CM September 2021

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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The seventh Annual General Meeting of the Chartered Institute of Credit Management will be held on Tuesday, 7 September 2021 at The British Psychological Society, 30 Tabernacle Street, London, EC2A 4UE at 13:00 (or at the rising of the Advisory Council from its preceding meeting, whichever is later). Any changes to location or format will be advised of if necessary. By order of the Executive Board Sue Chapple FCICM Chief Executive To read the Notice, visit: http://www.cicm.com/about-cicm/governance/ CICM MEMBER EXCLUSIVE Your CICM lapel badge demonstrates your commitment to professionalism and best practice TAKE PRIDE IN WEARING YOUR BADGE If you haven’t received your badge contact: cicmmembership@cicm.com LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT Top marks for Plymouth University’s Jack Gilbey Former Plymouth University student speaks to Max Tyson about studying during COVID, his early career and receiving the CICM prize. JACK Gilbey’s university experience was somewhat unconventional. Facing his final year in the midst of a pandemic threw up a raft of obstacles, yet his academic achievements in the field of credit management led to him receiving the Chartered Institute of Credit Management (CICM) Prize as Professor Salima Paul’s top student. Jack’s time at Plymouth University began like any other. Student life brought the freedom to socialise, party and – on occasion – work. But, as we all know, March 2020 brought major changes to the way we socialise, teach and work, with Jack and his cohort left with limited access to the Library and lecturers and forced to interact via Zoom. Yet Jack feels fortunate about the timing of it all: “COVID only struck at the end of my course, meaning I wasn’t significantly impacted and was able to keep myself motivated. The restrictions placed a greater impetus on self-teaching and pushed me to read around the subject, something that will no doubt help me going forwards.” Although Jack has decided to take up a position as a trainee accountant, having graduated with a BA in Accountacy and Finance (BA), Professor Paul’s course has provided him with another string to his bow: “It is helping me to better understand client’s businesses, provide strategic advice, and grasp the economic issues facing industries and businesses in the wider economy. “The course,” he continues, “draws on a number of disciplines, including finance, financial accounting, management accounting, treasury management, business law, and will prove a key asset as I begin my career.” Professor Salima Paul, a Fellow of the CICM and a well-respected name in the field of credit management, praises the ongoing partnership between the CICM and Plymouth University: “The CICM and Plymouth University work closely together to equip the next generation of credit professionals with the skills they need to tackle the problems facing the industry,” she says. “We encourage students like Jack to delve into the intricacies of the topic, and gain the understanding needed to become a future leader in the field.” Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / September 2021 / PAGE 50
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT Scouting for talent CICM apprenticeships are a key part of United Utilities’ talent strategy. AUTHOR – Michelle Atkinson FCICM UNITED Utilities provides the water and wastewater services for seven million people in North West England and we have some unique challenges to face as we enter a new normal after over a year and a half where things were anything but normal. We have a diverse customer population, serving rural to inner city communities and the North West faces some specific affordability challenges, for example: • 59 of the 100 most deprived neighbourhoods are in the North West • There are more asylum seekers in the North West than any other region of the UK • 32 percent of North West households earn less than £21,000 per year. It’s true that our people put our customers at the centre of everything we do and it is essential that, as leaders, we put our people at the centre of everything we do. This means investing in them and their futures, and what better way to invest in them than in learning, development and qualifications that will support their career advancement with us now and into the future. We want to shatter the myth that a role with us is just a contact centre job. Instead we want to offer everyone real opportunities to grow, learn, develop and gain promotion up a career ladder or learn more skills and move sideways to specialise in new or different areas. ATTRACTING TALENT A couple of great questions that have been asked for many years include ‘how do we attract the best talent?’ and once we have them, ‘how do we retain that talent?’ In a large department with hundreds of staff, another challenge is planning for tomorrow and ensuring that we have enough highly trained, highly engaged and passionate individuals who are ready to take that next step into management or leadership roles. The solution: apprenticeships, delivered and certified by the Chartered Institute of Credit Management. We identified that we are very good at delivering training and induction programmes to our new staff when they start with us but we also know that we can always do better. We want to bring new innovation to this area and make United Utilities and the Income department even more attractive to potential staff, not only as a job but as a career with real progression underpinned by real world qualifications that mean something. Taking the time to invest in programmes like these has vastly increased our engagement with our people and improved and secured our talent pipeline. We have our first group of staff starting with us on 1 September. They are Level 2 Apprentice Credit Controllers, and all are guaranteed a full time permanent position with us on graduation from the programme in 12-15 months’ time. Our Level 2 programme will allow us to bring in three groups of apprentices during each calendar year. All will complete our normal induction and training programme while studying for their CICM Level 2 Certificate in Credit and Debt Management as well as the Apprentice Credit Controller Qualification. During the programme we will deliver a wide range of directed learning programmes and CICM virtual classes covering a wide range of topics to ensure we have individuals with a much wider scope of knowledge, a higher skill range and who display the behaviours required to excel and thrive as they take their first step up our career ladder. RETAINING TALENT We have some of the best talent in the Water Industry already working for us but how do we support our existing staff and help them develop further and grow into the managers and senior leaders we need for tomorrow? On 19 July we had 17 existing staff starting on their Level 3 Advanced Credit Controller Apprenticeship journey. On completion, they will all be CICM Qualified and have earned the coveted letters ACICM to use after their names. Working with Kaplan Financial and the CICM, our apprenticeship programme has been designed to deliver a much wider scope of credit management knowledge and through our directed learning projects will build skills that will support promotion and progression, such as presentation skills, problem solving and leadership. The early feedback from our Level 3 apprentices has moved from apprehension about studying (when for some, the last time they studied was a number of years ago), to excitement as they start their first CICM module on Consumer Collections. Many have already completed a number of weekly tasks including research projects, webinars, e-learning modules and case studies, to name a few. WHAT’S NEXT? And we haven’t stopped there. As our apprentices at both levels progress and graduate, they will have the opportunity to advance further in their career with opportunities to study for their Level 5 Advanced Diploma and two different Level 6 specialist programmes depending on the career path they choose with us. Taking the time to invest in programmes like these has vastly increased our engagement with our people and improved and secured our talent pipeline. On graduation, we will have subject matter experts who are focused on continued personal and professional development and who can inspire and mentor the next generation of credit professionals within our business. Michelle Atkinson FCICM is Head of Income at United Utilities Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / September 2021 / PAGE 51
Page 1 and 2: CREDIT MANAGEMENT CM SEPTEMBER 2021
Page 3 and 4: 32 DARK MATTERS David Andrews 20 LE
Page 5 and 6: CMNEWS A round-up of news stories f
Page 7 and 8: “Small businesses can take action
Page 9 and 10: NEWS SPECIAL CICM makes two senior
Page 11 and 12: INSOLVENCY AUTHOR - David Kerr Ther
Page 13 and 14: FRAUD AUTHOR - Arun Chauhan Three e
Page 15 and 16: OPINION AUTHOR - Minck Hermans FOR
Page 17 and 18: BUSINESS RISK AUTHOR - Adam Bernste
Page 19 and 20: Evidence your compliance in a rapid
Page 21 and 22: GIVEN the rush to implement the Deb
Page 23 and 24: ENFORCEMENT SPECIAL Court users cal
Page 25 and 26: COUNTRY FOCUS AUTHOR - Adam Bernste
Page 27 and 28: COUNTRY FOCUS AUTHOR - Adam Bernste
Page 29 and 30: OPINION king Payment Initiation for
Page 31 and 32: Australian economy is bigger now th
Page 33 and 34: VIEW FROM THE SEAFRONT AUTHOR - Dav
Page 35 and 36: LEGAL MATTERS AUTHOR - Peter Walker
Page 37 and 38: PROFILES - CICM HQ Jules Eames FCIC
Page 39 and 40: STATISTICS Data supplied by the Cre
Page 41 and 42: Each of our Corporate Partners is c
Page 43 and 44: MARKETING & EDUCATION Virtual Class
Page 45 and 46: CAREERS ADVICE WORKING WAYS How can
Page 47 and 48: EDUCATION & MARKETING CICM Virtual
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Page 53 and 54: ROUND TABLE Improving your cash con
Page 55 and 56: HR MATTERS MIND THE GAP Uncovering
Page 57 and 58: TRAIN FOR THE YEAR AHEAD My Learnin
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CM September 2021

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