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The winner of the 2016 Australian Broking Awards’ Training and Education of the Year category, PLAN Australia, has revealed that it is launching a Thought Leaders Council to enable brokers to discuss “key industry issues”.
The NAB-owned aggregator has said that broker education has “always been a top priority” for the organisation, and noted that its ABA win last year recognised its “innovative approach [to training and education] as well as PLAN’s “consistent and ongoing commitment to providing high-quality broker training and education”.
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Speaking to The Adviser, PLAN Australia CEO Anja Pannek said: “Winning the award for Training and Education [last year] is testament to our dedication and longstanding commitment to raising professional standards in the industry. It clearly shows the industry recognises our many years of hard work and dedication to creating world-class learning and development opportunities.
“The award win has made us strive even harder to ensure our program continues to evolve and adapt to meet changing broker needs — whether that means sharing insights from overseas markets to leveraging the very best in technology and digital solutions.”
As such, Ms Pannek revealed that the aggregator will be launching a Thought Leaders Council in May to provide “a forum for [PLAN Australia] brokers to discuss key industry issues and provide [the company] with the voice of the broker into the future direction of both PLAN Australia and the industry as a whole.”
The PLAN Australia CEO added: “Brokers operate in a competitive environment so need to do all they can to stand out from the crowd. Access to quality training and education not only helps brokers grow their business, it also helps them to improve efficiencies, deliver outstanding customer service and better leverage the technological tools at their disposal.
“Training and education also helps brokers stay up to date and agile in periods of regulatory change. This will become even more important in the future, as the broking industry continues to evolve and mature. Additionally, heightened professional standards mean clients will further value the advice coming from their broker and have increased confidence and respect in the broker-client relationship.”
Ms Pannek said that brokers are “usually enthusiastic about seizing training and education opportunities, and recognise the benefits in doing so”, noting that its recent High Performance Conference and PD days attract “record attendance level”, with more than 900 brokers attending the first round of development days earlier this year.
She concluded: “Our duty as an aggregator goes well beyond day-to-day support; we’re committed to the ongoing advancement of our industry.”
Australian Broking Awards 2017
Thought leadership and training and education form just two of the 26 categories for the Australian Broking Awards 2017, submissions for which are open now.
Now in its seventh year, the Australian Broking Awards — partnered by Commonwealth Bank — are the only industry awards focusing solely on the leading brokers, brokerages and aggregation groups in the Australian mortgage industry.
Building on some of the award categories from the state-based Better Business Awards, the ABAs will award 2017's Residential Broker of the Year, Finance Broker of the Year, Commercial Broker of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and Regional Broker of the Year, amongst other categories.
Submissions have been flooding in already, and with only one week remaining, ensure you get your submissions in before next Friday (21 April).
See the full list of categories and submission documents for more information.
