Meeting the team
I was welcomed into the recently relocated Wiltshire office on Monday by Paul Verwoert and Mark Futcher, the Managing Director and Compliance Officer. They started my work experience by discussing how Hartsfield operates and how the week could be best structured to give me the most valuable insight into the world of financial services and how it could be tailored around the areas most relevant and interesting to me. The general idea was to get me to shadow and interact with as many people, in as different roles, as possible, to give me an idea of the benefits and responsibilities of each career.
In the afternoon, I met with George Fleming, the business development manager, who took me through his responsibilities, specifically his role in marketing and raising the profile of Hartsfield. We also discussed Insight: an app created to allow clients to better understand their finances and the continual change in their pensions and investments.
Finally, I finished the day with a much-improved understanding of life in the financial services industry, at both small and big companies, and new-found knowledge in the day-to-day operations of the kind of business I may one day work in.
Tuesday in Wiltshire
I started Tuesday by shadowing Sarah Hooper, who talked me through her career in financial services and her role as an administrator, detailing the varied nature of the job and the required organisation and attention to detail. I followed this up by discussing what it’s like being a relationship manager and working in finance generally with Sarah Gregg, who also ran me through the process of getting financial advice from both Hartsfield’s and the client’s perspectives. It was particularly useful to see how these roles worked in conjunction and how they fit in with the rest of the team.
Later in the afternoon, I looked further into the analytics behind Hartsfield’s website and social media presence and how this is used to maximise both the accessibility for users and the number of potential clients. I also learnt more about the ‘right-fit’ process and how Hartsfield can ensure any ‘prospects’ are a good fit, and who they are able to help.
I finished Tuesday looking forward to learning more about the work of financial planners and the process behind selecting the ideal investments later in the week.