April 2020
Adam Tyler, Executive Chairman, FIBA
Package of support for members to Package of support for members, FIBA Advantage publication goes to the next level and embracing technology
Support for businesses is a crucial element in times of crisis, and I am delighted that, in partnership with The SimplyBiz Group, we have been able to offer a comprehensive assistance package that will help equip you, our broker members, with the tools which you will welcome as we all look to get through these difficult times.
As we emerge into a different landscape, the relationship between customer, broker and lender will change and we are providing a unique opportunity for our members to begin to prepare for better times ahead.
The initiative is significant as it amplifies the importance of being associated with a powerful parent in Simplybiz Group. I am pleased to announce that FIBA members can now benefit from additional support and learn to adjust to a new way of working and more importantly, continue to write business through changing and challenging times.
Information is available on the FIBA website with more details and how to access, but in short, the package offers support in four key areas including cash flow management, client communication, financial support signposting for clients and mental wellbeing.
The scheme consists of the following :-
FIBA Advantage publication goes to the next level
As we have grown at FIBA, so has the readership of our monthly issues of Advantage amongst our member community, which has shown an increase of 27% in the last quarter). We are now very keen to take its evolution to the next level.
From the May issue, the new look Advantage will be available under the new title of Advantage Online. The new format allows contributor partners to provide interesting copy but with the opportunity to make use of different media such as video and podcasts, as well as the ability to create engaging adverts, in addition to the highly insightful editorial articles we have received from our partners to date.
In short, Advantage Online will now be able to expand its remit and encompass everything across editorial, product news and updates, case studies, thought leadership features, all the way through to more general points of interest for you, our members.
We will be keen to get your feedback after the first of the new Advantage Online editions as FIBA aims to look past our current difficulties and helps to prepare us all for a post Covid-19 market.
Embrace technology
For many like myself who were brought up in a pre-digital age and were comfortable with paper application forms and a reliance on Royal Mail and the fax machine – (does anybody still have a fax machine in the office?), technology and its adoption in our businesses was something we would get round to, but old habits die hard. Yet, in my own business over the last 10 years, I have become evangelical about moving my business online. One of the main reasons has been because business clients simply expect it and everyone has now been opened up to the advantages of running my business more efficiently.
More and more of our lender partners, particularly the newer ones are set up to work online. So, it is not just a luxury, it is becoming a necessity for advisers to embrace the changes by updating and upskilling to take advantage. Some lenders have had to make a huge effort to move their businesses online so that employees can work remotely. This is a good moment to reconsider how your clients would be better suited in the future as more lenders embrace a fully online process, with teams able to work just as easily from a home address as they are in an office.