I recently read an article that said, amongst other things, that Barclays have realised that their mortgage advisers should at least be old enough to have a mortgage themselves.
That particularly interested me, not just because it is an obvious truth but because many years ago the Marketing Manager at Barclays asked my view on why the seminars they ran for Women were failing to attract either an audience or additional business.
I remember giving a very brief response and being told that they had just spent several hundred thousands of pounds commissioning a Report that gave the same conclusion!
Not that I am particularly bright but I was and still am a woman and, in those days, the entire culture in banking was led by men. So how would they know?
The world goes on and, it seems to me, it is time that the financial sector recognised that dealing with older clients requires a different set of skills.
The Society of Later Life Advisers(SOLLA) is a major step forward in developing those skills, as well as ensuring that anyone advising the more vulnerable are equipped to do so and can be trusted.
For anyone looking for advice for an elderly relative or friend – this new website may help http://which-care-staging.nbwd.co.uk/elderly-care
Information on local services can be found on https://ylyc.worcestershire.gov.uk/marketplace/api/cms/search/doMenuSearch?ft=services
and the quality of any local residential home http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/care-homes
On reflection perhaps this is just a very personal issue; I am a woman who grew up at a time when women were expected to defer to their men on financial matters and I am now rapidly approaching the older client designation.
Therefore a personal plea, I may be older but I may also be wiser than you. Treat me with respect and speak to me in understandable English.
http://info.oliff.info/?p=1602