Learning and Development

Structured onboarding

Every person who joins Merion — regardless of role — goes through onboarding that covers the regulatory framework the firm operates within before they handle any accounts or client data. That means a working understanding of the ACCC and ASIC joint debt collection guideline, the basics of the Privacy Act and Australian Privacy Principles, and the state licensing requirements that apply to their role and location.

This is not optional background reading. It is the minimum foundation required to work in this field without creating risk for the business, for clients, and for debtors. The onboarding is structured, documented, and completed before independent work begins.

On-the-job learning

Most learning at Merion happens through cases. Shadowing an experienced collections specialist and understanding why they structured a payment arrangement a particular way. Reviewing correspondence and identifying what makes a letter of demand effective — or ineffective. Understanding why an escalation decision was made, and what the alternatives were.

The small team size is a genuine advantage here. Learning is visible and fast. When a decision is made — about an account, a process, a client relationship — the reasoning is accessible. There are no layers between a new team member and the people making the calls that matter. That kind of exposure is difficult to replicate in a larger organisation.

The expectation is that team members engage actively with that learning rather than waiting for it to be delivered. People who ask questions, review their own work, and seek feedback develop quickly. People who expect structured instruction at every stage will find the pace frustrating.

External professional development

Merion supports relevant external professional development for team members whose roles require it. That includes mercantile agent licensing for collections staff operating in relevant jurisdictions, continuing professional development in financial services and credit management, and compliance or legal training where it applies to the role.

AICM membership — the Australian Institute of Credit Management — is provided for team members in collections and client management roles. The AICM's professional framework and code of conduct align with how Merion operates, and the resources it provides are genuinely useful.

Support for external development is discussed individually, based on the role and the relevance of the training. We do not have a blanket training budget that applies uniformly to all roles. What we do have is a genuine willingness to support development that makes someone better at their work.

The Credit Control Academy

Merion operates academy.merion.com.au — a free public educational resource on credit control, debt recovery, and the regulatory frameworks that govern them. The Academy covers topics from payment terms and letters of demand through to statutory demands, director liability, and the debt collection guideline.

Team members are expected to be familiar with the Academy content and to maintain awareness of it as it develops. Contributing to its quality — through feedback, flagging errors, or identifying gaps — is part of working at Merion. The Academy represents how we believe debt recovery should be explained to the businesses we serve, and the standard it sets applies internally as well as publicly.

An honest note on what to expect

Merion is not a large corporate with a formal training team, a dedicated L&D budget, and a graduate development programme. We do not have structured rotation schemes or regular classroom training. What we have is real work, direct exposure to senior people, a genuine expectation of self-driven development, and support for the specific professional qualifications that matter in this field.

If you are looking for an environment where learning is fast because the consequences of getting things wrong are real, where development happens through accountability rather than programmes, and where you can build expertise in a specialist and regulated field — this is that environment.

If that sounds like the right fit, register your interest and tell us what you want to develop.