While experience counts for something, training in a post-RDR environment should not be seen as a regulatory burden, says Julie Pardy
BENEFITS OF TRAINING
The situation now gives companies an opportunity to go one of two ways: they can either train themselves and their staff just to pass the exams, or they can take the opportunity that this step change really offers.
Forward-thinking teams can effectively use return-on-investment modelling to demonstrate to a business the impact that effective training can have on the bottom line. They can use these new regulatory changes to help the business commit to training plans that delivers more than just the regulatory ‘tick in the box’.
Rather than just training to pass a qualification, this can be an opportunity to focus on refreshed knowledge and skills applied within the business. Individuals will be able to use their new and updated knowledge to provide improvements to the business and their customer base.
Better-qualified staff will inevitably offer a better service, be more efficient with their client base and will reduce technical errors. Last but not least, if individuals use their upgraded knowledge to provide more holistic advice to clients, then it won’t be long before businesses will see an improvement in the bottom line.
There is just one ‘but’ to consider in all of this: more trained – and technically, more competent staff – can and will provide improvements to a business bottom line only if they are managed and supervised effectively.
A view of what seems to be the current thinking around technical knowledge, training and skills gaps in the UK, comes from a survey carried out by the Chartered Insurance Institute in 2010 (see above tables). It targeted members, and members who were also employers, to look at training provision, skills and technical knowledge in the UK. If we pull out some top-line figures on to consider:
- 72% of employers suffered from skills shortages
- 70% of employers said this was having a detrimental impact on their business
- 37% of employers said they need to target their training spend more effectively
- 34% of employers will either reduce investment in training or keep it at the previous year’s level.
TIME TO THINK AGAIN
While individuals believe that experience counts for everything, employers are reporting that across all staff – both experienced and inexperienced – there are skills and knowledge gaps that are affecting their bottom line.
What is also interesting to learn is that employers know they are not targeting their training resource effectively, which in turn will lead to individuals losing faith in what can be offered from their employers’ resources.
With some employers reducing training spend this year or maintaining levels from previous years, it is a shame not to see an upward trend here. This is because there are good statistics and research around showing that when the economy goes through a recession, a key strategy to help a business move forward is to invest in its people and their skills to give them competitive advantage.
The emergence of the Mortgage Market Review, the RDR and the rule changes that these reviews inevitably bring has restarted the ongoing debate around experience v. qualifications. Many individuals who have been in the industry for some time are very vocal about there being no need for additional qualifications in order to continue to do the job they currently do. On the other hand, you have the relatively new entrants to the financial arena who are knowledge and skills hungry, and are advocates of ‘more knowledge equals more effective in role’.
For anyone suggesting that experience counts more than qualifications, now is the time to think again. With multiple mis-selling scandals behind us and complaint volumes rising year-on-year, it is time to accept the need for individuals to update themselves in terms of both knowledge and skill for the benefit of their client bases.
One very wise trainer once said: “Those who attend training and upgrade qualifications, and tell you they have gained nothing from the experience, haven’t tried hard enough on either the training programme or the study course. These individuals need to take a long, hard look at whether an industry that demands these higher levels of professionalism is really one for their continued employment.”
Julie Pardy is regulatory liaison manager at compliance software developer Worksmart
