Money Moves Human quality makes all the difference by Mayse Lam As demand for financial services surges, so does the need for talented financial advisors. Financial institutions aiming to capitalise on emerging opportunities must first and foremost consider the quality of their members. To reach ever greater heights and satisfy a more demanding clientele, financial experts must nowadays provide their clients with superlative services, supported by a solid corporate framework. "As one of the leading global providers of risk management, human capital and management consulting services, and the largest global manager of captive insurance companies, Aon has been ranked the best insurance broker, best reinsurance intermediary and best employee benefits consultant by Business Insurance magazine in 2007. With over 500 offices operating in more than 120 countries and sovereignties, we constantly strive for international industry leader status," says Ronald Lai, deputy chief executive officer, Aon Hong Kong Limited. In recent years, Aon's innovative ethos has set it apart from its industry competitors. "Many of our clients are either top professionals or sizable corporations representing both the public and private sectors. It is therefore essential we provide services which transcend simple financial solutions. To prosper, we need to find individual business solutions which complement specific business strategies," explains Mr Lai. According to Jess Yum, senior manager of the company's life and wealth management team, this is where business development managers play a crucial role. "Our business development managers are in direct contact with our clients and their responsibilities include conducting market research, analysing financial products and offering client advice. As a result, although we are eagerly searching for talent to fill a range of positions, we ensure candidates possess professional qualifications and demonstrate previous experience and knowledge of the financial industry. We believe that only mature, innovative and hard-working candidates with the right corporate attitude can succeed in this field," Ms Yum points out. With this in mind, Aon is always keen to train and develop both new and existing members. "We understand that the quality of our services can only be ensured by providing higher quality training for our staff members. To attain that goal, Aon has devised a structured training programme to further enhance the professionalism of our team. We provide not only courses for members to obtain the mandatory professional scores, but also talent development programmes for their personal advancement. Through our comprehensive range of learning and development programmes, we can build a solid foundation for new staff and enhance the professionalism and competencies of our current financial specialists," explains Thomas Yuen, executive director of Aon's human resources department. "In the future, we hope that we can continue to embody our values: continue to deliver unsurpassed client value, develop superlative teams, build differentiated capability through innovation and lastly produce excellent business results," Mr Lai concludes. Taken from Career Times 7 December 2007, p. A18 Your comments are welcome at [email protected]