In 1995, Pearl Assurance was on the brink of disaster. Industry watchdogs had just fined the company for failing to comply with regulations and were threatening to close it down unless things rapidly improved. However, 2 years later, sales had recovered and sales staff turnover reduced from 28% to 12%. The improvements were brought about by re-structuring the jobs to make the selling less complex, improved selection procedures, including a psychometric testing and an assessment centre. Finally, by huge improvements in the training process. For every team of 12 sales people, two training and competence managers (TCMs) have been assigned, who are responsible for individual team member’s skills and the quality of the advice they give. To be able to sell financial products, each member of the team has to pass the financial planning certificate, which involves a 7–12 week off-thejob training programme, depending on their level of experience. The training, however, does not end there. On their first 10 visits to customers, they are accompanied by their TCM who has to be satisfied that they demonstrate the acquired skills in a ‘live’ situation. Subsequently, they will be observed once a week for the next 10 weeks. The company has estimated that every recruit that fails the certificate costs them £30,000 in recruitment and training costs. The overall success was shown by Pearl being voted one of the 100 most attractive firms to work for in Britain’s Best Employers, published by the Corporate Research Foundation.