A: Morning meetings were the first initiative to be implemented. “It started out as a necessity, but it grew into something that is really just a part of what we do now,” Kimberly says. Even though people have returned to the office, they still have those morning meetings because of how much they enjoy them. During those, everyone gets to voice their concerns and talk about their goals for the day. Managers also then meet with each team member on an individual basis. Essentially, the morning meeting slowly grew into a culture.
As for how they implemented these morning meetings, Bethany says that they took “small bites” to begin with. Here’s what that process looked like.
Phase 1: They started off using Facetime informally to ensure that the team could communicate frequently.
Phase 2: Now, each department has questions they need to answer during the morning meeting (ie. what should we keep in mind, what are we going to implement, how can we apply this and teach our new hires,etc.)
“Everybody’s finding out that they’re capable of more than they thought they were,” Kimberly says.
Bethany says that these morning meetings have also allowed employees to express their emotions in a healthy manner. “We try to create a very open culture; it’s okay to be not okay,” Bethany says.
They’ve also made an investment in employees’ through Grant Cardone Sales Training University. Through these courses, they’re learning how to improve their mental attitude and communication skills. Bethany believes these courses are effective since they give her team another perspective on the topics that they’ve already discussed. The courses are designed for sales, but she finds that they can also be applied to debt collection. “You really are selling; you’re selling your service and you’re selling the service that they’ve already received,” says Bethany.
The courses are also useful in teaching them new ways of approaching consumer objections with a positive attitude. Bethany believes that investing in professional development through Cardone University has broadened her team’s view of the consumers they speak to. They’ve adjusted their focus to be less on how much they’re collecting, and more on how they’re collecting. Cardone University has helped emphasize the importance of helping the consumer. “It’s rewarding to our collectors when they find a way for somebody who hasn’t thought they could pay a bill to end up getting that taken care of and get that burden off their back,” says Kimberly.
