AccountsRecovery.net asked a number of industry luminaries and experts to complete a seemingly impossible task: Take everything that happened in 2020 and describe it in one word. Here is what they said:
Rick Rainho, Kinum
Adaptability. When Covid 19 hit and everything was closing, agencies had to adapt and set up work at home strategies. Collectors had to be extra sensitive as to what was happening and avoid complaints at all costs. Also working with clients, some wanted to hold back collections while others couldn’t afford to have the loss of revenue.
Brian Elrod, Text Request
Gratitude is the word I’ve used a lot in 2020. When thinking about 2020 , single words that come to mind are: unprecedented, hellacious and opportunistic.
However, I found myself expressing and feeling more gratitude than ever before. When viewing all the economic and health uncertainty, each day I woke up at home with a job, health, food, family and even some toilet paper. It gave me a new appreciation for just having a new day to live and how beautiful the simple things are in life. I will never take the simple things for granted again and it has opened my eyes to so many new things that cost nothing other than my attention. The year of bird watching, camp fires, long walks and home-cooked meals has forever changed me.
Jason Hiland, Attunely
Unprecedented. This year was like an entire century packed into a single year. Yes, it will be remembered for the COVID pandemic more than anything else. However, we experienced the medical industry revolutionize vaccine creation. We endured a presidential election that resulted in our first female vice president who is also a person of color. Wildfires wrecked Australia and the western United States as the equity markets hit record highs. Protests that will forever change our culture raged in the streets. We leveraged technology like it has never been utilized before. Our wounds are still fresh, but 2020 may be remembered as one of the most pivotal years in our history.
Roger Weiss, CACi
Grit. To me the word “grit” which is defined as courage and resolve, is a perfect word to describe 2020 … and beyond. This year time seems to have stood still, and rapidly passed simultaneously. Throughout the year we as individuals, companies, and an industry have been faced with terrifying challenges and opportunities presented in a turbulent landscape of chaos that changed daily … or more often than that. To simply survive mentally, emotionally and physically everyone to some degree has had to build and show relentless resolve and courage outwardly, whilst internally probably dealing with high amounts of doubt, fear and uncertainty. To me, that is grit!
Jeff DiMatteo, American Profit Recovery
Opportunity. There are many quotes mentioning how great things come out of our darkest times. I believe this is what will be said about 2020 and the COVID mess we hope to leave behind. That is why I chose “Opportunity” as the word to best describe 2020.
I for one was always against Working From Home. I felt most of us were much more productive in an office and I could never even imagine a collector working from home. Well, after being thrown into turning our whole staff to WFH, I have changed my mind. We have found limitless possibilities with the WFH program that we had no choice but to provide. Productivity, flexibility and positive moral to name a few.
We saw a new meaning of teamwork spawn as we found new ways to help each other succeed. By finding ways to contact consumers and reengage older accounts, we found revenue we never knew existed. And when we contacted these consumers? We found that many wanted to and were able to make arrangements and clean up their old debts. Much of what we were forced to learn in 2020 will stick around and continue to provide opportunity for years to come. Opportunities for both Agencies, Clients and Consumers.
Mary Shores, Mary Shores Communications
My word for 2020 is “Reinvent.”
Oftentimes, when things are falling apart around you, it’s when the most innovative ideas are born. It’s an opportunity for exponential, quick change. 2020 has brought those changes — both small and large — and allowed so many of us to reinvent ourselves, our goals, our strategies, and our mindsets.
