The Financial Advice Centre
The Financial Advice Centre was formed in April 2000 by Managing Director Andrew Harvey from his office in Hamley’s Corner, Par, followed by two further branches in St.Austell and Bodmin.
The Financial Advice Centre has installed state-of-the-art equipment in all three of its branches, enabling live video links between staff and customers. It was one of the first financial advice centres in the UK to have such cutting edge technology. This means that customers can go into any branch and there is always an advisor on-hand that customers can speak to, face to face, even if they are in another office or working from home.
Andrew Harvey says “We are only small but geographically spread. Broadband has really revolutionised the way we work. It has freed up our time from mundane administrative tasks and makes the most of the talented staff we have. We are now expanding much sooner than we thought we would have done. Broadband has made a quantum leap in our efficiency. I don’t feel we could operate now without a high speed broadband connection. We need the power that broadband has given our business.”
When they took up broadband through actnow in September 2003, The Financial Advice Centre felt the benefits immediately. “Research needed to produce quotations, the downloading of data and paperwork before broadband could take up to 9 hours but now takes just 20 minutes. Mortgages that used to take 6 to 8 weeks to process and be confirmed by post can now be in customers’ hands within 25 hours.” said Andrew Harvey.
The difference that broadband has made to The Financial Advice Centre is tangible. In September 2003, the company employed two members of staff and three advisors. The team has now grown to six members of staff and seven advisors. Turnover has also increased dramatically – by 30% in the last year. Andrew says “Our improving turnover and staff levels are down to increases in efficiency – and our increases in efficiency are largely down to broadband.”
Since having broadband, The Financial Advice Centre (with financial help from the actnow accelerator service) has invested heavily in IT infrastructure and developed a Virtual Private Network (VPN) between branches. The VPN allows all of the company branches to access customer files and share information from the other offices, enabling customers to be advised from any location according to their personal circumstances.
The VPN also allows an advisor to print any information directly to where the customer is so with the added extra of the live video link not only can a customer get to speak to someone there and then, they can also get it in writing.
The Financial Advice Centre has also set up bespoke client management software via the VPN.
“This new technology all seemed very daunting at first, a bit ‘Big Brother’, but the more we use it the more benefits we discover. Once the cameras were bought we no longer need to pay for phone calls to other branches as the VideoPhone goes through our broadband connection. We can also use the cameras to view the offices when we are away or the office is closed which is reassuring on a security level. The cameras allow for remote working and they save us time spent traveling to meetings with each other, fuel bills and ultimately even cut down on traffic congestion which is a particular issue in Cornwall in the summer months!
Broadband has made a dramatic difference to our business – it really has increased our efficiency and helped us grow the business.”
