Client Care

Question 1

What are the purposes of having professional indemnity insurance?

Answer 1

1. to ensure if the firm faces a claim, it is protected from financial loss that it cannot meet from its own resources
2. protect the insured member or firm against the consequences of its liability to pay damages to third parties for breaches of professional duty that it commits to through its professional activities
3. ensure that the firm’s clients do not suffer financial loss, which the firm cannot meet.

Question 2

When would a PII policy be put into run-off?

Answer 2

When the insured business is no longer trading but still requires cover for the past work undertaken. This is due to claims made basis of PII. Run off is a mandatory requirement of governing bodies such as RICA and the RICS

Question 3

What information is contained within a client’s brief?

Answer 3

There is no set form but it might include as a minimum:

A description of the site
A description of the project
Budgets
The programme
The clients objectives
Any client requirements- spatial requirements, technical requirements, project requirements etc

Question 4

What is the purpose of RICS Standard Form of Appointment?

Answer 4

RICS Members are required to record the terms of their appointments in writing. The Standard Appointment has been written to facilitate this as written contracts. When properly considered, they provide more certainty and and lessen the potential for dispute between parties than purely verbal agreements. They also have a basis in case law and contain payment structures and levels of insurance.

Question 5

Examples of KPIs that can be used on construction projects include:

Answer 5

• Cost vs Budget. The budgeted cost of work that has actually been performed in carrying out a scheduled task during a specific time period.
• Project progress relative to milestones
• number of complaints
• number of incident/accidents
• the number of working hours spent on different aspects of the works
• the use of materials
• the number of defects
• the amount of waste generated and the amount of recycling
• the number of variations

Question 6

What should RICS regulated firms do to counter bribery, corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing?

Answer 6

To comply with the Rules of conduct and RICs professional statement on countering bribery etc all rics regulated firms must

• not facilitate any financial crime including money laundering, tax evasion, bribery or corruption. Effective processes must be in place to prevent this.
• professional statement sets out the rules. All firms must have a written policy addressing money landing and terrorist financing that covers identification of PEPs and PSCs and any potential breaches of sanctions.

Question 7

How do you establish a clients requirements?

Answer 7

• Client Questionnaires.
• Key Performance Indicators.
• Pre-start meetings.
• Benchmarking.
• Good, clear communication.

Question 8

What is PI insurance?

Answer 8

Professional indemnity insurance is an type of business insurance, especially for businesses that give advice or provide a professional service to clients. It can cover compensation claims if a business is sued by a client for making a mistake that leads to financial loss.

Question 9

How is the minimum amount of PI cover established?

Answer 9

The minimum amount of your PII is determined by your firms annual turnover e.g. £100,001 to £200,000 turnover requires a PII of £500,000.

Firm’s turnover in the preceding year Minimum limit of indemnity
£100,000 or less - £250,000
£100,001 to £200,000 - £500,000
£200,001 and above - £1,000,000

Question 10

What is runoff cover?

Answer 10

PII run off insurance is required so that you are covered in the event there is a claim against you after leaving the practice/profession.

Merrett v Babb Employees are personally liable for professional advice

Question 11

How are fees calculated?

Answer 11

Fees are calculated depending on various factors; Project budget, type of client, residential/commercial, historic or listed buildings, newbuild/conversion, economic climate. Below list a few ways in which fees are calculated.

Time charge - Hour rates are provided to the client.

Percentage - Each consultant will receive a percentage of the total project budget.

Fee Bid - based upon previous experience of the bid author they bid a lump sum for the desired works.

Question 12

What can KPIs be used for?

Answer 12

• Monitor costs.
• Track progress.
• Assess client satisfaction.
• Identify strengths and weaknesses.
• Compare performance across and between projects.
• Assess specific areas of a project

Question 13

When are KPIs established

Answer 13

KPIs are identified in tender documentation and that the regular provision of the information required to assess them is a requirement of the contract.

Question 14

What is a stakeholder?

Answer 14

The term ‘stakeholder’ refers to anyone that has an interest in a project and can influence its success.

Question 15

Who are typical stakeholders?

