Brokers reveal remote-working strategies

Adrian Lee, managing director of Catalyst Advisers (part of the Catalyst Group), told The Adviser that his firm harnessed existing technologies to manage internal communications.

“I came from a call centre background, so the concept of trying to get as much of the processes done over the phone as you can, before meeting the customer, was something we’ve always been pretty efficient with,” he said.

However, Mr Lee embraced video conferencing as an alternative to preferred face-to-face interaction with clients.

“From a client perspective, not a lot has changed. Where we had to get a little smarter was with video conferencing,” he added.

“I hadn’t done a video conference since I started working; I preferred face-to-face while I was in business.

“So, we’ve implemented that pretty quickly across the business because we worked out that our referrers don’t want to see us face-to-face anymore. Our clients want to have loan agreements explained to them over video conference now.”

He concluded: “It’s really good that we’ve had to take that leap, and it’s also good that it’s forced the banks to reconsider what their compliance processes are [with VOI] because it’s just a more efficient way to do it.”

Adapt to every situation

Balpreet Bal from WA Prime Finance Solutions said his firm swiftly transitioned to digital dependence with the support of an existing network of resources.  

“Everything is done online now. Even when we get a lead, we send clients online fact finds so they can complete everything online. We are now scheduling teleconferences via Zoom and Google Hangouts,” he said.

“We’re asking clients to go to the post office and get their ID certified and post it to us, or we can pick it up from the mailbox if they live close by. We have to adapt to whatever situation comes in.

“Our system allows us to do electronic signatures for our compliance documents so everything is electronic. Then just the bank forms need to be printed and signed. Most clients have printers and scanners in their homes.”

Cloud technology, video conferencing, VOI

James Schulze, director at Rise High Financial Solutions, leveraged cloud-based technology, software provided by his aggregator, and new processes adopted by lenders.

“Our brokers work remotely from time to time anyway. All of our systems are in the cloud, so it’s very easy for them to be able to access the systems that they need,” he said.

“We’ve got the AFG Flex platform, which is our CRM. We have Dropbox for all of our client files and process documents. We’re looking at ways of being creative with verification of identification (VOI) through tools like ZipID. DocuSign is also something we’ve been using for quite some time now. We get all of our compliance documents signed by DocuSign.

“As the banks are slowly implementing the e-signature approach, that will become easier for us as well. We’re also now implementing more Zoom meetings for clients so we’re not necessarily meeting face-to-face.”

Easily accessible cloud-based database

Bridget MacGregor from Vision Money embraced accessible cloud-based technologies.

“We took a lot of the tools on board with the AFG fleet. We took on a great marketing program called Smart. That’s our communication piece and the CRM piece within our business,” she said.

“We run an online database that we can tap into. It’s our hub and it’s all cloud-based. I can access it whether I’m in the Northern Territory or down in Brisbane. All our client notes are there.

“We try and be as paperless as we possibly can so that everything is online and we can access it wherever and whenever we need it. Any time someone gives me a call, I can log straight on and I know exactly what is going on with the application. We set up our cloud-based system with research and tools.”

First published in the May edition of The Adviser magazine.

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