Policies and Procedures
For each process and standard defined by your practice, written policies and procedures should be created to insure consistency and to aid in training new advisors or staff joining your practice. There are five component parts to a well-written policies and procedures document. The components are described below and followed by an example.
Name of Process (simply defines what the process is)
1) Description – adds a little more detail to define the standard for how the process is to be done.
2) Responsibility – who is accountable to carry out the process as defined and who will be the backup. Note that it should be the title rather than the name of the person currently holding that title so as not to have to re-write your manual whenever there is a staffing change.
3) Resources – resources would include computer systems, materials, reports, whatever is needed to carry out the process.
4) Policies – defines any policies that have been established for how the process is to be accomplished.
5) Operating Procedures – a step-by-step description of how the process will be done.
If, for example, you decided that you wanted all your clients to receive a nice, hand-signed birthday card each year, you could establish the following policies and procedures to create a consistent process to get it done no matter who happened to be your current Client Service Assistant.
Client Birthday Cards
1) Description – A hand-signed birthday card is sent to all clients one week prior to their birthday.
2) Responsibility
a) Primary – Client Service Assistant
b) Backup – Marketing Assistant
3) Resources
a) Contact Management system
b) Premier-quality birthday cards obtained from The Gallery Collection
c) USPS stamps
d) Clear, pre-printed return labels
4) Policies
a) All clients, including spouses and children, will receive birthday cards
b) Birthday cards will be mailed not later than one week prior to the birthday
c) All cards will be hand signed and hand addressed.
d) All cards will have individual postage stamps affixed.
e) Clear, pre-printed return labels will be used.
5) Operating Procedures
a) Annual
i) At the beginning of each December, use contact management system to estimate the number of birthday cards that are needed for the following year, plus 20% to allow for new clients.
ii) Premier-quality birthday cards will be ordered by December 10 from The Gallery Collection, making certain that card styles are not duplicated from prior year(s).
iii) At the beginning of each year, make certain that the appropriate dates for each task is noted on the calendars of the Client Service Assistant, the Marketing Assistant and the advisor, as required.
iv) Schedule sufficient time on the advisor’s calendar between the 15th and 22nd of each month to hand-sign (adding notes if desired) all cards for the following month.
b) Monthly
i) By the 10th of each month, use contact management system to determine which clients (including spouses and children) have birthdays the following month.
ii) By the 15th of each month, hand-address the envelopes for each card for the following month and affix postage and a return label.
iii) By the 23rd of each month, mail the cards for birthdays occurring between the 1st and 7th of the following month. Record mailing for each client in the contact management system.
iv) By the 1st of the month, mail the cards for birthdays occurring between the 8th and the 14th of the month. Record mailing for each client in the contact management system.
v) By the 8th of the month, mail the cards for birthdays occurring between the 15th and 21st of the month. Record mailing for each client in the contact management system.
vi) By the 15th of the month, mail the cards for birthdays occurring between the 22nd and the end of the month. Record mailing for each client in the contact management system.
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