Answer 15

• The Client
• The Community
• Statutory Authorities
• Special interest groups
• Service Suppliers
• The emergency services

Question 16

How do you assess the stakeholders of a project?

Answer 16

As stakeholders can influence the success of a project, it is very important that they are identified as early as possible and that their potential influence is systematically assessed. This can be assessed by a stakeholder map or stakeholder matrix. A stakeholder map allows a plan to be developed for how to manage the involvement of different stakeholder groups.

Question 17

What does a stakeholder map assess?

Answer 17

• The likely impact of the development on the stakeholder.
• The issues that they will have an interest in.
• Their likely position.
• Their ability to influence the development.
• Their potential impact on the project.
• Potential mitigating actions.

Question 18

What is a standard form of appointment?

Answer 18

A form of appointment is the means by which a consultant is appointed to a project. It is important the terms of the appointment are set out in writing as soon as is practically possible, defining the scope of services that are likely to be required and the fee that will be charged for those services.

Question 19

What standard forms do the RICS offer?

Answer 19

The RICS offer Standard forms of appointment including;

-Consultant appointment -Standard/short/designated
-Technical due diligence services
-Contract administration services
-Reinstatement cost analysis services
-Quantity Surveying services
-Project Management services
-Employers Agent services
-Principle designer services

Question 20

What do appointment forms typically contain?

Answer 20

• A brief description of the project.
• A scope of work to be undertaken.
• The fee (excluding VAT).
• The date for the start of work
• The amount of professional indemnity insurance cover required for the project.
• A statement confirming that unresolved disputes will be settled by adjudication under English Law.

Question 21

What are Benefits of using a standard form?

Answer 21

-Provides clarity, comfort and protection to parties.
-Avoids misunderstandings and disputes.
-Defines fees and provisions for payments.
-Clarifies copyright position.
-Fair and reasonable allocation of risks between parties,
-Less expensive and more convenient.
-Current industry practices, procurement and legislation.
-Proven legal basis in case law.

Question 22

What is a complaints procedure?

Answer 22

As required by RICS Rules of Conduct for Firms Bailey Partnership has a complaint handling procedure and it is as follow;

• Where a written complaint is received it is to be passed onto the relevant person. In my case, this is one of the Partners.
• If a complaint is made orally, request the complaint in writing.
• Once the complaint is received we have 7 days to provide a written summary typically containing our understanding of the circumstances leading to the complaint and an invitation to provide a response.
• Within 21 days of the complaint they will be informed of the investigation into the complaint and to let them know what actions have been or will be taken.
• If they are not happy with the response they are invited to contact our Relevant persons or The Regulatory Board; namely, Arbitrators drawn from the RIBA, RICS or CIArb.

Question 23

What are key performance indicators?

Answer 23

Key performance indicators (KPIs) refer to a set of quantifiable measurements used to gauge a company’s performance. These are often pre-determined targets set out by the client and can be used to Monitor costs, Track progress, Assess client satisfaction and Identify strengths and weaknesses.

Some examples of KPI’s include;
Cost vs. budget.
Number of complaints.
Number of incidents/accidents.
The number of defects.
The amount of waste generated and the amount of recycling.
The number of variations.

Question 24

What is the Bribery Act?

Answer 24

Bribery Act 2010 promotes anti-bribery practices amongst businesses and made it a criminal offence if an organisation fails to prevent bribery that is intended to get or keep business.

Question 25

How does the RICS prevent Bribery?

Answer 25

The RICS guidance note Countering bribery and corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing sets out rules for members and firms, whistleblowing and managing risk in relation to the aforementioned topics.

Question 26

What are the five rules of conduct for firms and members?

Answer 26

1 - Members and firms must be honest, act with integrity
2 - Members and firms must maintain their professional competence
3 - Members and firms must provide good-quality and diligent service.
4 - Members and firms must treat others with respect and encourage diversity
5 - Members and firms must act in the public interest, take responsibility for their actions

Question 27

How do you ensure your client is legal?

Answer 27

Our clients are typically reputable i.e. PCC, NHS Trust.

The RICS have a Template customer due diligence form;

Identification
Politically Exposed Person
Check for sanctions