Constant focus on training is a must

Being in an industry with everchanging legislations and complex rules demands focus on growth and improvement. While this industry also means daily contacts with individuals who are maybe not at the best place in their lives, it requires a special kind of employee – one who is also growing and changing with the demands of the market, our customers, and our fellow human beings.

For this reason, Sergel Denmark has recently conducted an extensive training program led by Louise Mattel. Louise has substantial experience within several industries, doing ‘change–programs’ which focus on behavior, communication, education, management, and HR projects.

Klaus Reimer, MD of Sergel Denmark, says “It was quite clear to me, that this was a great opportunity to elevate a high level of competences to an ever higher one, when we got the opportunity to work closely together with Louise.”

Klaus continues: “Our employees are already highly experienced in dealing with end-customers having our “We Care” in focus, but there are always ways to optimize how to work, what to say, when to say it etc. This is where Louise´s vast experience in our industry and her personal skills are of high value.”

The training had two focus areas, which are strategic to Sergel, namely “We Care” and “Effortless Experience”

The “We Care” mantra is not just about being nice, but about finding the best solution for the end-customer, whilst always having the customers best interest in mind. This requires being able to pinpoint quickly in a call, what the purpose is and how to direct the call into finding a solution which is realistic and makes sense to all involved.
By structuring call flows and systematically going through the different options, Sergel’s debt collection agents know how to ask the right questions, to validate answers and solutions and to always consider “best for business” – which is crucial in an industry where customer contact is not just about service but even more about collection.
Focusing on providing an effortless experience is about more than good online tools. It is also a matter of securing that customer agents have a differentiated approach to their calls depending on the specific end-customer. Even in a regulated industry, it makes sense to provide guidelines which are consistent but still human and lets every debt collection agent use their own good judgement. Being able to avoid further issues, thinking not only of the current issue but also looking ahead and anticipating and addressing the next issue, is a skill which can be taught and trained and which in the end, gives a much better customer experience.

To top off the training, Sergel´s local coach has participated and has been trained in a “train the trainer” program, which has upgraded her skills and allows her to continue and follow-up on the existing quality program, using new parameters to monitor, measure and improve skills in our teams.

We are excited to see already now, how this training increases our end-customer experience surveys to an even higher level.