Tony Warrington, one of RMT’s longest established call centre operatives talks about his role and life at RMT.

“My role at RMT is to make pension review appointments for clients and also to help new staff with getting used to the systems. Any new member of staff will receive a week’s training so by the time they start working on the phones they will have a thorough knowledge of pension regulations and the service we offer, but it can take them some time to get used to the systems, so I help them with things like booking appointments on the system. I’m also on hand to answer any questions that might arise as they start making calls.

“When I call a potential client I talk to them to find out firstly if I can help them and then how I can help them. Most people are not aware of the charges applied to their pensions.

“Traditionally pension statements are the sort of thing that people receive in the post and simply file straight away into a drawer, sometimes without even opening. Often when I’m speaking to a potential client they are not aware of what’s on their latest statement or that they are effectively paying to have their pension looked after. A lot of people also aren’t aware that they can do something about it.

“Fees on older pensions were traditionally much higher, before the FCA got involved and so it’s likely that someone with a pension that hasn’t been reviewed for many years could actually be paying up to four times more than they need to in fees.

“My role is to find out what kind of pension they have, estimate the likely fees they will be paying and determine whether a pension review will be worthwhile for them. I’m not a financial advisor so I cannot give them any advice on their pension, but I can illustrate the benefits of a pension review.

“The main advantage of a pension review is that it costs nothing, just an hour of their time to establish if their pension is performing at its best for them. As all the Independent Financial Advisors we work with are FCA regulated, they will only advise a person to transfer their pension if it will leave them financially better off as a result. If a financial advisor reviews a pension and establishes it is performing well, his or her advice would be to leave it where it is, so it really is a win-win situation for anyone having their pension reviewed – they either receive peace of mind that it’s performing well or have the option to transfer it and become financially better off when it comes to retirement.

“I very much enjoy working for RMT, they are fair employers and it’s a nice office to work in. I enjoy the office environment but for many the flexibility of being able to work remotely from home, saving on travel costs is what really appeals.”

Martin Potts, RMT Group Training Manager talks about his role at RMT and the role of the call centre operators, who he both trains and provides ongoing support to.

RMT offers complimentary appointments with Independent Financial Advisors across the UK. The aim of the appointments is to give members of the public the opportunity to have their pension reviewed by an FCA-regulated Independent Financial Advisor, who can assess whether their pension is performing for them and advise them of any course of action that will make them financially better off.

The first stage in this process starts will a call from an RMT phone operative who will provide awareness of the changes in pension legislation and explain exactly what takes place at an appointment and how it can be of benefit.

The majority of call centres operatives at RMT are home-based, giving them the flexibility to fit their work around other commitments. Their career at RMT starts off as office-based, where they receive training and support until they are ready to work from home.

“The training really centres around instilling the foundations and the knowledge in our new employees,” Martin Potts explains. “ It comprises of three, what we call, classroom days, where they are taken through the UK pensions market, the news laws that are in place and the changes to pension legislation.

“It’s important to remember that we are not training IFAs but our call centre operators do need to have a foundation knowledge of both the service we offer and the pensions market so that they can communicate this effectively to people.

“Following the training, employees spend around one month working in our incubation centre, working with myself and one other experienced office-based operator until they are confident in what they are doing and are able to work from home.

“And even when they become home-based we are still there at the end of the phone if they need our help or support. In addition, we continually monitor performance and listen to recordings of calls to ensure the quality of their work is always at the highest level and provide feedback as and when necessary.

“Our call centre operation is based in Spain and so when we look to recruit new employees we look for someone who is already settled and established in Spain. We look for someone who is experienced in working in call centres, someone who ideally has a background in finance and, most importantly, is confident in communicating on the phone.

“We can teach people all about the service we offer and the pensions market but the one thing we cannot teach them is how to be confident on the phone.

“Anyone receiving a call from one of our operatives can expect to speak to a professional individual. It’s important to remember that we are not trying to sell anything, so it’s not a case that they are going to be receiving a call from a sales person.

“Our role is to help people to understand that it is something that could be of benefit to them. We raise awareness of the new pension legislation, explain how this could affect them and give them the opportunity to speak with an Independent Financial Advisor.

“It is a complimentary review with someone who is professional, it is something that the UK Government recommends everyone should do to ensure their pension is in order.

“An Independent Financial Advisor will give you an hour of their time, review your financial situation and, in most cases, will be able to come back with a solution to your problem.

“On the flipside, if they review your situation and everything is fine, then they will recommend you leave things as they are, which gives you peace of mind that your pension is performing well. And who wouldn’t want to receive peace of mind about something that is so crucial to you in later life.

“Sometimes people expect that it will be a sales man turning up to their home for the consultation and they are pleasantly surprised to discover they are not. Instead, it’s a qualified and regulated advisor who provides honest and professional advice and anyone who has a meeting with an Independent Financial Advisor is under no obligation to take things further.

“They are simply presented with the options available to them and clear information on how this could benefit them. Any costs associated with any recommendations are clearly and transparently explained, leaving them with the information they need to make an informed choice about what to do with their pension.

“I actually really enjoy my role at RMT. It’s not a pressurised sales environment, it’s a professional office, with a nice small team and it’s great to work for an established, professional company with a bright future ahead.”