In Part two, I want to
look at some of the events that perhaps led to the decisions taken.
Looking back, the script
for QInvest withdrawing Personal Financial Advice services commenced being
written in November 2012.
In the 3 years prior to
November 2012, several key changes took place. They included:
1.
Taking
difficult decisions during the GFC including some redundancies
2.
Implementing
a full comprehensive service and a fee component for Personal Financial Advice
3.
Introducing
a service whereby a client could contract for a fee, an ongoing Financial
Advice relationship with an Adviser
4.
Established
a permanent presence outside of Brisbane
5.
Having
been jointly owned by QIC and QSuper, sole ownership was assumed by QSuper
6.
Functions
such as Finance/Accounting, Human Resources, Property Management, Education and
Marketing, Legal and later IT were taken over by QSuper
The QInvest I joined was a
nimble organisation capable of having an idea, developing it, making a decision
and either executing or dismissing the idea and moving on.
Just short of 50% of
QSuper Members, and by definition QInvests client base, lived in regional
areas. At the end of 2010, QInvest had one full time Adviser and one permanent
office in Townsville and she was the only Adviser north of Chermside in
Brisbane. There was an office and Adviser at Robina on the Gold Coast and
another in Toowoomba operating out of a room adjacent to the food hall at
Toowoomba Town Centre. Cairns, Mackay and Rockhampton were serviced on an
adhoc, fly in fly out basis.
18 months later, we had
offices established in Cairns (2 Advisers), Townsville (2 then 3), Rockhampton
(2 then 3), Sunshine Coast (2 then 3) and Toowoomba (2 then 3).
Almost from day one,
demand for personal advice in these newly expanded regions exceeded capacity
and it was common (and embarrassing) for clients to have to wait 4 months or
more for an appointment.
The establishment of this
Regional presence was an example of QInvest’s ability to make quick and
important decisions and then execute the decision.
We were self contained
with our own Human Resources, IT, Strategy, Property, Legal, Education and
Marketing areas and had control of our actions and outcomes. We were all
responsible and accountable for what we did, no excuses.
This independence was
changing. Now fully owned by QSuper, it was understandable and logical that
services be rolled in to existing and larger areas of QSuper. QInvest HR
dissolved in to QSuper as did Finance, IT and everything else. What was left
was the Personal Advice operation, Advisers, Para Planners and support
professionals.
QInvest became another
department of QSuper, another cost centre and challenged to operate in a world
that required a far more bureaucratic
approach.
More so the differences in the
two entities and the very different worlds and markets each participated in was
never really appreciated or understood. QSuper was by far the larger more
significant business and QInvest now under it’s wing and reliant on it for all
services,
QInvest was a very small piece
of the QSuper puzzle.
It became evident that
QSuper was focused more on the cost of QInvest and not the return or value. To
be clear, there is a sound argument that the focus was correct.
QSuper had an experienced
HR department, however there was little understanding of the different skills
and requirements needed for Financial Planning.
QSuper had a dedicated
group of IT people, however they struggled to understand, or even remember that
about half our services were delivered outside of Brisbane CBD.
QInvest also needed it’s
own highly tailored software platform. This was difficult for QSuper to
understand or accept and absorbed an inordinate amount of time and effort for
even the most simple change.
Perhaps the biggest
difference was QSuper people including Executive Leaders, never really
understood the value of Personal Financial Advice for a Member. I am not being
critical when I suggest all but 2 executive and senior leaders could concisely
articulate to a member in easy to understand language, the benefits of engaging
in the Personal Financial Planning relationship with an Adviser.
In my opinion, the single
biggest loss was that of the dedicated QInvest seminar and marketing team.
The seminar team comprised
all former Financial Advisers. They understood the process of Personal
Financial Advice and could articulate the value of the service. More
importantly, their absolute belief was evident in the passion with which they
spoke and presented to groups of members.
When this team dissolved
in to the QSuper education team, QInvest and by definition Personal Financial
Advice became another box to be ticked as one part of a full QSuper centric
seminar agenda.
It was always unacceptable
and often embarrassing that wait times for an appointment with an Adviser was
at least 4 months and often over 6 months in every office in the QInvest
network. However, it was no coincidence that in the space of 18 months and the
absorption of the QInvest team in to QSuper, this demand disappeared and Advisers
regularly had spare capacity to meet with clients.
Concurrent with this was
the folding of the QInvest call centre in to the broader QSuper phone contact
team. Again, the clear and concise understanding QInvest staff had of Personal
Financial Advice became another script to use when part of the QSuper group.
I want to be clear about
something.
I am in no way being
critical of the QSuper Education and Seminar team or the QSuper contact centre
teams or Leaders. All were dedicated and committed. Being asked to address and
explain a service in Financial planning that is totally different to a
superannuation fund, and have this service just one of many topics was a big
ask and inevitably, the message would be diluted and distilled.
Consider this example.
A business producing and
retailing a range of computer keyboards each tailored to the user’s individual
hand size, finger length, typing ability and key stroke strength is highly
successful because of the expertise and passion of the people. A one on one
meeting is held with each client to determine what is required, the unique
keyboard is designed, produced and delivered. At regular intervals, the client
meets again with the business to confirm the design still meets their needs and
any changes deemed necessary are executed. For example, arthritis in one hand
may require larger touch keys. Supporting the service is a team of staff you
understand the service and its vale.
Now, consider what would
happen if that business was taken over by JB HIFI. I’ will leave that with you.
In Part 3 I will delve in
to a significant personnel appointments, the world that was HORIZON and draw
some conclusions.
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