Large Collection Agency Job Expansion Announcements Becoming the Norm

In the face of one of the sharpest increases in the U.S. unemployment rate in decades, several high-profile job expansions have been announced by accounts receivable management call centers in the past few months.

More than a 1,000 ARM jobs have been created by five firms making public announcements recently.

West Asset Management (WAM) said in early September that it would be adding 107 seats to its Earth City, Mo. call center by October 1. The firm previously employed just seven people in the location.

Earth City’s call center expansion will focus primarily on work provided by one of WAM’s mortgage clients. The new agents are being hired to receive inbound calls from mortgage clients and help them prevent foreclosure on their homes.

Houston-based United Recovery Systems LP (URS) is currently in the process of hiring 600 employees. The debt collection agency announced last week that it has added 300 new workers since January 1 and expects to add another 300 over the next 6 months.

The company has experienced significant growth over the last two years, which management attributes to the URS collections approach. The company emphasizes working with consumers to provide debt solutions rather than a singular focus on payment.

"Everything tends to work out when we recognize problems early and deal with them head on," stated URS’ National Marketing Director Sean Keegan in the company’s press release. "We've created methods to help consumers resolve and manage their household debt, and we just need to connect with them, understand their situation, and develop a solution."

The recent announcements may signal a shift in the staffing trends within the ARM industry. In insideARM’s latest Credit & Debt Collection Industry Confidence Survey, more than 32 percent of collection agency participants reported layoffs in the second quarter of 2009, the highest level since the survey began. But only 18 percent said that they anticipated more layoffs in the second half of 2009. Conversely, more than 40 percent of collection agencies said they intended to grow their businesses over the remaining six months of the year.

Schaumberg, Ill.-based Financial Management Services Investment Corp. (FMS) announced last Wednesday that it would open a new 350 seat call center in Rockford, Ill.