‘More streamlined and less manual’: TAL launches PY platform to boost efficiency

Life insurance product producer TAL has launched a platform to help monitor the provisional year of new entrants.

PY Manager was developed by TAL’s Risk Academy team, and the firm said it collaborated with licensees to design a platform to manage PY requirements, details, and achievements.

TAL national sales development manager Jason Bamford tells Professional Planner one of the major issues cited by licensees was the logbook requirement which was cited as being highly manual and time-consuming.

“To date, supervisors and licensees have been largely reliant on manual checks and collating data through various files and emails,” Bamford says.

He added TAL wanted to support licensees by reducing the manual work required to help support more new entrants.

“Having oversight of all aspects of the Professional Year in a live, digital capacity now allows for a more streamlined, and less manual process,” Bamford says.

TAL completed a pilot program which involved 30 PY candidates using the system with feedback being used to further enhance the system before launch.

“We are looking forward to having more new entrants, supervisors and licensees join the system and continuing to support growth of the industry,” Bamford says.

The digital hub allows candidates to track their work hours, activity progress, and create learning plans with industry-aligned courses.

Supervisors can gain quick access to all this information and sign off on any obligations, while licensees are similarly able to track their candidates.

Bamford says the life insurer sees opportunities for further support of PY candidates, advisers and supervisors. The platform also functions in concert with TAL’s Risk Academy which offers four courses focused on strategy, soft-skills and ethical dilemmas to support PY training requirements.

“We are running Professional Year development sessions and community events to help complement the management of the Professional Year requirements through PY Manager,” Bamford says.