Working remotely – the hidden benefits

The pandemic forced most advice firms into the safety of the “cloud” trying to keep their business alive. “Trying” quickly went to “thriving” and the Direxion Work From Home Survey found client relations and productivity were either unaffected or improved. Employees enjoyed the flexibility of working from home and owners could look at reducing the cost of office space.

The survey also found advisers used online reference material more than before and this is where the unique situation of online advice comes into play. If an adviser chooses not to share their screen with a client, any reference material is “hidden” from the client and the adviser can refer to it like a tele-prompt.

For example, an adviser using Finchat could use the glossary to quickly access the financial planning topic under discussion and speak confidently on its provisions using the topic’s calculator (there are over 40) to play “what-if” scenarios. The client would be talking to an adviser with seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of financial planning and the ability to do complex calculations immediately.

The client hasn’t had to trek over to the adviser’s offices, find parking or wait for the adviser to “get back to them” on any aspects needing research. Remote advice may be here to stay.