It was one evening in 1995, two years after she had joined Afni, Inc. (Bloomington, Ill.) as training director, that Debra Ciskey listened in on one young collector's efforts to get somewhere with an irate debtor.

"First, he let the man vent his anger," recalls Ciskey, who is now director of Global Organizational Learning Development for the nationwide outsourcer of call center services. "Then, using empathy and a little humor - without making light of the situation - he convinced him that we really wanted to help."

Help in a collections context, she continues, often involves enabling people to understand the debt and their obligation to pay it. They know they have to pay, but they have been putting it off. And the longer they put it off, the harder it is to deal with.

"The collector's role is to key on the fact that they really want to pay and get it over with," she says. "But often debtors don't know how to do it. Collectors have to help them recognize where they have resources. Maybe they're making car payments. If they deferred one payment, that may be enough to pay off the debt.

"It's critical that collectors do not make the debtor feel threatened--that they take a sales approach, one that is consensual and motivational."

And where do you find people who can handle this kind of demanding and stressful work--people who can remain polite, patient, and resourceful while dealing with a frequently abusive public? The young man whose performance impressed Ciskey so much seven years ago was a part timer recruited right off a college campus.

Better Pay, Convenient Hours

"We have several colleges and universities nearby, and we've found they're an excellent source of collectors," she says. "We pay more than they can earn on campus jobs, and the work doesn't interfere with their class schedules. We can use them to fill in gaps in our staffing coverage."

This particular student collector stayed on with Afni and within two years became an instructor training new hires. "When we needed instructors, we posted a notice, and he applied," she says. "He did a creative and interactive presentation, and he developed into one of our best instructors. Now he's gone back to school to get his MBA. I hated to see him go. I love it when someone comes in with such enthusiasm."

Enthusiasm, she acknowledges, can sometimes be difficult to maintain in collection work. In selecting collector candidates - often through referrals from current employees - she looks for maturity, stability, and the ability to learn and to work a flexible schedule. She tends to be wary of previous collections experience ("It's not always the best; old habits are hard to break") but has had some veteran collectors work out well.

New hires go through a two-week training program that concentrates on compliance issues, computer processes, service, and negotiations. Compliance, particularly with the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act is absolutely critical, but she has found that younger people today do not even know about the old, hard-nosed, threatening collection tactics prohibited by the Act.

Promotion opportunities are posted regularly. "Some very good employees reach a point where they just have to get away from the phone," she says. "That's why it's so important to talk about other opportunities that are available in the company when you have them."

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the Credit & Collection Manager's Letter.