At Ellipse we have purposefully set up our processes and systems so that the right people do the right stuff at the right time and duplication and delays are cut out of the process. That is why important client documents like the policy documents, statements of account and direct debit collection advance notices are delivered automatically and immediately after issuance to the adviser and client in parallel (never to the client only) as a default.
Advisers are asking us to not use this functionality so that they can check all documentation before it is passed on to the client. For obvious reasons, checking is not a high priority on the advisers’ task list and therefore this practice causes delays and service standards that look much worse than they actually are. This reflects badly on both us and the adviser.
It is not unusual for policy documents to be passed on only several months into the contract, when they were originally issued within days of the on risk confirmation. Wouldn’t the client be better off with actually having a policy document at the point of going on risk? Even worse is when direct debit collections from the client’s bank account happen before the client has actually seen the notice that advises of the collection! This then leads to queries from clients as to the basis on which money has been taken out of their account.
Tellingly, very seldom do we actually get a document rejected in this checking process. So what is happening is that all documents are held up from going to the client to cater for the odd one out that might need a change. Process experts call this “designing the process for failure”. Why not allow the documentation to flow through to the client as a standard and then catch the odd one that needs adaptation as an exception? There will never be any communication to the client that you as the adviser will be unaware of, so you will always be fully in the picture about what is happening. Our aim in handling communications direct with the client is solely to save them and their advisers time and hassle – we have no direct sales force lying in wait to poach clients and no intention of inviting business other than through independent advisers.
