This is because systems, platforms, processes and methodology, usually so disparate and inconsistent, can be standardised and unified through Criterion so that different parts of the sector can work together, talk to each other, and transfer information more quickly and easily.
By doing this – creating standards and governance across the network of companies that use Criterion – the organisation aims to drive greater efficiency and process in the financial services sector.
“Trust is at the heart of it; organisations who work with us know that we have no commercial bias or agenda other than to support the industry we work with. Operating as a not-for-profit organisation helps commercially, and our track record of over 30 years underpins our role as a trusted ‘industry utility’,” he says.
“It also helps that we have been around for a long time, certainly in the life and pensions space – we are the default go-to organisation where they have a common process problem.”
The result for financial advisers is speeding up of processes, and easier accessibility to information – from letters of authority, to rates and illustrations.
But what does it take to actually get 300 diverse, variously complex, and continuously developing companies, such as platforms and software providers, to agree, collaborate effectively, and share information so that outcomes make sense and can be kept relevant to all parties in the sector?
That process, Mr Burnside goes on to describe, is a careful balancing act of multiple interests – between the sector and the regulator, between competition and collaboration, between companies advancing rapidly and those who are slower, and even, he says, between art and science.
This year Criterion, originally part of Origo, became an independent standalone organisation. Its journey started 30 years ago when the provider community got together and identified common areas where it needed solutions in terms of standardisation that no single company could achieve alone.
Later, a similar desire to collate and standardise data surfaced around transfers and re-registrations, and Criterion was awarded the TRIG initiative (The Transfers and Reregistration Industry Group – comprising representatives from 10 major industry trade bodies, such as the Association of British Insurers). The work it did around this became known as Star (speedy transfers and reregistration).
While much of Criterion’s work is led by the industry and geared at finding solutions to common problems, government-led regulatory change compliance is also part of its work.
The Retail Distribution Review, for instance, saw Origo and subsidiary Criterion working with the government to recognise how those regulations were going to be implemented and what processes and products would be affected.
Mr Burnside recounts: “We engaged with advisers, software companies and providers to ensure that these standards were made available ahead of time, so that all systems and processes were RDR-compliant in advance of the regulatory date.”
Star is another example of working with the regulator, this time to raise standards in the industry without regulation being enforced.
When asked about any possible tension between competition, confidentiality and collaboration, Mr Burnside says: “We as an organisation are mindful of that balance between collaboration and anti-competitive behaviours that need to be managed. We steer a very clear line around Competition Act regulations.
“From a collaboration point of view people know when they work with us, it isn’t a commercial venture – we are not looking to maximise revenues so from a financial point of view, the integrity is as much in how we operate.”
At the same time, standards are raised and there is an implicit encouragement for companies to excel. For example, Star has an accreditation system that tells companies and Criterion how they are doing against the industry benchmark.
“Part of the remit of Star is to raise the bar over time, so those standards will become harder to meet as time goes by because the regulator wants a continuous improvement for customer outcome.”
In this way, Criterion enables companies to find solutions by coming together that will then allow them to excel in their field.
In another balancing act, Mr Burnside explains how Criterion resolves the tensions arising from satisfying companies who are advancing their system development at different rates. Technology and data exchange programmes is an example.
“We know that the providers who have complex systems and departments will not all move at the same time. If we just drove the standards agenda as we moved forward, and did not support organisations across the different systems, we would leave people behind.
“It is really important that part of the service we deliver has backwards compatibility from a technology point of view.
“So the collaboration is not just about creating new standards, solving problems arising now, but also ensuring that everything we have worked with the industry on in the past is maintained and able to be used today, irrespective of where you sit on the IT development line.”
This is a key differentiator of Criterion. “We maintain continuity over time.”
In terms of advisers as the end user, Mr Burnside says that a lot of what Criterion does is invisible to advisers.
However, where advisers get involved in helping the organisation work with advisers and develop platforms and develop new services, “the outcome is always better, because we’ve got the practitioner in the room that we are trying to deliver the service to”.
“The services that we have developed and advisers use actually help them in exchange of information between providers and themselves.”
Anita Boniface is a freelance journalist
