Browse all articles across people aspects of regulation and people development within UK financial services
As I write, deaths from Covid-19 are averaging just under 200 per day in the UK. That doesn’t sound a lot, but it equates to 73,000 per year, enough to decimate the population of a town the size of Harrogate, East Kilbride, Lisburn or Chatham.
The short answer is a lot. For those that have read Romeo and Juliet you will remember that Juliet is not allowed to associate with Romeo because he is a Montague. She complains that his name is meaningless and if he had a different name he would be the same man.
There may come a point in time when you need to expand your T&C Scheme, whether this is through additional members as the business grows, taking on an additional scheme, or expanding the scope and activities of the existing scheme.
The Senior Manager and Certification Regime is yesterday’s news; Senior Managers now duly complete their Annual Certifications and follow their road maps of responsibilities.
Generally, a T&C Scheme tends to concentrate on the individuals undertaking the work processes, such as advisers and para-planners, whilst less emphasis tends to be placed on the individuals doing the overseeing. The supervisors. Which could be a big mistake.
Having run supervision workshops for so many Senior Managers over the years, I would be a wealthy woman if I had a pound for every time I’d heard the following… “Yeah, I get that I have to manage my teams, but who is managing me?” or my favourite “who manages the managers?
One of the tasks undertaken as part of the supervisory process for advisers is a review of written work produced by them that is destined to find its way in front of clients.
Continuing with the theme of Training and Competence (TC) excellence, my previous blog highlighted a key component of success was the necessity to have supervisors with the skills to coach, assess and support individuals. I learnt my supervision ‘trade’ in the 1990’s supervising a geographically spread team.
Last December, the PRA issued the results of its review into the implementation of SMCR in dual-regulated firms, i.e. Banks, Building Societies, Credit Unions and Insurers. As SM&CR has been applicable to many firms since 2016, this feedback is helpful in understanding what impact the implementation has had.
Does the current market default methodology of employee T&C truly satisfy the changes required by the SMCR?
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently published its best practice guidance for the treatment of vulnerable customers, highlighting again the importance of staff having the right skills and capabilities.
You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink, as the saying goes. One of the biggest challenges anybody working in Training and Competence faces, particularly for those of us who work within a predominantly wealth-management focused firm, is how to shift that focus into a more holistic-based advisory approach.
