Softly does it
Although developing and utilising soft skills is a key component of an intermediary’s arsenal, these attributes are not reflected in minimum qualification requirements as things stand.
The current Chartered Insurance Institute syllabus is solely geared towards technical knowledge on areas such as regulation, investments, pensions and understanding risk. The ability to get clients to open up about their goals and objectives instead tends to be developed while doing the job itself.
“I would love to see a financial wellbeing module in the CII’s programme,” says Mr Budd.
“The CII trains people to find solutions – education in general is designed to find answers. But what we should be doing is using coaching skills to help clients ask themselves questions, and that is a totally different skillset.”
Mr Budd’s wishes may soon be granted. The Personal Finance Society says it is looking at a revamp of its programme.
Chief executive Keith Richards says: “We know that soft skills, the implementation of knowledge and an understanding of customer behaviour are invaluable to the effectiveness of professional advice. Technical knowledge in isolation is not a sufficient basis for delivering suitable advice to meet a client’s needs, which is why the PFS has continued to evolve its broader programme.”
The professional body is therefore considering a number of initiatives. These include developing its Power financial planning programme, and its e-mentoring platform. Other developments suggest that soft skills could even become part of the study syllabus.
“One of the key focuses of the PFS’s 2019 Annual Conference [in November] is the development of personal skills. As we evolve our qualification framework, we will also look at how we integrate soft skills into formal study routes,” Mr Richards says.
There are some who may think that testing soft skills as part of such a syllabus might prove tricky. But Jan Bowen-Nielsen, director and founder at Quiver Management, a company that provides training for advisers, disagrees. “Just think of how many other professions do this. You can go to the coaching industry, they’ve got a competency framework,” he says.
“You just need to define some of the core competencies that they need to demonstrate. How you can assess them. Perhaps in live settings as they do in psychotherapy or counselling – they get observed on how well they conduct conversation. And whether they actually build rapport with the client as part of their skillset.”
Whether or not a wellbeing module ever makes it to the syllabus, advisers who are more attuned to this area are likely to develop a greater understanding of their clients’ needs.
