What does a learning and development manager do on a typical day?
8am: As an administrative manager, my job is varied and busy. The admin element of my role has me looking after the team which chases documents for insurers, like credit agreements. First thing, I’ll check they’re OK to deal with the outstanding emails. I’ll also make sure the phones are manned ready for our broker partners to start calling in. They pretty much manage themselves, so I just have to point them in the right direction on where to concentrate their efforts for the day.
9am: After I’ve talked to the team, I’ll check my emails and see if there’s anything urgent that needs dealing with. Then, I’ll plan what I need to do for the day. I’ll also catch up with my boss Hazel, and see if there’s anything she wants me to do. I might chat to someone from another department, such as an insurance development manager, and see if we can help with anything learning and development wise.
10am: I’ll spend some time talking to some broker partners on the phone. Maybe remind them they’ve got some courses outstanding or ask about their L&D requirements. The training covers a broad range of topics: insurance markets, complaint handling, claims, why not to use non-rated insurers, that sort of thing. I’ll have a chat with them about which ones they should prioritise.
11am: When a broker partner joins us, we put them on an audit rota. For the first six months, we stay in close contact to help them meet the FCA’s competency requirements. I’ll review the rotas and check existing partners’ progress as well as adding in new partners. There’s also a ‘How to use Devzone’ module that I sometimes set new ARs who would rather work through how the system works themselves.
1pm: We’ll have a team meeting at least once a day. I’ll pass on any updates from the business and talk through how their day is going so far and what the workload is like. Some of the admin team are learning about the insurance side of things. I’ll try and help improve their insurance knowledge by answering questions or talking through anything new that they haven’t dealt with before.
2pm: I speak to our L&D system provider about three times a week, mainly about any system issues that we have. We’ll also chat about any new courses that they’re offering us. I’ll review them, and if they’re relevant I’ll allocate them to broker partners I think would benefit from them.
3pm: Sometimes, new partners ask what is learning and development in Momentum all about. I explain that the FCA stipulates that a broker must be competent to do their job. As a responsible Principal, we support our partners with a learning and development portal and other development tools like webinars and face-to-face training events. Ultimately though, they are accountable for their own professional development. However, our comprehensive offering for CPD makes it easy for them to keep up to date and compliant.
I spend a lot of time making sure Devzone is fit for purpose, and our broker partners are doing the right courses. For example, each quarter, I put together a mandatory course programme that includes training on everything from customer needs to the Insurance Distribution Directive.
4pm: I might do a spot check on our broker partners’ CPD records – FCA regulations say everyone has to keep a record. Our system lets you add any training into the CPD record. So, rather than keeping two separate records, you can add to your Momentum record and keep it all in one place.
