As an insolvency practice, we know the reputation of insolvency professionals amongst business owners. Especially with those who are not familiar with the industry. We know we’re essentially the funeral directors for the business world.
But much like dealing with funeral directors, the process you never wanted to go through is a lot less painful when the professionals are genuinely invested in making your life easier.
At Mercury Corporate Recovery Solutions, we have a list of qualities that all our team possess, which make them truly great at their job. Below, we outline the 7 qualities we deem essential for insolvency professionals and their teams to acquire – some of which might surprise you!
1. Empathy
No one builds a business with the aim for it to fail. As an insolvency professional you are there for a business owner at potentially one of the worst periods of their life. Empathy is important to truly understand the gravitas of a situation, which ultimately affects your communication style and sense of responsibility to the client, to do the best job possible.
2. Active listening
An insolvency professional will often have multiple active cases at any one time. These will encompass businesses from different industries and each with a unique insolvency solution. In every case, you must learn about the business in a relatively short period and choose the most effective option to yield the best results for creditors and stakeholders. The ability to listen and absorb information is imperative.
3. Adaptability
Similar to our last point, the variety of work expected from insolvency professionals means you must be highly adaptable, organised and prepared to learn fast. With every insolvency solution unique to the business, using all information at your disposal and knowing when to ask for support from other experts is how we provide the best service to clients.
4. Accountability
Insolvency covers a breadth of solutions, all of which have serious consequences for those involved. We are not only accountable to our clients, but to our own team and to regulatory organisations such as the Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA). A failure to be accountable for our actions as individuals, and as a business, puts everyone at risk.
5. Attention to detail
From admin and paperwork to tight deadlines and regulations, constant development of attention to detail is paramount for spotting what others may miss. In the process of liquidation, for example, insolvency professionals must listen to a series of events as told by the directors of the organisation and compare that against the story told by the company’s accounts and business records. When the two do not match, we must investigate and report to the Insolvency Service disqualification unit in case of anomalies. Being able to comb through the details is an essential part of insolvency work.
6. People skills
The insolvency industry is ultimately about people, so we encourage those in our team to get comfortable in networking situations and forming new connections. People skills are also important when working with clients – from knowing how to communicate effectively to being able to ‘read the mood’. It can be a delicate job trying to balance the needs and demands of employees, creditors, banks and other key stakeholders involved in the insolvency process.
7. Curiosity
Curiosity is a quality that ties many of the above qualities together. Insolvency professionals must be curious in order to constantly learn about new businesses, new clients and new connections made. More than anything, they must be curious about finding the truth and the best way to move a business forward – whatever route that may be.
What makes a great insolvency professional?
We hope you enjoyed finding out more about what makes a good insolvency professional – whether you’re looking for our services, or to join or move jobs within the insolvency industry.
Insolvency professionals must tend to some of the most serious, and in many ways unfortunate, business scenarios. But that doesn’t mean the skills to become one are any different to other service sectors, which often benefit from being viewed through a more positive lense.
Ultimately, we want to make our client’s insolvency process as pain-free as possible regardless of the nature of their solution.
Want to find out more? Talk to us today.