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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."
-Javier Vela, Senior Credit Manager, Global Credit Services, JDA Software Group Inc.
"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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"Everyone or No One"
"Many companies are running the credit department as a team rather than operating like an assembly line," says John Davis, Ph.D., CCP, of Davis Consulting (Richardson, Texas). However, the team approach raises compensation questions. How do you reward individuals, and the team as a whole, fairly and effectively? Credit, Davis notes, is a very measurable function. Items such as days sales outstanding, write-offs, and costs are well defined. And the team can be compensated as a whole for its results in these areas.
That doesn't rule out individual rewards. One interesting practice Davis has seen is having team members evaluate one another and give the evaluations to their manager. The evaluations are used as a factor in fixing raises, as well as a way to determine training needs.
Compensating a team should be based on the culture of your company and your department, Davis says. Ask these questions:
- What do people want?
- Are they willing to be flexible, to think of the success of the organization along with their individual efforts?
- What behavior do you want from people?
- What skills are needed?
"Make a dream list of what you want your people to do, focusing on profits and customer service," Davis suggests. "With that in mind, develop rewards that will encourage this behavior.
Human Resources Portal For Credit Managers
The biggest problems in credit are not financial issues; they're PEOPLE issues. So we've compiled a portal with all kinds of resources designed to assist credit pros manage this most difficult part of thejob. Learn what's working and what's not from those in the trenches, as well as hard data from our benchmarking surveys, including our industry-leading Salary & Job Satisfaction Survey.
Check out Credit Today's
HR Issues Portal for Credit Execs
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"There are many forms of compensation to choose from, but one element that seems to work for all team-oriented credit departments is a team bonus: Everyone gets it or no one does.
"In that way, you ensure that everyone, no matter what his or her individual skills may be, works for the overall success of your credit department," David concludes.
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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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