Introduction

With the complexity of business today and the struggling market, the majority of all organisations are contending harsh challenging times, especially companies operating within the financial services industry, such as IOOF. Consequently gaining a competitive advantage in this turbulent business environment is imperative to success, which is why, the existence of an effective performance management system is often the major differentiator between organisations that produce adequate results and those that excel (Lawler, 2008).

Performance Management can be one of the most powerful interventions an organisation can implement; it is an important tool for any organisations performance, to retain top performers, maintain morale, motivate individuals to perform effectively, develop and challenge employees, whilst also facilitating as a formal mechanism for identifying and rectifying unsatisfactory performance. An effective performance management system is also a significant potential return on investment for an organisation, in that performance objectives are linked to strategy achievement, ultimately leading to organisational success (All About Performance, 2005).

About IOOF

The IOOF group is a leading provider of quality financial services, helping Australians secure their future since 1846. IOOF Holdings Ltd (IOOF) is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in the ASX top 200 (ASX:IFL), and as at 30 September 2013, managed and administered more than $124.7 billion of client monies.
IOOF operates four divisions including Financial Advice and Distribution, Platform Management and Administration, Investment Management, and Trustee Services. Within each division IOOF promotes a variety of brands; these include Consultum, Bridges, Ord Minntet, My Adviser, Lonsdale, Plan B, Australian Executor Trustees and Perennial.

IOOF currently employs more than one thousand three hundred staff nationally, working across different divisions of the business; roles, required skills and competencies varying considerably across divisions, e.g. Financial Planner within Advice, Estate Planners and Trust Specialists within Trustee Services, Service Administrators within Platform Administration, and other roles such as Mailroom Officers and Receptionists to assist all facets at a corporate level etc. However, no matter what the role is, all staff are employed to work towards the one function, to achieve IOOF’s strategic aims.

IOOF’s strategy is to deliver profitable organic net flows, through building a brand, growing market-share and their adviser footprint, development of products, and through optimisation of organisation structure to maximise relationships. IOOF’s vision and strategy is further detailed in Appendix A, whilst IOOF’s organisation structure, in particular the level and reporting lines of the role I will be discussing throughout this paper can be seen in Appendix B.

The role of a Service Administrator at IOOF

The role I will focus on for the purpose of this paper is the role of a Service Administrator, based in IOOF’s Adelaide office within the Australian Executor Trustees business. The primary purpose of this role within the IOOF Group is to provide a centralised administrative, reconciliations and processing service within a dynamic back office environment. Service Administrator’s are required to provide a high level of customer service, and quality excellence in the timely processing of workflow in accordance with service level agreements (SLAs). The key tasks, duties, and responsibilities of this role are outlined within the Service Administrator position description seen in Appendix C. The core function of a Service Administrator is repetitive processing duties, however, a need to think outside the square, use initiative, have strong attention to detail and time management are all essential skills required when discussing performance management.

Performance Management System