CCR2 Technology Keeping a soft style
In the increasing use of technology, it is important not to forget the soft skills
David Thornley Group credit controller, Fort Vale Engineering
DThornley@fortvale.com
On those odd occasions when, by virtue of my advancing years, I am asked to dispense whatever wisdom I have gained to those seeking to develop a burgeoning career as a credit professional, or even to consider commencing one, I am often given to talking about the so-called ‘soft skills’ that the profession requires. For it seems to me to be self-evident that
to possess the virtues of patience, and of sympathy, empathy, and calm authority are skills as essential in the make-up of a credit professional as the ability to assimilate figures, read a balance sheet, or interpret a contractual document.
Desirable attributes These are undoubtedly desirable attributes in many professions, but in relatively few are they such core skills and in fewer still are they required to combine so fluently with analytical rigour and attention to detail. In some professions, you may spend your
days pouring over documents; in others you may devote your time in constant communication with customers; in credit the requirement is to do both. In many respects, these are skills which
are difficult to teach, for they depend upon characteristics which are unique to human beings, characteristics which do not dwell within all of us and are hard to graft on to those who are lacking them. But, recently, it has become a source of
increasing concern that those advancing years to which I previously referred, may come to paint me not as a source of benign guidance, but rather as an out-of-touch old curmudgeon, whose views are of decreasing relevance when exposed to the glare of the white-heat of technology.
May 2018
www.CCRMagazine.com 31 Nevertheless, I am firm in my conviction
that those essential soft skills will remain a constant, timeless necessity as the profession evolves to meet the demands of the future.
Millennials This generation – known as ‘Millennials’ by those who concern themselves with demographic categories – have radically different means and styles of communicating than those of my vintage (‘Baby Boomers’ in case you are interested), more succinct, more
remote, and containing much greater use of slang, jargon, and abbreviations. This is not necessarily meant as a criticism
(although I admit to being one of those people who expend considerable effort in making sure that any text message I compose is properly spelt and correctly punctuated before it is sent) but it does give me pause that such methods of communication with its brevity and its reliance on the remoteness of the devices charged with its delivery, may be to the detriment to the soft skills I previously referred to and therefore to the detriment of the profession itself. As the baton of the credit profession is
These are skills which are difficult to teach, for they depend upon characteristics which are unique to human beings
passed on from my generation to the next, with it should come a warning to ensure that those soft skills are maintained and nurtured and not consigned to a quaint irrelevance from a bygone era. (I am indebted to my friend and CICM
Council colleague Kim Delaney-Bowen for her help with this piece). CCR2
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