John Hancock Signature Services

Company: John Hancock Signature Services, Boston, MA
Company Description: JHSS consist of 162 associates and serves as the transfer agent and service provider for John Hancock Funds, LLC, its shareholders and financial professionals. JHF manages more than $50.5 billion in open-end funds, closed-end funds, private accounts, retirement plans and assets for individual and institutional investors with more than one million shareholders worldwide as of 12/31/2009
Nomination Category: Support Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Support Team of the Year

Nomination Title: Image of a Superlative Support Team at John Hancock

1. Tell the story about what this nominated team achieved since January 1 2009 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

John Hancock’s Image Team is comprised of ten integral individuals operating at
the forefront of Mutual Fund Operations. All documents received by the company
are sorted and scanned into the system by this team. The team also deposits
all investment checks and handles document offsite storage.

Over 10,250 pieces of mail and 5,950 checks pass through the Image Team each
month. However, in 2009, in addition to the team’s daily duties, the Image
Team implemented process improvements, took on additional functions, and
reached far beyond their job descriptions to assist other teams, helping JHSS
remain a competitive transfer agent in a challenging economic environment.

Process Improvements
In 2009, the Image Team aided JHSS in significantly reducing costs while
increasing shareholder services by:

• Implementing new imaging system without losing any functionality of
previous system, reducing costs by approximately $ 600,000
• Increasing mail sorting categories, expediting delivery to specific
processing teams and reducing need to reroute work
• Enhancing returned shareholder mail resolutions:
o Resending statements to shareholders with recently changed addresses
o Correcting accounts with incorrect mailing addresses
o Sending notification letters to shareholders without updated addresses
• Migrating to a system that automatically reissues returned JH checks

Staffing Support
As a result of the 2008 stock market decline, JHSS was forced to manage its
expenses more closely. At the same time, many areas were understaffed by as
much as 36% due to positions vacated through attrition and reassignment. JHSS
assumed the motto “Do More with Less.” Keeping with JHSS’s renewed cooperative
spirit, members of the Image Team changed their work shifts to support their
workmates despite disruptions to their personal lives and underwent intensive
training learning how to process purchase and redemption requests and mail
shareholder correspondence – processes with which they were completely
unfamiliar. Not only did the Image Team maintain their production levels, but
Operations experienced the following:

• Awarded National Quality Review’s (NQR’s)* highest rating Best-In-Class
in Financial Transactions 3rd Quarter 2009 (*an external company that rates 38
mutual fund companies’ service levels)
• NQR overall ratings increased by 0.62%, Internal accuracy increased by
0.38%, and Internal timeliness increased by 0.80%
• 11.73% decline in financial transactions processed with incorrect trade
dates
• 73% reduction in privacy incidences regarding shareholder correspondence
• Cost savings equaling six full-time employees (due to work absorbed
through support staffing)

Reorganizational Support
Because of the outstanding success achieved through departmental structure
changes, JHSS explored reducing costs further by outsourcing JHSS’s imaging and
check depositing. Without hesitation, the Image Team gladly assisted by
demonstrating JHSS’s current processes. Thanks to the team’s thoroughness,
BFDS seamlessly assumed scanning and check depositing on December 12, 2009, and
due to the Image Team’s exceptional performance assisting other areas, the
members of the Image Team became permanent members of the purchase, redemption,
and correspondence teams where they continue to contribute to JHSS’s increasing
service levels.

We at John Hancock are proud of our Image Team and their accomplishments and
ask your consideration for this category award.

2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

National Quality Review rating criteria
http://www.nqrinc.com/tcs.html

3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the nominated team:

John R. Hatch is President and CEO of JHSS. Mr. Hatch has overall
responsibility for the Mutual Fund Transfer Agency (JHSS), Annuity Call Center,
Control, Licensing and Commission business areas. Mr. Hatch served as Vice
President of sales for John Hancock Insurance Services.

Previously, Mr. Hatch was Vice President of Annuity Operations at Mass Mutual
Life Insurance Company overseeing customer service and administration functions
for all distribution channels.

Other professional experience includes: Principal Consultant in the Investment
Management and Securities Operations area of Price Waterhouse; Director of
Corporate Treasury for Liberty Securities Corporation, and Control Manager for
Colonial Investors Services.