how much learning and development is part of Wescot, the company is keen to embrace the legislation that came into force on the 6th April 2010. Employees were given the right to take time off work for study or training as of that date, and Wescot put a lot of effort into making sure their employees are aware of this. Whether the training is done through Wescot, or the individual has secured further training outside of the business, then the learning and development team are happy to oblige them with the time off. The only proviso of taking this time off is that employees have to prove that by undertaking this training they will actively improve their ability to work for Wescot.

The learning and development culture is paramount for the success of Wescot, managers are fully aware of the progress of employees and acknowledge the fact that through development, the business can continue to succeed.