Allied International Credit and The McQuaig System - Beating the Turnover Odds

Executive Summary

Using The McQuaig System to assess new employees and determine the motivational needs of their existing employees, Allied International reduced turnover from 76 percent to 37 percent in their critical Collection Officer position.

The Company

Allied International Credit, founded in 1955, is a key player in the Canadian third party collection industry. Allied helps clients in retail, finance, insurance and government minimize losses through a professional systems approach to debt collections.

The Challenges

1. High Costs of Employee Turnover

Seven years ago, Allied had a 76% turnover rate in their Collection Officer position. Even though this was below the industry standards of 100 percent, it still meant thousands of dollars were being lost to training and recruitment on an on-going basis.

2. Specific Selection Criteria Required for the Collection Officer position.

The Collection Officer’s position requires continuously making outbound calls – it’s fast-paced and very unpredictable. Allied wanted to provide better service to their clients. To do this, they needed to ensure a better fit between new recruits and the demanding requirements of the job.

Allied and The McQuaig System

Allied adopted The McQuaig System – a three-step process for managing people:

1. Define the real demands of a job
2. Assess the candidates against the established criteria
3. Retain the best people

1. Define the Job: THE McQUAIG JOB SURVEY® and THE McQUAIG WORD SURVEY®

"It all comes down to what I call soft skills rather than any specific training", says Carole Geroux, Human Resources Generalist. "Good Collection Officers first and foremost need the right temperament".

	Senior Managers completed THE JOB SURVEY to reach a consensus on the behavioral requirements of the Collection Officer job.
	Allied also had top-performing Collection Officers complete THE WORD SURVEY to determine the ideal temperament.
	By putting the two together, Allied created a composite or benchmark for the Collection Officer position.

2. Assess the Individual: THE McQUAIG WORD SURVEY®

"I don’t make a hiring decision until I’ve seen THE WORD SURVEY results. It plays an important part in the hiring process." - Laurie McNall, Project Manager

Candidates for a Collection Officer position fill out THE WORD SURVEY, which creates a "profile" of their temperaments. Comparing this to the benchmark profile gives a clear indication of likely "fits".

3. Retain the Best People: THE McQUAIG WORD SURVEY® and THE McQUAIG WORD SURVEY® OBSERVER

	To help retain these top-notch recruits after hiring, Allied uses THE WORD SURVEY and THE OBSERVER on an on-going basis.
	THE OBSERVER is a 360o feedback tool which, together with THE WORD SURVEY, provides key information to help in training, motivating, supervising and promoting each employee.

The Results

	Two years ago, Allied undertook its biggest expansion to date. Staff grew by 67%. But with The McQuaig System implemented across the company, turnover overall still dropped to all-time low of 37%.
	Even before that, turnover in the Collection Officer position had dropped so significantly that Allied began using The System across the entire organization for all potential new hires.

"Obviously, lowering our turnover has had a tremendous impact on the bottom line. But it goes beyond that. Because we work hard at providing the highest possible level of satisfaction to Allied’s customers, we set very high standards for our employees. They have a mandate to deliver results to our customers and to achieve these with respect, courtesy and integrity. It’s almost impossible to instill this kind of value system in employees if your workforce is constantly turning over."
– Allied President, David Rae