IF THERE IS one group of people that the recession should have benefited it's debt collectors. As one of Britain's leading credit management and debt recovery organisations, BCW Group knows better than most the strain of the recession on ordinary consumers because it deals with them every day. With more than 25 years of experience, BCW traces debtors and arranges payment plans as well as providing credit management services. The firm has 380 employees in the UK and Ireland, and offices in Glasgow, Stratford-upon-Avon, Manchester, Leeds and Dublin. It was recently acquired by Gothia Financial Group, which operates in eight countries. Founded in 1983, the group aims to provide the maximum net return for clients who include companies, financial institutions handling portfolios of debt worth hundreds of millions of pounds, and local authorities with hundreds of thousands of council taxpayers. BCW prides itself on looking after the entire solution for clients, including tracing, collection, pre-sue reporting and litigation services, while at the same time treating debtors as individuals — an ethos the company believes delivers results. Despite the obvious potential stresses of the job, BCW prides itself on staff retention, helped by benefits such as performance-related pay, private healthcare, childcare vouchers, extra holidays, a car allowance and life assurance. The average length of service is seven years and 16 people have been with the firm for 10 or more years. The group scores well for the Fair Deal factor (a 69% positive score, seventh overall) and for Wellbeing (74%, eighth). Morale boosts take the form of trips to Blackpool or the races, a summer barbecue, and incentives such as team cash prizes. BCW ranks sixth in terms of staff believing they are paid fairly for the work they do compared with people in similar positions in other organisations (70%). Employees say they have the support needed to provide a great service (76%), ranking 15th. bcwgroup.com
