Pick up, put down – 3 hard fought lessons we are glad to share

As paraplanners, there’s no question, we’ve all been stuck in the trap of having too much to do with too little time. Juggling data gathering delays, adviser queries, and peer reviews across multiple cases – it can feel like you’re going around in circles and not achieving all that much.

Stepping back from the day job and assessing where the time was being lost, it became clear that picking up cases, putting them down as not proceedable and interruptions was costing us time – we were losing our flow and it was taking longer than it should to finish a case. Something had to change. 

We’ve spent countless hours refining our processes, systems and approach to cases to create a set of guidelines we now live by – implementing them has had a step shift impact on our productivity, here’s our top three learning points that you can implement today:

1. Sharpen up the language used to communicate with advisers

In a bid to be friendly and seem ‘on side’, it’s easy to beat around the bush with queries. If the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of your query is not crystal clear to the respondent, don’t expect a great response.

We sent a note to all of our clients explaining that we were adopting a clearer language style in our requests for information, which was more directive (and less pleading), with a clear explanation as to why the information was required.

Think about the language you use as well as how you structure requests for information, keep it clear and concise so nothing gets lost in communication.

2. Hold a debrief meeting for complex cases

Work handover forms sometimes just don’t cut it. By creating the opportunity for a debrief directly after the client meeting whilst it’s fresh in everyone’s mind, the paraplanner has the ideal opportunity to ask for more detail, context and form initial ideas.

They don’t need to be complex or lengthy, but provide a little space for conversation around the case that often gives context to the facts and figures.

3. Triage a case soon after receipt

A comprehensive triage allows the paraplanner to gather all their queries and organise them by priority or query type. Use a template layout to enable the adviser to answer each point in turn. We use four categories so we can assess trends:

• Inconsistent
• Unclear
• Not confirmed
• Plan specific queries

We have clear and concise action points and specify the person responsible for resolving each query.

The result – no interruptions, hold ups and removing the necessity to put down, pick up.

These three simple steps enable us to work in flow, prepared with all the details we need to see a case through from start to finish. We’ve seen productivity increase in leaps and bounds, achieving more in less time with a better quality output.

Our productivity is passed onto our clients in the form of shorter turnaround times, increased capacity and competitive rates, all from asking the right questions before you get started.

We love simple changes that create a big impact.