Last month we took a look at a ‘day in the life of’ a member of the support team in our corporate pensions division. This month, we introduce you to Kathryn Wallwork, who works as our Operations and Accounts Manager and is responsible for our personal and business support teams.
8.30am – I arrive in the office and check my calendar; I’ve got a busy day ahead, which will be taken up by several meetings and a project involving an evaluation of our back office technology.
Before finalising my prep for the meetings, I take a few minutes to catch up with the support teams who are responsible for our personal and corporate clients. I take the time to speak to all the team individually to understand what they have on for the rest of the day. It’s a busy time with some important deadlines to meet, so it’s crucial that I’m
up to speed on what’s happening.
I am pleased that everything seems to be on track. The corporate support team are completing annual review packs for members of a pension’s scheme, which need to be completed for tomorrow morning.
9am – A quick chance for a coffee whilst I finish my preparation for today’s meetings. First meeting of the day is with our team of account directors to review some of the processes and systems in place for preparing client review packs. Two of the support team have suggested a couple of ideas on how to improve the delivery and service of our corporate pension schemes.
10am – The Account Directors are happy with the ideas proposed by our support team. I’ve also received some positive feedback about the recent client review packs the team compiled. All client reviews were completed successfully and great feedback was received overall on the content of the packs. This afternoon I will be sitting down with the corporate support team individually, so this will give me the chance to share the feedback with them.
11.30am – Time to check the company’s online bank statement to check everything is in order. I also have some invoices to pay; I like to ensure that our invoices are paid promptly.
12pm – A working lunch and an opportunity to take a look at our some of our technology. It’s important that our clients receive timely valuations and one of the ways we do this is by using a client management system. It’s my job to ensure that the tools we use are meeting the needs of our business so I spend the next couple of hours evaluating how our system is set up and how we make use of the tools available. I make a note of any recommendations for the next management meeting.
2pm – Just time to check-in with the corporate support team and see how they are getting on completing the member packs. It’s really important that the packs contain all the information the consultant requires to give a comprehensive update of their plan. Good news; the packs are almost ready for the consultant’s meeting tomorrow.
3pm – The rest of the afternoon is taken up with half hour informal meetings with the corporate support team individually. This is a chance to discuss the processes and systems in more detail, taking the time to understand what is working and any challenges we face in the processing of client documentation, which includes fact finds, annual reviews and any other plans in place.
5pm – Today I have the rare opportunity to close the day by chasing any outstanding emails – sometimes this is something I do from the comfort of my armchair at home but today I look forward to a spot of gardening in the glorious weather when I return home.
