Rachel East, head of advice delivery – central region at Key, shares an exciting and action-packed working week with us. With herself and four other colleagues being shortlisted in the Financial Reporters Women’s Recognition awards, please read on to find out how she got on!
Monday
I’m actually someone who enjoys Mondays. As an organised person that loves a to do list, there is nothing better than looking at the week ahead to plan how I can achieve everything I need to. This particular week was a busy one. It was full of variety and time with my team and stakeholders along with the excitement from the previous week’s event I spearhead, where we climbed Scafell Pike and raised thousands for the Alzheimer’s Society – a charity that Key is a big supporter of.
On a Monday my leadership team has a check-in call first thing. I’m a big believer setting out a positive landscape for the week and nothing does that better than hearing from my team and what they are getting up to. We problem solve, support each other, and recap goals. Throughout a Monday, it is pretty much back-to-back stakeholder calls, linking in, creating actions and solutions. Being home based on a Monday is key for efficiency.
Tuesday
Tuesday mornings I have my full team on a zoom call, this includes the full adviser team, the training and competency leaders, and the regional manager. We also have our Mortgage Advice Bureau Later Life Lending advisers on this call.
Being a remote team – this call is vitally important for a number of reasons as it allows us not only to share best practice that drives continuous improvement and good outcomes for customers but you really get to know your teams. We take well-being very seriously at Key so being able to see and hear from everyone is really important. We discuss risk-based topics and business goals and any other updates from around the equity release world! The rest of Tuesday was one-to-ones with a number of advisers.
Wednesday
This Wednesday was one I had been nervous about, for a number of weeks! It was the Financial Reporters Women’s Recognition awards in London, so it was a jam-packed morning of BAU followed by a journey into London to meet some of my colleagues to attend the event. Key Group had five colleagues shortlisted, so we were really proud of this. The event was fantastic – surrounded by amazing women from all over the industry sharing their experiences and achievements. On the night, I was a bit overwhelmed to have won ‘Woman in Later Life Lending’! The award is now on the mantelpiece in pride of place! A night to remember! I know I wouldn’t have won this without the support network I have around me, from my direct reports to the senior leaders within Key.
Thursday
Back down to earth! On Thursday, I was out and about visiting two new starters at our Solihull offices. They were fresh off their adviser course and ready to go! It was fantastic to see the energy and positivity from them and they were both eager to start helping customers as soon as possible.
I also observed two of their first appointments. While our new advisers receive more support than experienced colleagues, all receive coaching on soft skills and cases are regularly reviewed to ensure that good customer outcomes are achieved. Feedback is key and development and growth within the role of an adviser forms such a large part of my role and my leadership team’s role.
Friday
Friday this week was home-based with a number of items to action and progress. We also have our check-in calls with the team to help keep everyone on track and set priorities for the week ahead. No week is the same which makes this role very interesting and fulfilling. Fridays are a busy day in the adviser world. Things change quickly and we need to react to ensure we keep delivering the exceptional service our customers expect. Even though I’ve worked in financial services for years, knowing the difference that we make in people’s lives is a big driver for me and why we continue to engage and encourage people to join the industry.
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