Our study identified a number of potential barriers that could stand in the way of improvement in direct debit take-up.
Lack of cost awareness
- Do you understand your collection costs?
- Have you analysed the different types of payments and what they cost?
- What are the opportunity costs of continuing the existing arrangements?
- Have you included all the costs - eg including staff time, accommodation etc?
- Have you prepared a cost benefit analysis of the case for change?
- Do Members fully understand the costs of the existing arrangements?
- Are you able to demonstrate how your existing arrangements are providing value for money?
- Are salary deductions in place and is this cost effective?
- Can DD - with flexible dates - be an attractive alternative for staff?
- Do you know your target market for DD penetration?
- Is your calculation of DD rate based on the numbers of people with a liability to pay?
- Can you demonstrate how you would shift resources, for example, to help vulnerable people, if you increased your DD rate?
Weak performance management
- Do you examine supporting indicators to improve collection?
- Do you set targets for DD?
- Are targets known and understood?
- Is performance monitored against targets?
- What is staff awareness of progress on DD?
- Do members understand how DD can contribute to more efficient collection?
- How do you keep the public informed of collection progress?
- Do you keep senior managers and members aware of the cost of collection?
- Have you examined the relationship between DD and other associated activity, for example, reminders, summonses and liability orders?
Reluctance to change/loss of control
- Do you know how DD is being promoted?
- Do call centre and/or one stop shop staff have sufficient training to promote DD? Do you know what information is available?
- Is information available to customers to help them make their decisions?
- Are local policies in place which support the current methods of payment?
- Do managers and members understand the cost of the existing arrangements?
- Could potential savings help to meet local policies more effectively?
- Have you reviewed your approach to making payment arrangements?
- Would the cost benefits of change outweigh any short-term losses?
- Have you examined or visited other organisations which have successfully changed their arrangements?
Lack of customer information
- Do you know why your customers chose their existing payment method?
- Have you explained why DD is the most efficient form of collection?
- Have you made assumptions about groups of customers?
- Have you obtained staff views about take-up levels?
- Is DD as flexible as it can be?
- How can you make DD more attractive to customers?
- Do your collection dates for DD reflect a variety of payment and income cycles?
- Do 'bad news' stories linger on - and if so what have you done about it?
- Have you challenged perceptions for low take-up eg, cash culture, age of population, deprivation?
- Have you geographical knowledge of areas of high and low DD take-up?
No clear take up strategy
- Are your take-up campaigns imaginative?
- Do you understand what campaigns to increase DD work?
- Do you monitor success?
- Is there confusion about standing orders and DD - and if so what have you done about it?
- Is the councils sending clear messages to customers about the preferred payment method?
- Are policies between housing and finance consistent - and what about housing associations?
- Are you maximising the potential of joint arrangements within the council and partners?
- Have you considered the cost benefits of joint marketing campaigns with other councils?
- Is marketing targeted?
- Do you involve front line staff in promoting DD - eg cashiers?
- Do you know how staff actually approach 'selling' DD?
- Is DD being used as an effective 'recovery tool'?
- Are payment arrangements being used as an opportunity to promote DD?
- Have you used marketing experience available within the organisation?
- Have you considered utilising local business to support prize draws etc?
- Do you publicise success?
- Have you examined other opportunities in your organisation to improve DD?
Lack of suitable IT
- Are you utilising the IT available to you in the best way?
- Have you checked functionality with IT staff or suppliers?
- Do you have the technology in place for paperless DD?
- Are staff in all key positions able to set-up DD - eg phones, counter?
- Is IT being used to support marketing - eg through the web?
- Can IT be used to 'point' people to DD - eg when making an on line payment?
- Are new tax and rent payers given the opportunity to pay by DD straight away?
- Is IT being used to set-up dummy records while a valuation decision is outstanding?
To see if you are utilising these enablers effectively, a complete set of checklists featured in this tool is available to download: