Co-op manages debt with new performance tools

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Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) has deployed a blend of performance management software and training that has delivered a 29 per cent cost benefit to its debt recovery department.

CFS, which comprises the Co-operative Bank, Co-operative Insurance Society and smile, the internet bank, undertook a management review in 2003 to enhance it working practices.

As a result, its debt management department began working with operations management software and training provider EG in 2006 to replace manual, Excel-based methods of tracking daily workloads.

Pam Stewart, CFS debt recovery customer service manager for processing told IT PRO the work since then has facilitated better management practices and operational process improvement, as well as improved service to the end customer.

"It's very important, in a volume-drive and customer focused area like ours, to make sure workloads are processed as efficiently as possible and in correct timescales," she said.

"eg provided a base to log all inbound work and allocate it out to individuals, as well as have a global view at any time during the day of the workloads we're deadline with, which also opens up minds in terms of challenging existing processes to make them more efficient."

Now, a year since the go-live of eg's operational intelligence software suite, the process improvement resulting from the engagement and increased management capabilities, has allowed the department to clear work backlogs, save on the cost of having to replace leavers because of increased productivity levels of remaining staff and absorb forecasted volume increases.

Stewart added that this added layer of performance management and visibility was complemented by eg's delivery of operational management training and development for managers and team leaders during its implementation, so any benchmarking and performance analysis can be turned into meaningful development of individual and team working practices.

"The fact that staff can monitor their own workloads now is empowering them to exceed their targets," added Stewart. "But we can also use the historical data now built up in the system to improve further moving forward."

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