Advisers have not had it easy these past few years.
The pandemic combined with a cost of living crisis and Consumer Duty compliance has meant they are working in perhaps more pressurised environments than ever before.
So are leaders taking care of the health of their staff in these pressurised sales environments?
The good news is that this is a sector that practices what it preaches and leaders are supporting both the mental and physical health of their staff – not least because the intensifying war for talent applies as much to the advice sector as anywhere else.
And such support is not just the preserve of the largest of operations with greater resources at their disposals but smaller advice firms where there is evidence of leaders taking a daily interest in the lives of their employees.
Being an adviser is not an easy job. Some are compelled to keep to key performance indicators where they are expected to hold a certain number of conversations a day and hit a target for leads called per day.
Using support services
According to Alan Knowles, co-managing director at Cura Financial Services, this is an industry that is still very sales focused in certain quarters but less so at Cura.
“I know for example, at Cura, we are less sales, more quality, more advice,” Knowles tells Health & Protection.
But Knowles also said Cura operates with four or five first aiders to encourage staff to talk about anything that is bothering them.
“We really do take the health of the staff seriously. If someone has had a difficult call, we will say, stop working, take the rest of the day off or go for a walk. We talk about it.
“We make use of the support services. We’ve got Smart Health for example and I know some of staff have used that quite a few times.”
The good news is that Cura’s use of Smart Health is no anomaly as this is the sector that actually uses the product offerings its advisers recommend to customers.
Kate Sparkes, head of HR and development at Sesame Bankhall Group, revealed SBG provides free access to an employee assistance programme (EAP) through Care first and Aviva.
“This provides practical help and advice on a range of topics that can cause poor mental health, such as debt and family conflicts,” Sparkes continues.
“Colleagues can access online and telephone-based counselling services 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Digital GP appointments are also available, along with mental health sessions.”
Meanwhile Andrew Parker, head of people and culture at LifeSearch, told Health & Protection Vitality has brought its nurses into its offices to run wellness sessions with staff.
“Education is key too and we try to raise awareness and signpost on topical health issues such as vaping,” Parker says.
“Overall, we listen to our colleagues and schedule more of what they want and need such as fresh fruit drops and office massages, which have been popular in the past.”
Towergate Health & Protection is another advice firm to make use of EAPs. It also provides access to a virtual GP, menopause support and discounted rates on Grace Consulting services which helps neurodivergent people.
But Debra Clark, head of wellbeing, Towergate Health & Protection, told Health & Protection the firm has also launched Kinetic+ – a two-in-one wellbeing tool and engagement platform featuring a physical health section giving employees the tools they need to understand their individual physical health and make the best choices for themselves.
“We’re still in the test and development stage of our wellbeing app, but we will use user feedback, engagement scores and absence data to steer the app’s development,” Clark adds.
Support in moments that matter
But support across this industry also extends beyond physical and mental health to include helping staff navigate different stages of their lives.
“We’re rolling out a new culture-boosting programme in autumn 2023 called ‘Moments That Matter’,” Parker said.
“Many strands of this focus on how we support colleagues when life events happen such as moving home, welcoming a new child, a child’s first day at school, bereavement and more.”
Though such support is not just the preserve of large advice firms.
Joanna Streames, owner of Velvet Mortgage and Insure Services, tells Health & Protection she helps staff with any issues she can.
“For example, we had one employee who was having a bad time with a separation and being subjected to lots of threats so we arranged and paid for a meeting with a reputable family solicitor,” Streames said.
“Lots of stress and worry of the unknown was resolved with this meeting and assistance to actually start divorce proceedings. Funds do have to be taken into account because we are a small company. However, wherever we can, we will help financially as well as with support and understanding.”
Communicating benefits at selection stage
According to Mike Hesch, head of employee benefits at Hooray Health & Protection, open communication is just as important with job applicants amid an intensifying war for adviser talent.
“We can’t stress enough – communicating your benefits to staff is just as important as the selection stage,” Hesch said.
“Communication and employee benefits need to go hand-in-hand, and also back-and-forth between employers and staff. This means communicating successfully the initial promotion of what you are offering to staff, then being open to feedback, and then maintaining an open line for any changes along the way.
“For us, we use emails, word of mouth, provider promotions, and, most importantly, our managers to help keep everyone up to speed with our offerings and how to staff can get the most out of what’s on offer to them.”
Sparkes maintains people’s mental health and wellbeing is a regular topic for discussion with both individuals and managers.
“This is driven by the HR team, in conjunction with our Inclusion Council and Wellbeing Champions,” Sparkes continues. “A recent example of this was the communications issued on World Mental Health Day, which provided an opportunity to remind our people about the support and resources that are available to help them. In addition, a colleague shared their own mental health challenges, to provide a powerful personal perspective.
“Other initiatives include specialist mental health training for our managers and Wellbeing Champions, along with a ‘Let’s Talk’ session on suicide prevention. Mental health was also the topic of focus for International Men’s Day in November.”
Importance of open communication in ever evolving workplace
But the world of work has changed – perhaps forever and this open communication needs to extend to home workers just as much to those in the office, Knowles points out.
“We probably do the same as everyone but we work from home and work from the office so we allow people to make their choices as to where they want to work,” he continues.
“But we watch it as well so we monitor. If someone is working at home all the time but they maybe have been someone who was more of an office worker in the past – that flags that maybe something is going on that we should know about about or we should be talking to them about. We watch out for stuff like that.”
And looking to the future – ultimately the support advisers give their staff needs to align with an ever evolving workplace, Hesch says.
“One thing about this industry is just how much it is forever changing shape, adapting, and growing – so we need to be doing the same,” he adds.
“We have used our consulting experience and knowledge of what other companies from across the sector are doing to help shape what it is we offer our staff.
“Some examples of our recent innovations to not only boost physical wellbeing, but also the general company culture and closeness of our teams, have been regularly taking part in walking competitions and our weekly team Zumba classes.”