On 2nd December 2020, Becketts was officially certified with the BS8577 “Framework for the provision of financial advice and planning services” by Standards International, making us one of a small but growing group of financial planning firms in the UK to have achieved this prestigious award.
The BS8577 is the only British Standard for financial planning and advice businesses. It is designed to assess and award financial planning firms who can demonstrate that they have the operational framework in place to deliver a first class service to their clients.
It specifies best practice for embedding an effective operational management system through a set of agreed measures that secure a framework of excellence at the heart of the business.
Of our culture, the assessment report noted,
“Becketts is an open, dynamic, young business ‘with a modern mindset’. The office is deliberately structured to be open plan. The oldest member of the team is only 40 and Becketts prides itself on not being over-formal. There is a mindset of continuous learning.”
The service that we provide to our clients is of the upmost importance, therefore we can now confidently say that our service is now benchmarked at this standard having gone through this rigorous process of assessment.
“Processes are as efficient as possible without adding to the workload of busy clients. For example, Becketts try, as much as possible, to send information to clients in one go, rather than expecting them to respond to numerous emails and queries.”
The report also highlighted our approach to business through the use of two Japanese business philosophies, ‘Kaizen’ and ‘Omotenashi’, noting,
“Dominic believes in a concept called Kaizen – a Japanese term that means change for the better or continual improvement. ‘No one should be standing still; we must keep learning.’ The use of VoyantGo is an example of the drive towards further improvement. It is the cashflow modelling system of choice for Becketts. Clients are sent personalised videos of their cash flow model. Evidence suggests that these are reviewed several times by clients. Dominic points out that in all things, he aims to do and work with the best.”
And,
“Omotenashi is a Japanese term that describes a particular approach to hospitality. It involves the subjugation of self in service to a guest, without being “servile.” Anticipating needs is at the heart of the concept. Taking as much of the workload as possible from clients in an unobtrusive way is one of the ways in which Becketts choose to be different.”
Our clients’ needs are central to our business values, and our assessment report said as much, again in reference to the Omotenashi philosophy, “The concept of unobtrusive service permeates the whole business; everyone understands the part they play in achieving it.”
For this reason, we have also committed to a programme of ongoing assessment, ensuring that our processes and services will be continually assessed by an independent certification body on an annual basis.
Our budding green credentials were also cited in the assessment report,
“Becketts are currently researching the use of solar energy and how to power Beckett House using 100% renewable energy. Lighting is LED based and the firm is considering how best to conserve water and eradicate the use of plastic. The firm’s car scheme is based on electric cars only with four of the team members now driving electric. They aim as much as possible to reduce paper usage and have seen an 85% reduction in the past 2 years.”
The two-year course for this certification – ran by the wonderful team at Standards International – also encompassed workshops on cyber-security, personnel management and marketing; giving all our team members opportunities to learn new systems and reinforce our commitment to continuous learning and development.
As holders now of both the BS8577 certification and Chartered status, Becketts is proud to be demonstrating our commitment to excellence and justifying our current place in the New Model Adviser Top 100 firms for 2020.
