Track trends, find out how you stack up against your peers and position your company for future success. Join us Thursday, Jan. 26, for a webinar with ACA leaders who will explain how to use the new Benchmarking Intelligence platform and answer your questions.
01/24/2023 1:15 P.M.
4.5 minute read
ACA International is one day away from rolling out a new, state-of-the-art benchmarking program that will provide ACA company members with the intelligence to make measurable quality and process improvements in their businesses. The best part is that the platform is easy-to-use due to the rigorous member input in its design.
“ACA’s Benchmarking Intelligence database is a big step for our industry,” said Paul Sachtleben, president at Frost-Arnett. “It gives us a valuable set of authentic statistics to further our advocacy efforts but is also an invaluable tool in managing our business. It highlights where we need to focus our improvement efforts and gives us confidence when selecting production targets. ACA has gone to great lengths to make sure the data provided is secure and anonymous so participating in the benchmark program is a low-risk benefit.”
The Benchmarking Intelligence database provides critical market information for ACA company members, including third-party collections, first-party servicing and asset buying metrics. This new self-service tool allows U.S. member companies to compare their own performance against a variety of other member companies on an anonymous basis to help guide your strategic decision-making, with the expectation of enabling even greater profitability.
Get vital statistics on average payments, accounts balances and liquidation rates for specific collection markets, including credit cards, health care, student loans and more.
“Benchmarking has been a big part of our business over the past 20+ years,” said Tim Haag, president of State Collection Service and an ACA Board Member. “It has led us to growth and a lot of success. In fact, my father was invited to join one of the first benchmark groups in this industry. That’s why I know that the Benchmarking Intelligence database that ACA leadership has been working on for the past two years is going to be a game changer for all who participate. Is it confidential? Of course it is. I personally have been a part of the beta testing and have seen the system work, and that’s why our company will continue to participate in this new product offering at ACA.”
Whether you’re looking to diversify into new markets or benchmark existing markets against your peers, ACA’s Benchmark Intelligence database has the information you need.
“ACA’s member services team frequently receives requests from members asking for industry data,” said ACA Vice President of Member Experience Jessica Hartmann. “I’m thrilled that not only will we be able to provide a resource to meet this member need, but also by the fact that the platform is so dynamic. The data will be current and members will be able to pull reports based on their own needs. And best of all, it’s a free service and will enhance the value of ACA membership for all who participate.”
This is a free, members-only initiative. Only companies that participate will be able to access the benchmarking data.
Powerful Insights
Data is collected and compiled by market vertical on a quarterly basis.
Datapoints that are collected and reported by market vertical include:
- Unit yield
- Gross collections
- Self-service percentages
- Non-legal and legal recovery percentages
- Net income
- Number of employee collectors
- Number of payments
- Payments by type
- Settlement costs
- And so much more!
Markets covered include:
- Health Care (Hospital, Clinics and Ambulance separately)
- Telecom & Utilities
- Banks and Finance Companies
- Student Loans (Federal and Private separately)
- Credit Cards, Banks, Credit Unions & Retail
- Government
- Property Management
Options for first-party collections and debt buying are included as well.
Robust Security & Guaranteed Anonymity
Through ACA’s outside vendor, Dynamic Benchmarking, industry-leading measures are taken to secure all data. Dynamic Benchmarking provides benchmarking technology for nearly 100 prominent associations.
Only individuals on file with the Benchmark Intelligence database will be able to view the deidentified data from your firm—and even your own data is protected within your own organization. All data is hosted by Dynamic Benchmarking. ACA does not house the data supplied by participants and has no access to it.
Dynamic Benchmarking has purpose-built a platform to anonymously, safely and securely collect performance and financial information so that it can be compared anonymously. Companies providing data will be kept confidential and anonymous and will not be able to be identified by other users.
Participating companies can compare their data against other companies by tier for Tiers 1-6. Due to the more limited number of larger agencies, Tiers 7-9 are grouped together for comparison purposes—a tool to further ensure anonymity. In addition, members will not be able to compare their data against other members located only in their own state.
We are complying with Federal Trade Commission standards, which require benchmarking data to be aged at least 90 days. So, for example, data from the second quarter can’t be reported on until at least Oct. 1. No reports will be released until at least five members have responded in order to comply with federal antitrust guidelines—which also supports ACA’s goals for anonymity.
Learn More
ACA company members who agree to participate in the Benchmarking Intelligence database will be provided with training on how to input and access their data as well as how to view deidentified data.
If you want to participate, reach out to ACA’s Member Services team here to request access. The platform is only available to ACA Company Division members who have signed an agreement. You can also read more on the new Benchmarking Intelligence page on our website.
ACA CEO Scott Purcell, President Courtney Reynaud, Incoming President David Williams and Board Member Tim Haag will present an overview of this new tool exclusively for ACA members Thursday, Jan. 26, at 11 a.m. CDT. Register here.
If you have executive leadership updates or other member news to share with ACA, contact our communications department at [email protected]. View our publications page for more information and our news submission guidelines here.
