In This Edition

• 📈 The Case for Process-Based Evaluation

• ⚠️ Impatience and the Lure of Immediate Results

• ⚙️ Shift the Mindset with Process-Based Frameworks

• 🤔 Closing Thoughts

• 🎓 Links for the Learners

• 💡Tip of the Week

• ⌛Recap From Last Week

• 🙌 Sharing is Caring

Measuring success solely by outcomes—payments, promises to pay, or closed accounts—is tempting. After all, results are what keep the lights on. But I think that this view is short-sighted. What if a process-based approach, one that prioritizes how we work over immediate outcomes, could yield better results in the long run? 

Today we'll explore why recognizing and rewarding a perfect process, even when it doesn’t result in the ideal outcome, isn’t just a nice idea—it’s a strategy for sustained success. Sometimes you just have to Trust the Process!

While we’ll focus primarily on collector-related processes, the principles discussed here are broadly applicable across departments and organizations. Whether it's refining workflows, improving team communication, or ensuring compliance, process-based evaluation can drive meaningful change in any context.

📈 The Case for Process-Based Evaluation

Collections is more than a transaction; it’s a relationship. A collector who follows the script perfectly, uses calibrated questions, demonstrates empathy, and maintains compliance builds trust. These behaviors create the foundation for goodwill - and payments. They’re also replicable, scalable, and trainable.

Processes are measurable and controllable. Outcomes, by contrast, can be heavily influenced by factors outside your control: a consumer’s financial situation, timing, or even their mood that day. 

Let’s channel our inner Ron Swanson: "Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing." This philosophy fits here—commit fully to the process, and the results will follow.

⚠️ Impatience and the Lure of Immediate Results

We live in a fast-paced world where instant gratification is the norm. In collections, this mindset translates into a relentless pursuit of immediate payments. Managers want numbers now. Collectors feel pressured to close on every call. And when those payments don’t come, frustration mounts.

This impatience leads to common pitfalls:

1. Micromanagement: Focusing on short-term results fosters a culture where collectors feel scrutinized rather than supported.

2. Burnout: The relentless chase for payments can lead to stress, high turnover, and disengagement among team members.

3. Short-Sighted Strategies: Overemphasis on immediate outcomes discourages long-term thinking, like building rapport or improving skills that yield dividends over time.

4. Compliance Risks: Rushing for results often tempts teams to cut corners, risking violations of the FDCPA, Reg F, or other critical regulations.

Does this sound familiar? Possible within your team’s environment? If so, it’s time to rethink your approach.

Every rushed call that prioritizes a quick win over genuine connection erodes trust. Consumers may feel pressured, defensive, or even hostile. Those quick wins that you’re pushing so hard to find will dissolve in front of you.

When your team’s focus narrows to just today’s metrics, you’re blind to the bigger picture. That’s like cutting down a fruit tree to harvest one season’s yield without planting for the future. The long-term result? Lower recoveries, higher compliance risks, and a less motivated team.