Everyone who follows these articles knows that our approach is to be as thorough and precise as possible when it comes to candidate selection. At what point, though, does a hiring process become too lengthy and a deterrent for job seekers? Since, the current demand for new planners is high and supply is small, the obvious downside is that the longer a firm drags out the interview process the increased likelihood the candidate will accept an offer from a competing firm. In this month’s article, ...
SETTING REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS FOR NEW PLANNERS PART 2 OF 2
Last month we discussed what expectations are generally unreasonable for a new planner hire and this month we look at what firm owners SHOULD expect from their new planner. As I mentioned last month, not all new financial planners are equal. Nonetheless it’s reasonable to have some solid, but realistic expectations for a good candidate that you might hire. A few items to screen for include: Have a general familiarity with how financial planning firms serve clients and earn revenue – Most ...
SETTING REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS FOR NEW PLANNERS PART 1 OF 2
Throughout my career I have witnessed firm owners’ frustrations with new planners they have hired or were interviewing. Their frustrations stem from lack of clarity on what type of education a new planner receives and what can be expected of them. Also, firm owners sometimes don’t know what role they are trying to fill so they are left with trying to hire for a catch-all position resulting in unclear roles and responsibilities, and unreasonable expectations. We will start this two-part ...
UNLOCKING OPPORTUNITIES: HOW TO PROVIDE VALUABLE INTERNSHIPS
Just as in any other industry, financial planning firm owners take on a certain degree of risk when hiring professional staff. For firms that are looking to hire, a quality intern program is a great way to try out potential employees before they sign on the dotted line for a permanent position. In addition to ‘test driving’ future employees, having interns is a good business practice because an extra set of hands to complete work and an additional set of eyes with a fresh perspective is helpful ...
STANDING OUT IN THE SEA OF MULTIPLE OFFERS
If you are seeking to hire new talent for your firm, chances are you are not the only one. When so many firms are looking to hire at once, it means other firms are going after the same (limited) talent pool, and that the most attractive candidates will likely have several offers to choose from. This month's post reveals how you can emerge as the frontrunner in a competitive situation with a potential hire without giving the farm away! Do: Make candidates a solid offer. Currently, for ...
THE RIGHT PEOPLE FOR YOUR TEAM
A trend we continue to see in the hiring landscape are firms lacking clarity around who they are trying to hire. This month, I want to discuss the thought framework an owner should employ before hiring a new planner. Part of that thought process is to resist the temptation to hire an exact copy of themselves and over-emphasize the business development component and skillset. However, notwithstanding the consensus view from consultants that having a bunch of people in an organization with ...
Avoid These Mistakes So The Candidate Says ‘Yes’ To Your Hiring Offer
During the last year, if you have had a smooth interview process and made a successful hire, congratulations because many did not have the same experience. The market of available young talent continues to be very limited, and now more firms are hiring due to improving stock market conditions. Furthermore, you will probably not have as many people interested in your role as you may have had in the past. Due to the plethora of openings stemming from the growth of the profession, job seekers ...
Quash Quiet Quitting
You have probably heard the term “Quiet Quitting” by now. It is seemingly ubiquitous when describing the labor force post-Covid. Quiet quitting, or quitting-in-place, is really a fancy name for a problem that employers have dealt with for centuries: lack of employee engagement. When team members are “quiet quitting”, they are only doing the minimum to collect their salary, and it can be disruptive to any organization by slowing growth and damaging culture. Quiet quitting can take ...
Getting a Head Start on Your Hiring
The beginning of the year into the late spring historically has been a popular time for financial planning firms to hire as firms seek to recruit college graduates graduating in May, bring on additional support for the extra work during tax season, and to service the increase in new clients starting their financial planning engagement with the firm. Even though the market has been down for the last year, we anticipate more of the same type of hiring demand this year, based on the increased ...
What New Planners Want Part 2 of 2
Last month, we looked at what new planners are seeking from the culture of the organization they join. This month, we are going to review what they are looking for from a compensation and benefits perspective. See below for the most commonly cited components of what new planners are seeking from their employers that we have compiled from thousands of conversations with new planner job seekers over the last couple of years.Compensation and BenefitsWe realize some of these are not going to be ...
What New Planners Want Part 1 of 2
“...I’ve about had it. I don't know what these people are looking for and I’m tired of having to try to cater to their needs…”Sound familiar? We hear from a lot of frustrated firm owners across the country about the recruiting and retention challenges they have been facing in their firms, especially over the last few years. We are certainly in unprecedented times when it comes to navigating the human capital component of your business, and while it can be frustrating at times, it is part ...
Compensating New Planners
One of the questions we field on a regular basis is how much should I pay my new hire. This is a tough question to answer because it can depend on a number of factors and can change significantly in very short intervals. We have written about salary surveys in the past and still advise firms to seek multiple sources of information when designing a compensation plan for their team members. Furthermore, we have set out to provide a slightly different data set to again help in this conversation. ...