“The most important development in the last 15 years has been the shift from an almost exclusively supportive to a demanding teacher approach”
The local subsidiary of Polish company Kruk has grown from a team of 15 to more than 600 people in 15 years, a development that has gone hand in hand with rising debt levels of consumers and sometimes radical changes in the labor market. Changes brought about by technology, changes in consumer perception and behavior, increased competition are just some of the elements that have influenced HR policy in recent years and redefined jobs in the debt recovery area.
translated by Loredana Frățilă-Cristescu
„Debt collectors“, a term every Romanian seems to have an opinion about. What is the reality?
This is a discussion that is as broad as it is interesting; every year we research aspects of Romanians’ perceptions and behavior towards the idea of debt, in order to get to know our clients as well as possible and to be able to develop appropriate solutions for each individual profile, so that they can get back on their feet financially as quickly as possible.
As far as our potential colleagues are concerned, however, this association of what we actually do with „debt collectors“ or other similar notions, even if ingrained among the people over time due to superficial assessments, fades as they increasingly interact with the company. For example, if a candidate is somewhat reluctant to commit to KRUK because it does not seem like a popular or friendly field, they realize fairly quickly that, on the contrary, the effort they would put into our team would consistently contribute to someone’s well-being, i.e. help someone get back on their feet financially, whether they are an individual or a company.
You entered the Romanian market in 2007. What was your candidate profile at that time?
The collection industry in Romania was just starting to crystallize in 2007, when the KRUK Group opened its subsidiary here. The fact that the business in this country is derived from a group helped a lot in positioning the company in the market also in terms of human resources, requirements and candidate and employee profile for different departments, even if there was, of course, a nuance of local feeling. They were looking for colleagues who were interested in the financial area and development opportunities in a relatively new but very dynamic field.
Access to international know-how, best practices and technologies was, especially then, kind of a wild card. Respect, the ability to work together, the ability to cope with change and to find quick solutions using available resources have remained, however, constant in our evaluation grids.
You started with a team of 15 people and have grown to 615, and in 2022 you are aiming for 650, in an extremely dynamic market, where young people in particular tend to change employers often. What is the retention rate at Kruk?
The average age of our colleagues is 34 and the average length of service is around five years, which, if you look at the dynamics of today’s labor market, especially in the conditions generated by the pandemic, is very good. Many employees came to the company with the intention of staying for a short period of time and are still our colleagues years later.
Turnover in 2021 was 19.7%. We believe a “healthy” turnover, according to experts, generally speaking, to be around 10%. So, we are in the process of calibration here, even though we are aware that it is difficult to reach this 10% when almost 70% of employees belong to Generation Z (1996-2010), i.e. they have a high appetite for repeated job changes.
We have many colleagues who have been with us for more than ten years and have become true brand and industry ambassadors. One of our longest-serving employees is Dan Rogoz, who started as a helpdesk and IT administrator 15 years ago and later moved up to IT Area Director.
Is there a strategy in approaching customers, a recipe for success?
At the end of every communication channel with KRUK (phone, chat, email) is a professional, empathetic person who understands the difficulty of the person who has to pay back a sum of money and tries to help them find the best payment solution. The main focus is on friendly interaction, a priority skill in the professional profile of employees.
The most important development in this respect was the shift from an almost exclusively „supportive“ to a „demanding teacher“ approach. We started to stress in communication that debt is an obligation and even if we try, together, to find ways forward, it will have to be paid to avoid further legal proceedings, which are imperative.
The pandemic brought a shock to the labor market. How has Kruk adapted and what steps are you taking to make employees feel more secure?
During the pandemic we took a normal approach, where employee health was the priority: we did not „put up the shutters“ nor did we require employees to come to the office a fixed number of days per month. The general recommendation was to telecommute, but we also took into account those jobs that could not be done remotely. We also have colleagues, especially in the call center, who asked to come to the office because they did not have a proper set up at home.
We launched new communication channels, from KRUK News, KRUK Podcast, live meetings on Teams, online galas, wellness webinars, go on holiday contests, KRUK’s Got Talent project, replaced the annual company party with team building at small team level and so on.
As for benefits, every employee has private health insurance and the amount of RON581 per month granted in the Benefit platform, from where they have the freedom to choose what purchases they make. For example, in the 2021 Retention Program, winners could choose between „Tourist Package RON3,500“, „Sabbatical Package 1 month“ or „Job Challenge Package“, whereby they could opt for a month in a different position.
♦ KRUK Romania started with a portfolio of 15,000 clients in 2007 and came to manage the debt of more than 2 million Romanians in 2021.
♦ The number of clients who paid the entire debt to KRUK Romania is 538,761 and 54% of them chose the amicable solutions offered.
♦ The payment agreement is a product chosen by more than 300,000 Romanians; the average value of an instalment is RON260/month.