So I’ve recently started my new job. Now that I’m finding my feet, I’ve taken a few moments to reflect on what it’s like to work for Simplify Consulting.
Who are Simplify Consulting……?
Simplify has been established for several years and is run by directors Kate & Carl. They specialise in providing practitioner-led expertise in Wealth Management, Life & Pensions & the Banking industry. They have a core permanent team who are split between consultancy and resourcing work. They work from their offices which are based in an old school house that rocks a bright, airy, quirky and modern vibe, in Cadnam, New Forest.
The Daunting Prospect of a New Role…..
When Kate & Carl approached me about joining the team, I was really excited at the prospect of working on something shiny, new and challenging. On the other hand, it was also a slightly daunting prospect as I know how hard they and their team work. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not afraid of hard work! But I do have a young family who I enjoy spending time with, so it was massively important to me that my next role would enable me to have a decent work-life balance. Thankfully, Simplify Consulting are very supportive of part-time and flexible working – with an ethos that they don’t mind where or when you work, as long as the work gets done.
What is a Wealth Consultant…..?
I’m still working that one out!! But seriously, it seems it will be a varied and interesting role that will give me the opportunity to work with a variety of clients, both global and small companies, located in various parts of the UK and abroad. So far I have used my BA skills working on a project to map life and pensions business processes and document the related controls with the goal of assessing and improving the controls employed across the client’s operation. And I’m currently using my PM and technical specification writing skills to lead a project to produce a set of correspondence specifications for a Transfer Agency. It’s certainly exercising and expanding my skill set and I’m enthusiastic about what’s ahead of me and what I can learn along the way.
How does it differ from my previous roles….?
Anyone who knows me knows that until now, I’ve been a ‘Barclays lifer’. So moving from a huge multinational company to a small company is quite a culture shock – but for all the right reasons! The team is friendly, supportive and hugely motivated. On day 1, I was invited to the monthly team meeting where I was ‘initiated’ into the team with a darts competition. The goal was to score above 100 points with 6 darts to win one of several fantastic prizes – just one of the staff initiatives on offer. Needless to say, I made many holes in the wall (embarrassing!) and did not win a prize…..maybe next month! This week it’s my birthday and today I was taken by surprise when everyone gathered to sing happy birthday and give me a lovely cake and some amazing presents – what a team!!
Apart from the fabulous welcome I’ve had, I’m also finding it very satisfying to work in a role where you can work at a great pace, work directly and closely with clients and achieve rapid and visible results. It’s also refreshing to work for a company with a flat organisational structure. You have a direct line of sight to the directors so that they are there to support you whenever required, but they empower you with everything you need to work under your own autonomy to get on and get the job done.
I’ve also quickly realised that working for Simplify Consulting is not just about the day job. Being a smaller company means that all permanent staff must get involved in building the success of the business. This takes a variety of forms including networking, helping to build up the Associate Network, ensuring that you keep your knowledge up to date as a practitioner in the fields of wealth management, life, pensions and finance. But additionally, there is a huge focus on Corporate Social Responsibility. Each year, the company selects a different charity to support. This year, we are supporting two fantastic charities – Dorset Children’s Foundation and the Rainbow Trust. Ambitious targets have been set to raise £25k for both charities and each member of staff is tasked with coming up with a variety of fundraising initiatives to meet these targets (you’ll be hearing more from me about this in the coming months!).
Simplify Consulting also employ a flexible operating model. As mentioned earlier, they have a core team of permanent staff, but they’re equipped to ramp up with contractors as short notice due to their large associate network. They clearly put a lot of effort into expanding and maintaining this associate network and have access to a ‘wealth’ of really great people covering a vast range of expertise. This gives them the huge advantage of being able to quickly flex up the team as and when required.
In conclusion
It’s been a challenging start as I’ve had to ramp up from chilling out during a period of gardening leave to full-on project work – I’ve definitely had to reignite my ageing and flagging brain cells! And I’ve no doubt that the role will continue to be both demanding and stimulating. But I’m up for the challenge – bring it on! Thank you Kate & Carl, for choosing to adopt me into the Simplify family.
If anyone reading this is interested in finding out more about our associate network, please get in touch!
Written by Nina Cherry – Wealth Consultant at Simplify Consulting