Job seekers will sometimes say anything to get a job, which is why the interview process is a very important part of the overall candidate selection process. Conducting effective interviews is essential for making informed hiring decisions and ensuring a positive candidate experience. To achieve this, employers and interviewers must follow best practices that focus on preparation, structure, and consistency. Follow these tips, especially if you don't interview often, to help conduct an ...
Your Virtual Work Policy
If you do not have some type of virtual work/work-from-home policy, you are at a disadvantage when recruiting for new talent today. In practice, advisory firms that have ‘always’ run in-person do often struggle to convert to a fully remote working environment, but it isn’t necessarily a need to allow 100% virtual work (unless the firm wants to); allowing even just some work-from-home (e.g., 2 out of 5 days per week) can still have positive impact for the team, while still largely conforming to ...
Pitfalls of Striving to Be the “Cool” Boss
After the Second World War, many of the American military members returned home and entered the workforce managing and implementing work cultures that were similar to their military experience and training. Every generation that is further removed from this “Greatest Generation” has slowly moved away from the traditional model of rigid, authoritarian leadership in favor of a more relaxed, and approachable style. This shift can foster a more comfortable and open work environment, but it also ...
Career Satisfaction Research Survey: Part 5
Last month in part four of our research survey series, we looked at how new planners felt about their compensation, and what increase would be required for them to feel fairly compensated. This month, in our final installment of the 2024 Career Satisfaction survey series, we look at how next-generation planners view equity ownership, whether they seek it, when along the career path they expect it, and how they expect to acquire it. Equity Ownership Desire and Timelines One of the ...
Career Satisfaction Research Survey: Part 4
Last month in part three of our research survey series, we looked at what activities new planners cited as top priorities when seeking a new firm to join, and what employee benefits were most requested and valued, plus what they specified as the benefit that is most likely to retain them for the long term. This month we look at how next-generation advisors feel about their compensation, and what type of adjustments would be required to feel fairly compensated (if they’re not ...
Career Satisfaction Research Survey: Part 3
Last month in part two of our research survey series, we looked at what activities new planners cited as most fulfilling, what their expectations for promotion to lead planner were, and their view of management’s commitment to their career development. This month, we will look at the factors that job seekers prioritize when looking for a new career opportunity in the first place, the most requested and valued employee benefits, and factors that drive retention of the next generation of financial ...
Career Satisfaction Research Survey: Part 2
Last month, we introduced our research study exploring why new financial planners enter the profession and what career path they seek when starting out. This month, we will look at the activities that they cited as the most fulfilling, what their expectations are for promotion to a lead planner role, and their view of management’s commitment to their career development. When we asked new planners what were the most fulfilling activities they did each day, Gen Y (Millennials) cited Meeting ...
Career Satisfaction Research Survey: Part 1
Earlier this year we surveyed 665 Generation Y planners and 275 Generation Z planners to get their thoughts on their career satisfaction, and what drives that satisfaction (and from the firm’s perspective, their retention!). In this anonymous survey, we hoped to gain additional insight into what we see anecdotally each day as we interview job seekers for financial planning roles across the country about what they’re really looking for that will make them “stick” with the job and firm they’re ...
How to Reduce Your Hiring Headaches Part 2
In last month’s article, we shared some of our thoughts on the 2024 labor market and hiring outlook plus a few tips on how to avoid certain frustrations when hiring new talent for your firm. This month we will conclude our two-part series with three more tips to consider when hiring. Headache #3 - ‘I can't find anyone who is good enough for my firm’ Potential headache hack - Double-check your description to make sure your expectations aren't too high. I have firm owners all the ...
Improving Your Culture & Communication
2019 is in the books and many of you had a very good year, so congrats! To continue to build upon these successes and avert the challenges facing our profession, it is increasingly necessary that you continue to fully utilize every asset at your disposal. And by far the biggest lever you can pull to increase the value of your business is to improve your firm’s human capital. From this perspective, you need each member of your team to be at the top of their game for 2020. Here is a list of ...
Hiring For Responsibilities
When setting out to recruit a new financial planner for their firms, owners must first identify what problems they are trying to solve with a new hire in the first place. Some of the most common bottlenecks we see are replacing someone who left or was promoted, increasing capacity to serve more clients, reducing the workload of another team member, or finding and developing an internal successor. In this month’s article, we discuss how to flesh out a proper job description to ensure you hire ...
To Sponsor or Not to Sponsor
Due to the dearth of financial planning career entrants, some firms have resorted to “sponsoring” and hiring international workers for work Visas to fill the void. The process for sponsoring an employee is not for everyone but could be a potential solution for you if you don’t have any other options or the perfect candidate for the role you are trying to fill isn’t able to work in the US. In this month’s article, we provide a summary of the sponsorship process, plus the benefits and challenges ...