THE PRACTICE MANAGERS TRAINING PROGRAM – ENHANCE YOUR SKILLS AND CONFIDENCE
Advance your career in financial planning practice support with Australia’s only training course specifically designed to develop exceptional Practice Managers. Developed by the experts at Elixir Consulting, this program is designed for people:
- wanting to upskill from an administration role to improve and/or take a more senior role
- currently in a Practice Manager role, looking to improve their skills and effectiveness
- re-entering the workforce and/or wanting to step up a level in their career
Delivered online, giving students the flexibility to study when and where they want, this practical program blends self-paced learning with online group workshops and optional private coaching to provide the skills you need to run an effective back office and enable your advisers to deliver quality advice in a timely fashion.
» Twelve modules with video and written training manuals, to be completed at your own pace
» Seven live online workshops to explore the practical application of the concepts
» Multiple choice assessments
» Optional private coaching support
» Access to templates to customise for your firm
» Student community – build your network with other like-minded peers
27th August 2024 intake now open.
Enrolment Fee: $2,495*
How do we define a Practice Manager?
Responsible for the effective running of the ‘back office’ in an advice firm, a great Practice Manager will ensure the team efficiently completes the administrative services to deliver financial advice to their clients and ensure compliance and service obligations are met.
Responsibilities often vary depending on the size of a firm, but will usually include:
- Ensuring processes and workflows are implemented effectively
- Managing culture, people and HR functions
- Overseeing technology systems and updates
- Managing WIP and allocation of tasks
- Ensuring client service obligations are met within timeframes
- Ensuring turnaround time and accuracy of advice docs AND implementation of advice are managed within service standards
Great practice managers take the organisational burden from the advisers and ensure the whole team works in harmony to deliver an exceptional client experience. They build great cultures, and are passionate about continually improving the business.
Watch the video to know more about the program:
PRACTICE MANAGERS TRAINING PROGRAM COURSE CONTENT
Hover over each module to see more detail
Module 1. Introduction to the engine room
- Definition of a practice manager and the ‘why’ of their role
- How to ensure the practice manager is a revenue enabling role, not just a cost to the business
- Stepping into a leadership role – what does that mean?
>> Self-paced learning materials
>> Live online workshop
Module 2. What is a Resilient Advice Business?
- The practice manager’s role in supporting management to improve the Resilient Advice Business score
- Building good reporting and why it’s important
>> Self-paced learning materials
Module 3. Analysing an advice business
- 360 degree perspective on what makes an exceptional advice firm
>> Self-paced learning materials
>> Live online workshop
Module 4. Building your People and Culture
- What is healthy culture and how to develop one
- Building an operating rhythm to support healthy culture
- Supporting healthy teams with varied personalities
- How to develop a high-performance culture
- An introduction to performance management
>> Self-paced learning materials
>> Live online workshop
Module 5. Roles within an advice practice
- From Senior Adviser to CSO and everything in between
- In-sourcing, outsourcing and how to leverage a team to better service clients
>> Self-paced learning materials
Module 6. Right people in the right roles
- How to manage a task audit
- Assigning roles to suit skills and personalities
- Building role descriptions, establishing KPI’s and setting expectations
>> Self-paced learning materials
>> Live online workshop
Module 7. Capacity Planning
- Managing your resources for growth
- How to assist the management team to lift the output per team member
- Planning for recruitment and upskilling the right roles to achieve the growth objectives of the business
>> Self-paced learning materials
Module 8. Managing tasks and workflows
- Running an effective back office
- Effective technology systems for tasks and project management
- Managing capacity in Operations
- Workflow structures
>> Self-paced learning materials
>> Live online workshop
Module 9. Running a compliant and ethical advice firm
- Understanding the importance of compliance and the impact on a licensee and livelihood
- Learning how to manage difficult conversations with advisers and team members who have different views on compliance and ethics
- Understanding compliance manager relationships in licensees and self-licensed firms
>> Self-paced learning materials
>> Live online workshop
Module 10. Facilities and operational management
- Keeping the office running smoothly – from managing suppliers and contractors to testing the tags on electrical equipment and everything in between
- An overview of Occ Health and Safety responsibilities
- Accounts reconciliation and revenue tracking
- CPD Management/oversight
>> Self-paced learning materials
Module 11. Change Management
- How do you bring your people on a journey of change in a business
>> Self-paced learning materials
Module 12. Key Learnings and where to from here
- An opportunity to re-assess yourself
- Where to from here?
>> Live online workshop
What our students are saying about the Practice Managers Training Program.
“I learned to be a more effective practice manager and I enjoyed the course materials. I feel like I have achieved a lot and I feel more confident in going into a practice manager role.”
“The course is very relatable to the everyday tasks that I am working on as a Practice Manager (to be). I really enjoy the workshops and getting a feel for how other businesses are operating in comparison to our own and even being able to ask for advice on certain areas in breakout rooms. Rather than just doing online content, it is good to speak to the Elixir staff and other people undertaking the course.
“I have really enjoyed the course so far as it’s given me practical tools and tips to work on which upon implementing have produced great results in a short duration of time.
I can confidently assess what work will have the biggest impact and am able to allocate resources and/or prioritise the work myself so we can keep the needle moving to achieve our 90 day goals.
All the coaches have been fantastic and it’s empowering to be surrounded by amazing women who all want to assist one another in getting good outcomes.
I love the feeling of inclusiveness, support and genuine connection from the coaches and cohort.
