In the 30 years of receiving and handling claims from all over the world, I am still learning everyday about the joys and challenges of working with overseas collection attorneys and agents.
In particular, I have to say that one of the biggest pleasures is that I have forged many wonderful relationships with collection professionals on almost every continent. As you can imagine, every collection professional brings to each business relationship not only their own collection experiences within their country, but also their culture, ways of thinking and ways of doing that have been formed over generations. As each party brings to the relationship a host of dynamics, there will be times when one professional’s perspective may seem a little peculiar or misunderstood by the other.
When we as collection professionals need to entrust a claim to another professional in a foreign country, we do so with the understanding that the overseas professional has the ability to:
- Converse in the language of the home country.
- Communicate persuasively and effectively with the debtor.
- Perform investigations, onsite visits, and other related collection services.
- Analyze complex financial, legal, or business problems.
- Create and offer options to help both the creditor and debtor reach a win/win resolution.
- Process a claim through the court system if required.
- Report the status of each case on a regular basis.
But in addition to the above attributes, what makes placing a claim with the overseas collection professional imperative is their understanding of how to navigate the nuances within their language and culture in order to effectively handle collecting a claim.
For example, I have heard many times that “yes” in Japanese doesn’t always mean that the person “agrees” with what you are saying. Instead, depending upon the relationship of the parties, the topic of the discussion, and the mode of communicating, it can range from meaning “I’m listening” to “really, I didn’t know that”. And so in trying to collect a claim, especially one which may have a dispute or extenuating circumstances, the overseas collection professional’s ability to decipher the real meaning of each word and expression is key to collecting it.
Some overseas collection professionals, including myself, may not understand the dynamics that are involved in the collection process within another professional’s home country. We may feel strange or frustrated that what should be a normal procedure or result in our own country, is becoming unnecessarily complicated. Or, there may be times when the overseas professional appears to not be as aggressive as we think they should be. Unfortunately, since we’re not there with the collection professional while they are talking and negotiating, whether on the phone or in person, it’s hard to evaluate that professional’s situation and effectiveness.
Over time, we will certainly understand how each overseas collection professional operates. Each report, email, telephone conversation, and Skype call will give us more and more of an indication of how they work, their commitment to providing good service, and the hurdles that they face within their own culture and country. Although it takes time, patience, and a desire to cross many cultural borders, there are immense rewards and business opportunities that result from forging long term relationships.
From: Octávio Aronis