Especially Interesting

Anthony Thomson introduces the Financial Services Forum’s new HR special interest group.
The article by Susan Hetrick and Graeme Martin that (I hope) you have just read sets out some very clear challenges and imperatives for financial services companies, but could also stand as a manifesto for the Forum’s latest special interest group (SIG).
The first four SIGs have been very successful, as they have recognized that there are certain marketing or management issues that are mainly applicable within a narrower market – such as mortgages or general insurance – and have allowed Forum members to debate these questions and share perspectives in more detail than is usually possible in our other gatherings.
The HR SIG marks a new direction, however, as it is an attempt to broaden the focus. It has often been said that marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department, but in practice it (or at least the really really important part – engaging with customers and delivering the products and services that meet their needs and wants) is actually done by the customer-touching staff in all other departments. The way in which these people are selected, nurtured, developed, motivated and managed is therefore crucial to the fulfilment of all the marketing dreams. The over-riding aim of the Financial Services Forum is to facilitate and foster better and more effective marketing, and it is entirely consistent with these objectives to set up a SIG to facilitate and foster better and more effective human resource management in our member companies and more broadly within the industry.
To read the full article, please download the PDF above.