Skills World to Launch New Training Aid for Credit and Collections Industry

Skills World, a professional training and business services provider, will launch collector mentor™ in November. The new bimonthly training resource is designed to educate, support, and motivate frontline credit and collection industry professionals by covering topical industry laws, collection techniques, interpersonal skills, and soft-business tips.

According to Gary Jensen, Chief Learning Officer of Skills World and publication editor, the training tool was developed to boost performance through skill enhancement and professional development by providing greater access to vital information at a lower cost than existing training and educational aids.

“Our aspiration is to touch as many frontline heads, hearts, and hands as possible and we’re encouraging subscribers to take advantage of our electronic subscription,” Jensen said. Unlike most publications that are offered on an individual-level, collector mentor subscriptions are available at a company-level, and subscribing companies can internally reproduce, redistribute, and reuse issues at no extra cost. While a traditional hard copy is available, the electronic option allows subscribers to quickly distribute each issue to all staff.

Jensen believes that the industry offers excellent publications targeted toward management, but says collector mentor distinguishes itself by being geared toward the industry frontline. “The unique thing about this publication is its design as a training and motivational tool which allows supervisors and managers to develop their staff’s skill set, knowledge, and overall performance on a regular basis,” he said.

Another benefit of the electronic version, Jensen believes, is that it can be easily and affordably accessed by the international community, as well as by domestic companies with offices outside the United States. “Keeping the entire company in sync is important and with individual copy access, it’s more likely that the publication will be read and retained for future reference,” Jensen said.

A pilot campaign performed by Skills World in spring 2008 garnered positive reviews and has attracted interest from a wide variety of industry sectors, including: student loans, auto finance, debt buyers, banks and credit unions, collection agencies, and healthcare providers among others. To ensure high editorial quality and reflect the needs of its diverse subscriber base, Skills World has assembled an Editorial Advisory Board comprised of well-respected and dedicated industry professionals from different niche markets.

According to Jensen, the publication is more than just another magazine. “It’s a training aid, and research has shown that companies that invest in ongoing training and development stand a better change of outperforming their competition, meeting client expectations, and operating at a higher level of overall performance,” he said. Jensen believes that continuous education and development is critical. “With collector mentor companies can offer training without breaking the bank,” he said.

For more information about collector mentor or to download a sample electronic copy, please visit www.collectormentor.com.

About collector mentor™
collector mentor is a bimonthly publication designed to meet the needs of credit and collection industry frontline staff. Each issue provides subscribers with information on a variety of topics including industry laws, collection techniques, soft-business skills, and more. Electronic subscriptions are available for $99 per year. Hard copy subscriptions, which include an electronic copy, are available for $159 per year.

About Gary Jensen
Gary has more than a decade of experience in the credit and collection industry in both first- and third-party collection environments. He has worked in management and “in the trenches” in both the profit and nonprofit sectors. He is a former Certified Instructor for ACA International, The Association of Credit and Collection Professionals, and holds a Professional Collection Specialist and Healthcare Collection Specialist designation from the same. He has appeared as a guest speaker at industry events including ACA’s Annual Convention, ACA’s Fall Forum, and NCHELP’s Debt Management Conference. He has also written several published credit and collection industry articles.

About Skills World
Skills World is a professional training and business services company located in Adel, Iowa. Founded in 2007 by Gary Jensen, Skills World exists to help individuals and companies realize greater levels of success, enjoyment, and satisfaction in what they do by closing the gap between where they are and where they want to be. A commitment to clients’ goals and needs allows Skills World to offer long-lasting partnerships based on trust, effectiveness, and affordability.

For more information please visit www.skillsworld.org or call (515) 339-5899.