For personal finance workers, whether working for a firm or as a solo financial advisor, it takes a careful balance to ensure a high level of service with profitability. Without a workflow system in place, it can become difficult to ensure you provide an efficient and cost-effective service. Personal finance workers have to juggle so many tasks from regulatory compliance to building customer relationships; it is vital that nothing slips through the net. The best way to ensure you stay at the top of your game is to get a workflow system in place to get your practice organised, effective and profitable.
1. Consistent Client Services
As a personal finance worker, you want to ensure all of your customers receive an exceptional level of service so that they continue to work with you, boosting your profits. A cost-effective way to improve client services is to have a smooth, systematic approach to ensure consistent delivery. A workflow creates a pathway for every client, making sure you never drop the ball.
2. Added Accountability
Whether for regulatory compliance or productivity, a workflow can help to ensure accountability for your practice. With each procedure documented you can show your accountability where necessary. A workflow can also help with productivity as you look to streamline processes that take too much time for little reward.
3. Continued Compliance
With your workflow, you ensure you are following best practice to overcome hurdles of managing compliance and regulatory issues. Your workflow becomes a compliance system where you can store critical documents, proof of compliance and a full audit trail for every client you manage.
4. Processes Not People
Sadly, it is common in the finance industry for critical team members to hold all information, making them irreplaceable. However, having a workflow ensures that all information is shared and visible, meaning that it is easy to train new staff and ensure a smooth transition of employees. By focusing on processes, you can make sure that there is always a consistently high service standard, instead of interruptions from staff transitions.
5. Outsourcing Potential
For independent personal finance workers or full-to-capacity teams, the ability to outsource becomes vital, especially during busy periods. Outsourcing can be beneficial when the firm lacks the resources or expertise required. With a workflow, it makes it much easier to outsource tasks as your workflow will have documented procedures that outsourced workers can follow to meet your expectations.
6. Opportunity For Growth
Having a full workflow for each product, you offer means that it is easy to add more services into your organisation. Your workflow can provide a defined process for each product, making sure all team members know their roles in every product or service you offer. The fact that you have a systematic approach to services means it becomes easier to add more products to your repertoire, helping your business to grow.
7. Add value
If you want to sell your practice in the future, then having a documented and systematic approach to your work and customers will be attractive to buyers. In fact, with a fully organised approach, you can make an acquisition much easier for potential buyers which could attract a premium to the price of your practice. This can help with fetching a high price, rewarding you for your hard work at the firm