Forum Discussion
Tamara.Morey
Advisely Partner
Advisely PartnerLet's talk file notes.
Completing file notes is never high on an adviser's 'like-to-do list'. They're a time-consuming task, often taking the better part of an hour each time. BUT - they are a necessary evil.
I'd love to know how advisers are tackling file notes in your practice. Are they:
- Written / typed
- Speech to text (with the use of software or manual entry from a dictation)
- Recorded as audio / video only
Does anyone feel like they've nailed the file note process and are doing it efficiently?
We currently have a number of advisers doing different and inefficient things with F/Notes which we need to change. We are currently looking at recording all online meetings using Fathom or something similar and have trialled the existing transcription service on TEAMS. It resulted in 50 pages of recorded conversation - no time saving for the adviser to trim it down at all.
So... next thoughts are using mobile phone to record a F/N post meeting and having an app on the phone that will transcribe the voice to text. This way, all advisers can have the same process. Written file note can then go to Admin for actioning and into Xplan.
- anne.graham
Advisely Index Top 10
Ah, the F-word! thanks for bringing this up Tamara.Morey . I have a nice little routine re the file notes - we have a template /agenda and notes (yes, pen to paper) are made during the meetings. They need tidying up of course but I do find the sooner the F-note is done, the less time it takes because it's fresh in my mind. I have pared down the notes and they are more dot point these day. My colleagues have been exploring a transcription option and/or recording and it's a bit test-and-learn at the moment. So, no magic bullet but if I keep the notes focused and to the point, it seems to improve the outcome for me.
- Tamara.Morey
Thanks anne.graham - I completely agree that prompt and focused file notes are key to an efficient outcome. Post meeting, are your handwritten notes then typed into your CRM?
- anne.graham
Hi Tamara.Morey - Post-meeting the notes are either typed into the CRM or just scanned and saved, depending on how complex/detailed the meeting was.
- jenny.brown
Advisely Board
Great question Tamara.Morey we used to dislike file notes, however over the past month we've been training co-pilot to help us. We have been recording our client meetings either on teams, zoom or with a livescribe pen for around 15+ years, recently we made the decision to do all our on-line client meetings on teams and we upgraded our microsoft tenant to include co-pilot for around $550 per person per year. This then provides us with the ability to ask co-pilot (our paid version within our tenant) to summarise the meeting. Summarise the action items and to dos.
It is amazing how accurate it is, and how much time it saves us.
Our IT guy suggested it takes around 3-4 weeks for co-pilot within our tenant to learn how we talk/write and provide the feedback in our words. We are finding each one is getting better.
If we are out with a client, I set up a teams meeting, and join on my phone, it takes a little more editing as there is only 1 person (me) in the meeting and many voices, but again, saves a heap of time.
Of course, we advise our clients and ask their permission, they are very comfortable with it as they know our processes.
It's been a game changer for us and I imagine will only get better. - rainier.reyes
Advisely Team
A necessary evil indeed Tamara.Morey - interesting to see what everyone is doing out there, especially since there seems to be a growing AI presence in this space.
deborah.kent jenny.brown anne.graham mat.tenison3 - would love to know what you're doing, and if you found yourself more efficient tackling file notes one way or the other!
- mat.tenison3
Hi Tamara-Morey, a great question and such a time consuming part of the process! I was recording notes and sending to my adminstrator to transcribe, however this is still very inefficient. The last 6 months I've started transcribing to a word document, then copying to the xplan file (still too many steps!). I'm pretty sure there's a way to do it straight into xplan, so if anyone knows how to do this I'd be very appreciative! I think the next step in our journey is to start recording/transcribing online meetings and have AI summarise for the file. I've been hearing a lot about this and sounds like a very efficient way of doing things. Again, if anyone is doing this already, I'd love to hear how it's going and the mechanics behind it? Also, is there an alternative to this for face to face meetings?
- Tamara.Morey
Hi mat.tenison3 check out this recent discussion about transcribing straight into Xplan. It seems to work well in some areas, but not in others (yet).
I know that some practices who are recording online meetings do the same thing for face to face. They set up a laptop with video chat and record the live meeting. I think this is a great option to record the client consent and confirm understanding. I don't know that AI is developed enough to produce a transcribed file note in the manner we might like to see it (and able to interpret industry jargon etc), but I'm sure there are still some efficiencies to be achieved with the right software.
- deborah.kent
love the F... word anne.graham Tamara.Morey as we are a remote business we are working through teams we have like Jenny starting using Co Pilot to record notes we then put them into our filenote format for compliance. It is early days, but it has cut down time on the discussion side using AI is a great way to be efficient however I caution those entering into it that make sure you know who you are using, you need to know what access they may have to your systems. Co Pilot is part of Office 365, so we feel comfortable with it.
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