Blog

Last month, we discussed how placing too much emphasis on technical knowledge can lead to a poor hiring decision. In this month’s article, we identify/explore several other areas that we have seen be better indicators of Success than purely technical ability. Look for these “SPECIAL” markers of success, in conjunction with technical skills, to find your next special person. Sense of Urgency - Most candidates think they have this, but few do. Unfortunately, the mindset of having a burning ...

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Technical skills undoubtedly play an important role in a financial planner’s career. Even though the practice of financial planning is heavily an Art, there is still quite a bit of Science knowledge that needs to be acquired for successfully helping clients achieve their goals. There might be a few out there that come close, but no one I know of has mastered all the technical topics in the financial planning profession lexicon, because the issues a client could face over their lifetimes are ...

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We have seen a substantial amount of merger and acquisition activity recently. What we are not seeing, though, is the massive layoffs that are often associated with these types of transactions in other industries. Instead, there is a flurry of hiring… albeit often to help replace staff who departed (of their own volition) due to not desiring to be a part of the new acquiring firm. From what we have seen, this is due to a heavy emphasis on the quantitative metrics, while the qualitative items, ...

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At some point in your organization’s lifecycle, you will have a team member(s) who underperforms. Underperformance comes in various sizes and shapes, but is most likely a deficiency surrounding getting things done quickly and/or accurately.  If not addressed properly, underperforming team members can wreak havoc on an organization’s work flow, service standards, and ultimately profitability. Here are some do’s and don’ts to help guide you in getting an underperforming team member back on a ...

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“You’ve got to find ways to demonstrate value… [Bosses] don’t care what the salary surveys say. If you feel like you deserve more money, you need to write up a plan.” Listen to the entire episode here ...

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When firms set out to hire a non-experienced financial planner, they can choose to hire a new college graduate who will have a degree in financial planning, or a career changer who will have a certificate in financial planning. The differences between a certificate and a degree program can be substantial, and should be an important factor in deciding what candidate type to pursue. In this month’s article, we will look at some of the other advantages and potential challenges in deciding ...

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In last month’s article, we reviewed several places online you can go to find potential new financial planners for your firm. In the end, though, getting candidates to want to work for your firm still requires a marketing effort. And just like any other marketing effort, it is essential that you have a strong ground game as well, to support your online presence. Here are several additional areas we suggest firms focus, when trying to attract good young financial planning talent: ...

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Until the financial planning profession begins to become more of a profession of choice for the younger crop of new talent, finding candidates to interview for roles within your firms will continue to be challenging. As a recruiting firm for financial advisors, the question we are asked frequently is “how do you find your candidates?” The short answer is that a lot of them find us, thanks to our strong reputation as a firm that matches the best candidates to the best financial planning ...

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In some parts of the country, lack of local talent has compelled advisory firms to hire employees who work remotely. As the overall talent market continues to tighten, we see this as an increasingly prevalent strategy for firms to utilize in order to gain access to the best talent (wherever it may be). However, the already-recognized challenges of managing Millennial advisors can become even more complex when trying to manage them as remote team members in a virtual work ...

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In last month’s article, we introduced the Soft Skills Gap that can sometimes exist with newer financial planners and shared some ideas on how to identify and address this gap from Bruce Tulgan’s new book Bridging the Soft Skills Gap: How to Teach the Missing Basics To Today’s Young Talent. This month, you will hear from the man himself, Bruce Tulgan Founder and CEO of RainmakerThinking, Inc., in our very first guest post on the specifics of how to talk to your team members about their soft ...

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Sometimes firm owners contact me to express frustration over a younger member on their staff who is not professional enough, is unable to think critically, and does not respect authority. While it’s important not to over-generalize a Millennial generation totaling 80 million people, we do recognize that there is some validity to the concern that younger planners lack certain soft skills to succeed in the profession and develop into a solid succession plan for existing advisory firm ...

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As many of you prepare to hire summer interns, you may find yourself considering hiring from iGen – the next generation after the Millennials. These new kids on the block, born around the turn of the millennium, are teenagers now and are poised to make a major impact in the workplace. Here are some takeaways from a recent research study on things to consider when adding an iGen to your firm. Sourcing – Campus visits and social media continue to be useful ways to locate and connect with ...

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