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In a business
as tough as the collections industry -- one which is not known for
its social graces -- ASSET Inc. is an anomaly, according to William
Meany, its president.
"By summoning all of our patience and understanding, we have
treated debt-challenged customers with an unexpected absolute respect,"
Mr. Meany says. "It's downright amazing how much efficiency
it adds. The key strategy in this is that it doesn't cost a cent
to be nice, but it can be very costly not to be. What separates
us from our competitors is that we may be doing this while others
may not."
Being nice, however, is only part of the package. ASSET is also
smart: The Web-based collection system it pioneered is behind much
of ASSET's success.
"Having grown up as the first of the micro-PC generation, I
was surprised at the lack of use of the Internet in the industry,"
says Mr. Meany, who joined the company in 1989 and is in his early
30s. "People thought we were crazy, but we talked [the Internet]
up until we were blue in the face."The industry lacked organization and automation, and that is where
ASSET found its niche.
By injecting funds into developing a Web-based system in which clients
could exchange information with various suppliers -- essentially
tracking and tracing delinquent customers -- ASSET revolutionized
the collections industry and, along the way, saw its gross sales
increase from $2-million to $70-million in 10 years.
The major Canadian banks were among its most receptive clients."Canada has some of the most sophisticated and advanced technologies in the global banking industry," Mr. Meany says in a phone interview from London, England.
"Canadian banks have very high standards and they demand that their suppliers be equally innovative. When we traffic this innovation around the globe, it is easily identified as being the best: It makes for an easy sale and translates into rapid expansion for the company. We owe much of our success to the high demands of the Canadian banking industry."
The combination of technological innovation and bank industry approval has helped ASSET expand its operations into the United States and Europe.
ASSET supports 25 charities across Canada, from the Calgary Women's Shelter to Oasis Addiction Recovery Society to Youth Without Shelter. A dozen charities are listed on ASSET's Web site (www.ASSET.net) One of the donations the employees were most proud of was the Web site they designed for the Charles H. Best organization, which works with juvenile diabetes. ASSET allowed its employees to work on the site during business hours and paid for the domain name.
The company is equally generous with its employees, including paid staff retreats that encourage team building, such as whitewater rafting and ski trips. "I can't understand why every company in the country doesn't hold them," Mr. Meany says. "The advantages hugely outweigh the investment."
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