Engaging teams and retaining talent is crucial for managers in every industry. When we’re talking Credit, it’s important because it directly impacts performance and the overall success of the finance department.
So, how do you go about being a good leader and keeping the best people in your team?
Empathy and emotional intelligence.
After the pandemic, the need to be more understanding of wellbeing and personal circumstances has been widely recognised.
Listen to your team’s concerns and provide support where needed. This could be through offering flexible working hours or hybrid work models.
Encourage communication and ensure your team feels heard and valued. Especially in credit control, which can be high-pressure.
Create an environment where collaboration is encouraged and rewarded, rather than competition. This not only keeps engagement levels high but means employees don’t feel they’re battling against one another and can ask for support from team members rather than feeling isolated.
Growth and development
If you’re helping your team to develop, you need to work with them all to provide career paths. Allow them to take on new challenges or responsibilities.
Growth and development could come either within Credit or outside of it. Allow your team the chance to interact with others outside of Credit. We have seen over the years that people within Credit have often moved into wider finance roles or even account management or sales.
Recognition
One of the best parts of being a manager is praising and giving your team well-deserved rewards.
You can maintain and increase the occurrence of recognition via targets, projects and programmes.
Offering a mix of both monetary and non-monetary rewards is important. Not everyone wants recognition in the form of reimbursement. You could look into things like more responsibility, promotions, company-wide praise, additional leave etc.
Recognition shouldn’t just be as and when. Ensure you’re providing regular feedback and insight to team members – this includes constructive as well as ‘what went well’.
Introduce and embrace tech
Advancements in technology, particularly AI, are reshaping finance roles, making some technical skills less critical.
Help your employees stay ahead and on top by investing in software and apps that simplify repetitive tasks and frees up time for your team to focus on more strategic work.
Work life balance and flexibility
This will not come as news to you. Everyone is looking for work life balance.
Make sure you listen to requests and accommodate where you can. Offer flexibility in work hours or the option to work from home part-time. This will help reduce burnout, especially in a stressful field like credit management, and make your team feel appreciated and cared for.
Encourage your team to take breaks and avoid working late regularly. Create a culture where taking time off is respected shows that you care about their wellbeing.
Build a strong team
Credit control can be a high-pressure environment, so building a supportive and cohesive team is essential for retention.
Encourage team members to support one another in achieving their goals, sharing best practices and helping with challenges.
Lead by example
To truly engage and maintain relationships with your team, you must lead by example.
Be approachable and involved in day-to-day activities and decisions, but don’t overshadow or be invisible. Balance a relationship where you engage on a professional and personal level. It builds trust, honesty and respect.
Demonstrate commitment and care to your employees. Show resilience and problem-solving skills, especially when dealing with challenging financial situations, setting the tone for how your team should handle similar situations as they move through their career.
Be the manager you wanted as a manager before you were a manager.
Engaging your team is not just about meeting targets but about creating an environment where people feel valued, supported, and motivated to stay and grow with the company.