How does one determine whether or not the credit department is adequately
staffed? My team is perpetually overworked.
Answer: There is no simple
answer. Organizations such as the Credit Research Foundation offer credit
professionals some insights in the form of published reports such as
the one found at this link: http://www.crfonline.org/surveys/prodsurvey/2002CollectionProductivityResults.pdf
Unfortunately, studies such as this provide only part of the answer.
For example, in a credit department that relies more on people power
than computer software to manage risk and control aging, more bodies
will be required to do the work. Similarly, if a creditor company operates
in a highly competitive industry in which customers are large, demanding,
confrontational and in which competitor companies will use credit terms
to lure away customers the credit department will need a larger staff
than in an industry in which the balance of power is more balanced. |