I joined Stewart Group recently to support and serve their clients in the greater Wellington region. As part of my induction program, I attended a course run by Fi360, which detailed and highlighted what it means to be a fiduciary.
A fiduciary duty is a commitment to act in the best interests of another person or entity. Broadly speaking, a fiduciary duty is a duty of loyalty and a duty of care.
Sometimes, and really to be completely honest basically all the time, people take their implied duties of care for granted.
I expect good client service – but loathe, as a “good Kiwi”, to point out or complain when I receive poor or unacceptable levels of service. This is, in my opinion, detrimental to business – because the client who complains or points out deficiencies is actually trying and willing to help and improve the business.
There have been a few recent examples that come to mind, some with inconsequential outcomes; and some that have led to over 70 deaths.
Here is a seemingly trivial, but a perfect example of how a collective duty of care in attending to our allotted tasks in a timely manner is important.
My wife Sabrina and I have recently relocated from Singapore to return home after being away for 30 plus years.
Sabrina loves New Zealand but misses her family back home in Malaysia who she is very close to and celebrates Christmas with every year. Naturally, she wasn’t feeling very festive. Knowing that I went to buy a Christmas tree so we could decorate the house and the tree and make it homey.
I bought the tree early December, however by the 14th of December it still hadn’t been delivered. I wrote out comprehensive instructions as to the delivery date, the location, and both mine and Sabrina’s contact number and email. But the tree never arrived on the specified date. So I called the store a few times with little effect, and eventually went back to the store to get some resolution to the problem.
In the meantime, the tree has gone on sale, and is $480 less expensive; so I feel like a schmuck – out of pocket and without the tree for 16 days of the Advent & Christmas season! That is about 50% of the time the Christmas tree can be put up and used before the feast of the Epiphany (on the 6th January).
But it’s all been sorted now thankfully!
The store manager apologised, even the Head of Customer Service and Communications called from the head office in Auckland to apologise and refunded the discounted tree price.
A great result in the end!
But, here is the point: we are two people returning to New Zealand. All our worldly possessions are stuck in a harbour in Singapore. We have to start our lives over. My partner trying to make it “home” and desperately missing her family and loved ones. A simple matter – like a Christmas tree that is purchased and paid for – but something along the way gets mucked up.
This is the back-story to one straightforward purchase on one day, at one store, in one city, in one small country.
Imagine all the back-stories to every transaction that happens globally. For every transaction, there is a reason, a season, and a purpose.
Basically, someone who should be accountable did not do their job. And three store people run around to find out what went wrong, and the senior management makes at least four phone calls (probably more like ten) to find out what has happened and to inform the client how they are remedying the situation.
All this time and effort and lost time and emotions lost, gone wasted all because one person didn’t do their job correctly in the first place.
That is what a “fiduciary” duty of care is; to have the highest level of trust that someone you have engaged in doing the job will get it done ethically and in a timely manner. No-fuss, no micromanagement – do the job that is expected.
It’s about taking responsibility; it’s about being held to account, it’s about being and doing what you say you will do from being in retail sales to being a wealth manager to being a tour operator to being the St Johns Ambulance to being an administrator who files gun license applications to being a police officer.
If the duty of care processes and procedures were followed, there would be 51 precious souls still alive in Christchurch.
If processes and procedures were followed, there would be 22 precious souls still alive from their cruise of a lifetime at Whakaari Island. And not just the souls whose lives were taken, but also the multiple and the exponential number of lives affected and impacted by those terrible tragedies.
A Christmas tree is not really the point. The point is accountability & responsibility. Responsibility to do the job one is paid to do.
I hope and trust you and your family will have a safe and joyous Christmas. You can rest easy over this festive season knowing your wealth and risk management needs are safeguarded by Stewart Group’s fiduciary duty of care.
MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR.
— Brent
brent@stewartgroup.co.nz
