How does the work we do we impact our clients?
We know we do great work for our clients because they tell us. We have heaps of wonderful testimonies from clients (see our website) but is it possible to measure objectively the impact we have on clients’ lives, or is this by its very nature subjective? How does the work we do positively impact our clients?
For some clients our impact can be measured quantitively, for example:
- tax saved
- investment returns achieved
- retirement income achieved
- property purchased
- amount given to charity
However, for many clients, the change that happens when working with us is largely subjective and anecdotal such as:
- a feeling of peace of mind
- the knowledge that if anything happens to them (or their partner) we are there to help and guide them or their family
- a sense of control and organisation
- a greater sense of confidence around decisions made
- the freedom to pursue goals in life
- the ability to be more generous with time or money
- greater wellbeing, including financial Wellbeing
We believe we can do better
We have always tried to focus our advice on our clients’ lives and not simply their finances. To help us maintain this focus we hope to develop new tools to help clients consider their wellbeing and our impact.
If we can be more explicit about the difference that we believe we can make for our clients (our intended impact), then we can focus even more energy on our work that makes the most difference and the resulting positive changes for clients.
If we can measure this, then we can hold ourselves to account. To do this we need to identify the key steps and changes which add the most value to our clients, like ‘greater peace of mind’ for example.
We can also identify which aspects of our work are the most important to clients in creating these changes. This might include training our partners – equipping them with enhanced coaching skills, which in turn influence the quality and style of client interaction.
Other key actions might be enhancing the clarity of our reporting or the technology we use, which make all our clients’ interactions painless and jargon free. Another valuable action may even be the sense of community we create.
Beyond this, we want to consider how our clients make a positive impact on the world. For example, we often find that renewed peace of mind about finances frees clients to engage in charitable giving. We regularly advise clients to facilitate their charitable giving and philanthropy.
We are still considering how best we can learn more about the impact we make. This might include using surveys or face to face interviews. We will, of course, be working with our clients to develop this – inviting them to share what they value about our service. We look forward to sharing our progress as we develop our thinking.
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