Michelle Hoskin says Paraplanners should avoid thinking of themselves as 'second-class citizens' within a Financial Planning firm and recognise their value.
Ms Hoskin, who works for Standards International, said Financial Planners relied on Paraplanners and administrators to make the firm run smoothly. 
She said: "You're not the second class citizens, I rely on Paraplanners to implement my changes and make the magic happen. It's the Paraplanners and the administrators who you can't do without! You're not there to support the Financial Planner, you're there to add value."
She said it was vital that there was a team approach at firms and this included in the recruitment process. 
"If you see your boss hiring someone after the first interview, kick them! There should be phone interviews, first interviews, second interviews, bring them into the office and see how they mix with staff, involve the other members of staff and don't hire someone who your staff don't get on with."
Regarding time management, Ms Hoskin recommended firms completed an 'activity inventory' where they noted all their tasks over a period of time. This would then help staff to see where their strengths lie, where there was duplication between staff, where systems could be streamlined and made more efficient. 
Her final point was to write an operations manual which detailed all the tasks at the firm and how they could be done. This should cover management, processes and master copies of all documentation. Tasks should be checked and tested by other members of staff to ensure that the process could be undertsood by an outsider.
Once an operations manual was in place, this means that a new person can come into the firm and get up to speed quickly and also that the staff can take a break or a holiday in the knowledge the firm still runs smoothly without them.
The IFP Paraplanner Conference was held today at the Chesford Grange Hotel in Warwick.