I would highly recommend this course to anyone who is interested in becoming a leader in their practice as the information and personal coaching received is priceless!”
“I thoroughly enjoyed all the modules and feel I have gained the knowledge I needed to be successful in my role as a new practice manager/head of operations. I feel equipped with the right tools and resources to be able to assist the team and lead the company in the direction of growth.”
“I have been able to surround myself with incredible women who share an aligned vision of empowering one another, uplifting each other through experiences and brainstorming the challenges that come with the role. This course has given me a good understanding of the business wheel, the essential components for a successful financial planning business, and how each component needs to work to ensure you have the right balance that works for your business. The knowledge, new connections and genuine advice and guidance from the coaches has been exceptional. For anyone who is thinking about this course, i would highly recommend it! It’s life changing as the tools you will be adding to your toolkit apply not only to your professional life but to your personal life as well. My belief in the type of leader i want to be has strengthened and being intentional about how i achieve this has led me to being in close proximity to the amazing coaches and leaders i have met. It is extremely rewarding when the small positive changes start to compound over time and what seemed to be moving very slowly all of sudden brings waves of movement in the right direction.”
“As someone with 20+ years of industry experience and significant time in my role, I am still finding huge value in competing the course. I am really enjoying getting to know other participants who are in similar roles & hearing how they may approach issues. It is so easy to be buried in work & how busy we are, but the course is encouraging me to stop, look around & think about how we can do things better in our firm.”
“The knowledge, new connections and genuine advice and guidance from the coaches has been exceptional.”
“I am thoroughly enjoying all the content in this course as well as my one on one mentoring sessions.”
“I really enjoy all of the content, it’s been wide varying but very relevant.”
“All the coaches have been fantastic and it’s empowering to be surrounded by amazing women who all want to assist one another in getting good outcomes.”
“I love the feeling of inclusiveness, support and genuine connection from the coaches and cohort.”
HOW MUCH DOES UPSKILLING COST?
OR
$4,000 inclusive of two private coaching sessions (please contact to arrange).
The enrolment fee includes access to all training materials for the duration of the program (6 months from time of commencement), live online workshops with a course facilitator, video playback on-demand for sessions and a discounted rate for optional private mentoring sessions.
Private coaching sessions will be held via Zoom with an experienced Elixir coach. Content will be at the discretion of the student and may include assistance with supporting them in their current role, assistance with course material or understanding how to develop their career.
* Total amount payable when splitting payment is $2,650.
READY TO APPLY?
Are you ready to register for the Practice Managers Training Program?
Select from the options below.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: “What if I can’t attend the live workshop/s on the scheduled dates?”
A: You will be able to watch the video replay, via the student portal.
Q: “How long do I have access to the material for?”
A: The recommended completion period for this program is 20 weeks; students will have access to the training materials for an additional 4 weeks after the final live workshop session, in the event they need to catch up on modules.
Q: “Will there be exams and assignments as part of the course?“
A: Given this is a training course designed to help you improve the way you run a financial planning back office, and not an accreditation to license you as an adviser, there is no requirement for exams and assignments. There will, however, be a multiple choice quiz at the end of each module, to help you test your learning and recognise where you might like to refresh your knowledge.
Q: “What if I haven’t completed the previous modules before a Workshop?“
A: Whilst the modules are held in consecutive order, it’s not completely necessary to have finished one module before working on the next. Provided you complete all modules and quizzes by the stipulated close of course date, you will be fine to attend the live workshops without completing the previous modules in full.
Q: “I’ve chosen the coaching package but what if I want more 1-to-1 sessions than what is included?“
A: You will receive a discount code that can be used to book in adhoc private sessions via our website. You can book as many additional sessions as you like. Your discount code will be valid for 12-months, to receive access to an Elixir coach at the rate of $450 + GST per hour.
Q: “I’m not sure if I’ll want/need the private coaching sessions. Do I have to purchase them when I register?“
A: It’s more cost effective to purchase the coaching package when you first enrol, ($1,505 for 2 x 90 minute sessions) but you can always book adhoc private sessions when you need them. Simply visit our website, select ‘Book consulting time‘ with your preferred consultant and use your provided discount code.
Q: “The private mentoring sounds pretty expensive at $500 per hour – why?“
A: Private coaching for this program is not just accessing a tutor who will help you with what’s in the course material. Coaching will be conducted with an Elixir business coach, so you’ll get personalised support on developing your career, on helping with the unique challenges in the business you work in, and you’ll also be able to leverage the contacts and additional experience of one of Australia’s best business coaches. With deep experience in financial advice businesses, and access to the greater network of the whole Elixir team, there are very few people in the country with their level of expertise.
Q: “Do I get a certificate?“
A: Yes, each module will have a multiple choice quiz to confirm the learnings. Certificates will be awarded to those who achieve 70% pass mark or higher.
Q: “I’d like to apply for a scholarship grant, but I want to enrol whether I receive the scholarship or not, what do I do?”
A: Complete your registration and pay your course fees to Elixir via either of the above links, AND submit your application via the FAAA portal. If your scholarship application is successful, you will be refunded the fees from Elixir. Note that there are a limited number of scholarship grants available, and preference will be given to applicants who meet the additional criteria (in addition to the mandatory criteria).
Meet the Coaches
Some of the most experienced and enthusiastic coaches you’ll ever engage, the Elixir business coaches have a wealth of knowledge about what works in advisory businesses and have proven track records for helping their clients achieve greater success.
Sue Viskovic
Lana Clark
