It’s time for a new approach
I urge you all to hold that mirror up and look at your own language, look at how you position what needs to be done and to what level. Is your positioning of your ‘standards’ or expectations getting you the results you want?
It’s time to change the narrative. How about banning the words ‘expectation’ and ‘expectations’ from your own and your business’s vocabulary?
What’s next?
1)Start by reflecting on your current positioning of both expectations and standards within your own mind and business. Be clear on your view of the differences.
2)Speak with your team about this – get their input and ask them to define the two words, ask them how they feel about the words and how they feel you set, meet and even exceed these with the business.
3)Does your business plan capture the essence of what the business is in relation to what it is striving to achieve in relation to quality and standards?
4)Look at your current processes and procedures. Do they capture at the right level the actual standards that you have and hope to set for how things get done?
5)Look at how your current standards are documented and communicated with the team. Are they clearly shared and more importantly understood?
Ultimately, you need an operating model which sets the standards across the whole business.
Strive for excellence
One way to establish and then stress-test your internal and external standards is through external third-party certification assessment. Only through an independent objective review can you get a clear view of where standards are being met and exceeded – but more importantly where standards have fallen or are not meeting the desired benchmarks of excellence.
Standards International certifies against five certification standards which have been specifically designed for financial planning firms and their teams.
The firms that strive for excellence and really put the procedures in place, firms that are really pushing to establish and deliver to the highest level of standards, achieve amazing things in all areas.
For more information feel free to have a look at how your business may benefit from independent standards certification – https://standardsinternational.co.uk/ certification/.
About Michelle Hoskin
Michelle Hoskin (aka Little Miss WOWW!TM) is well known for her endless enthusiasm and energy, infectious personality and unique outlook on what she describes as a “magical profession”.
Michelle is pioneering a drive towards increased professionalism and operational excellence through her continued work at Standards International of which she is the founder.
