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Our Subscribers Say...
I think Credit Today is fantastic. You cover many practical topics in the credit field that I use regularly. Just one recent example—a conversation on the ListServ about preferential payments—gave me tips that I used in an actual case. The specific information I picked up from this one discussion saved me $10,000, enough to cover my membership for many years!
- Steve Savino
Manager of Credit & Collections, ASSA Abloy Americas Division, New Haven, CT
Credit Today's Resource Directory and their online e-mail forum (ListServ) provide information on almost any credit-related topic you can think of. It is a great way to exchange information with other credit professionals. As the saying goes, "You don't know what you don't know."
- Scott Goen,
Credit Manager, Big Lots Stores, Inc., Wholesale Division
"We've recently started using the ListServ tool within Credit Today. This is phenomenal and powerful forum for gaining immediate feedback, ideas, and suggestions, relative to any credit topic under the sun, all in a real-time e-mail format."
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"Being a part of the Credit Today online community is like having the expertise of hundreds of credit managers at your fingertips. These credit execs are willing to help you solve topical business issues as they arise. In the current environment of ever increasing competing priorities which reduce our opportunities to meet peers out of the office face-to-face, this is the most valuable tool you can have on your desktop! It's important that we have a mechanism to reach out to our counterparts quickly to exchange knowledge as well as to stay on top of industry trends."
- Victoria Artis, Director of Customer Financial Services, Pfizer, Inc.
"Over the last 10 years I've seen Credit Today evolve from a monthly credit publication into a quality source of information and guidance for the B2B credit community. The website, with its user friendly form downloads, will take you from examples of new account credit applications to bankruptcy forms and everything in between.
The Credit Today ListServ has become the pre-imminent online forum, providing an opportunity for discussion and comments (and occasional humor) from an impressive list of credit professionals."
David Dungan, Director of Credit
Justin Brands, Inc. (A Berkshire Hathaway company)
Fort Worth, Texas
"There are numerous credit periodicals available to the credit professional today. How good is Credit Today? Is it relevant? I always have to read it late, or online because my credit analysts want to read it the minute it comes in. When my staff wants to read a publication before I have a chance to read it then something is working in that publication. We have cancelled our other subscriptions. When you have the best you do not need the rest."
Ron Woods
Corporate Credit Manager-World Wide
Thales Navigation, Inc.
"The newsletter, coupled with the website and the ListServ, are to us, more valuable than any other credit publication, bar none. I try to use at least one article out of each newsletter for departmental training/discussion sessions."
D. Mark Constantine
Corporate Credit Mgr
Fulton Paper Company
"I love Credit Today and read every issue cover to cover. For me, the greatest perk of a subscription is ListServ. I believe Credit Today's ListServ members may be the most knowledgeable Credit brain trust in existence today. I have saved and categorized hundreds of contributions on a wide variety of topics which I refer to often. It's an easy and cost effective way to network and learn."
Doug M. Thomas
Kimberly-Clark Customer Financial Services |
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Evaluating Credit Department Supervisors
The fundamental assumptions about supervisors in the credit department are these:
- The best supervisors help motivate their subordinates through their strength of character, their maturity, their technical knowledge, and by the example that they set.
- Good supervisors are concerned about developing a flexible and responsive team.
- The best supervisors find creative ways to help customers, salespeople, and their employer to achieve each of their goals.
Since delegation amplifies the amount of work that a supervisor can perform personally, the credit manager must evaluate a supervisor's ability to delegate work effectively. The credit manager must determine whether enough work and responsibility is being delegated to the supervisor's staff. If it is not, then the supervisor will be doing detail work that he or she should not be performing. For example, a collection supervisor who is doing routine collection calls is not using his or her time to its best advantage.
The credit manager must also be certain that the supervisor does not overburden his or her subordinates with work. If the credit manager finds that too much or too little work is being delegated, corrective action should be taken with the supervisor as quickly as possible.
When delegation is done properly, the assignment is clearly understood, the subordinate has the necessary information and resources, the deadline is specifically identified, and the supervisor remains available to help the person to whom the assignment has been delegated. If work is not being assigned carefully by a supervisor, that problem will be fairly easy to spot.
If delegated work is not done on time or is of poor quality, then the supervisor needs to be coached or retrained on how to delegate properly.
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Another way to evaluate the supervisory performance is to look at the way that subordinates are trained. A good supervisor will have a program in place for orientation and training of new employees. A good supervisor will make efforts to prepare employees for future promotions, and will encourage and assist employees in developing to their fullest potential. If these programs are not in place, the supervisor is not performing one of his or her most important assignments properly and the credit manager should intervene.
In general, credit managers are looking for supervisors who
- Are reliable, intelligent, and articulate.
- Tend not to become excitable or rattled under pressure.
- Have the maturity necessary to handle problems effectively,
professionally, and intelligently.
- Willingly accept new assignments.
- Demonstrate a genuine interest in protecting the company's investment in its accounts receivable, and arguably most importantly, have a genuine desire to look for way to help the department and the company achieve their respective goals.
If any of these skills are missing, the credit manager should address the deficiency or deficiencies during a performance appraisal. To do otherwise would be unfair to the individual and to the company.
by Michael Dennis
Director of Credit
Golden Ram
Irvine, California
Michael Dennis has almost 20 years of credit management experience. He has taught the Credit Administrator Program (CAP) and ACAP course for the local Credit Mangers Association for the last six years. He is a frequent guest speaker and lecturer at local and regional credit conferences, and he is president of MCD Credit Consulting.
Editor's Note: The above article originally appeared in the Credit & Collection Manager's Letter, a newsletter purchased by Credit Today in 2006. This article originally appeared prior to 2000.
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Outlook 2012
This month's survey explores...
- What the top problems are facing credit execs currently, and
- What the top improvement initiatives are.
Click here to participate!
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February 2012
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