Being an intermediary used to be a relatively straightforward and lucrative profession. How times change. Of course, it can still be lucrative, but I’m not sure most people would describe it as straightforward.
For those wanting to make a career in the industry, the demands are greater than ever. To reword a well-worn phrase – regulation, regulation, regulation has, of course, become the order of the day.
But, unfortunately, it’s not just regulation that an intermediary, keen on making his or her mark on the industry, needs to worry about. Get to interview stage for a new role, sit in front of your potential boss and the likelihood is that you won’t just be asked whether you’re CeMap qualified, about your background, your interests and your ability to hit your sales targets.
One other subject is steadily moving up the list of employers’ recruitment criteria – your technology knowledge and experience.
The mobile office
Simply being able to find the on switch on a PC has long since not been enough to qualify you as being computer literate. Back office systems are used by most larger and even smaller firms. Indeed, some systems are now ‘mobile’, enabling the adviser to use the back office system on a tablet PC in the client’s home.
The ability to use sourcing systems is essential. But the agenda is not only now being set by software providers, but by lenders too. We’re seeing the first instances of lenders insisting on the online completion of applications and refusing to accept cases submitted traditionally.
There was a time when the concept of the paperless office was thought to be only a few years away. Those who scoffed at the concept were probably right – the likelihood is that an office completely bereft of paper is unlikely to ever happen.
However, talk of a paperless office misses the point. It’s not so much about the absence of paper in your working environment, it’s about how you manage and store – electronically – information, regardless of whether it started life as an e-mail, a letter or a fax. Document management systems have now joined the list of essential software for firms committed to the industry for the long term.
Generally, the culture or attitude of the firm gives you a good indication of their likely future prosperity.
External forces
It seems an obvious thing to say but intermediaries really have no choice but to accept that technology is impinging on every single aspect of daily business life.
Firms are no longer able to pick and choose which developments they are keen to adopt and which ones they are happy to ignore or defer. The same applies to intermediaries. External forces, whose view of a firm’s professionalism will be partly driven by that firm’s use of, and ability to deal with, technology, are shaping the future.
Maximising sales
Advisers need to take into account one other factor when considering technology. Firms who maximise the use of technology are also the ones who seem to be the best at maximising sales opportunities – especially to existing clients. Dig deeper and those firms who appear to spend all their time chasing new business with the highest acquisition costs are the ones who remain unsure about the value of technology.
Next time you prepare to sit in front of a would-be employer, be ready to be asked not only about your knowledge of various software, but also about your attitude to keeping up with the latest technology.
Not everyone likes the march of technology, but get in its way and you’ll be knocked over.
Gary Stewart is director of Lindenhouse Software Solutions
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