Best Places to Work in Collections Winner Profile: Financial Credit Network

The employees of Financial Credit Network, Inc. really enjoy their jobs. So much so that their input propelled the collection agency to a first place finish for small companies in insideARM’s first annual Best Places to Work in Collections program.

Based in Visalia, Calif., Financial Credit Network (FCN) employs about 62 people and focuses on debt collection for a broad range of sectors, with an emphasis on utility, healthcare and government collections. The company also has a satellite office in Santa Barbara, Calif.

FCN is focused on customer service, according to Vice President Kris Davisson. While most debt collection agencies claim the same, FCN makes it a core part of their mission.

“Basically, we want every person who interacts with us to say, ‘Wow, that was a collection agency?’ when they hang up the phone,” said Davisson.

Employees are taught this concept from a very early stage. The company’s orientation and training program lasts three full weeks. Before a collector makes their first call, the mantra is driven home.

But one of the reasons that FCN’s employees are so satisfied with their jobs is that training really begins before collectors even come on board.

Davisson says that the company holds recruitment nights where they invite a group of pre-screened applicants to come to the office for a two to three hour evening session. At the session, the applicants are shown a video that introduces them to the accounts receivable management industry and are allowed to ask questions of representative collectors and collection managers. Davisson said that the answers are sometimes brutally honest and not always positive.

“We encourage people to leave at any point if they feel they can’t do the work,” said Davission, “and many do.”

Applicants are also given the opportunity to listen to simulated collection calls.

The process ensures that FCN hires the correct people and that the incoming collectors understand the job and their new company.

Once the employees are a part of the company, FCN makes sure to keep open lines of communication so that people don’t have to worry about the health of the firm. Davisson said that FCN holds open meetings on each payday, giving employees the opportunity to ask questions every two weeks. In addition, the company holds quarterly meetings offsite. But Davisson conceded with the economy the way it is, the company will probably be able to do only two “quarterly” off site meetings this year, since the company essentially shuts down for the day.

FCN also makes sure its employees are fairly compensated, with plenty of opportunity for bonuses. The company has weekly and quarterly bonus programs in addition to individual performance bonuses for the year. The company also matches 50 percent of employee 401k contributions.