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It is no secret that I am an advocate of the next generation of financial planners, and consistently rebuff efforts of those who try to stereotype all of the ~ 80 million members that make up Generation Y (Millennials) as lazy, arrogant, entitled, and overall, just bad, etc. I am realistic, though, and in speaking to dozens of candidates from these generations each week and seeing some struggle in firms (even though lots more succeed), I will acknowledge that there are certainly a few out ...

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When I am out traveling the country speaking with new planners seeking to enter the financial planning profession and firm owners seeking to hire them, I often see many of the same mistakes being made. Recently, Carly Schulaka, Editor of the Journal of Financial Planning asked me 10 questions which I have included below that will hopefully assist all parties to experience a much smoother interaction. However, you must click here if you are interested in my answers. Enjoy! 1. One of your areas ...

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Procrastination; It runs rampant in our instant gratification, I-need-it-yesterday society. In fact, I have to admit I am writing this article in the eleventh hour. You may even be reading this as a way to distract yourself from preparing for the big client meeting that is set for Monday (Hint: Go ahead and close this now if that's the case. I will not mind your delay in reading this article as much as your client will mind!). In this month's article, I wanted to provide you with a few resources ...

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“Saying what needs to be said at the right time, to the right person, in the right manner is managerial courage.” —Michael M. Lombardo and Robert W. Eichinger (1996), “FYI For Your Improvement: A Guide for Developing and Coaching” Terminating an employee can be one of the most nerve-wracking and difficult things a business owner has to face in her/her career. When a team member is underperforming, the effects can ripple through the entire organization, whether it be: co-workers becoming ...

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As the season of year-end employee reviews has wound down, growing firms are now turning their attention to hiring for 2015, from filling new full-time positions to getting a head-start on interviewing for summer interns. Accordingly, this month we will discuss a few ideas to ensure your employee benefit package is still competitive to attract the best and brightest candidates with the most potential. While new planners seeking to enter the industry are primarily interested in the work they ...

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It's that time of the year again! It is time to take inventory of where you are, get rid of what is not working now,  decide on new goals for the future, and make changes to help achieve those goals. Strategic planning is on everyone's mind, not only  for their personal goals, but also for their firm's goals. In today's post, I want to briefly touch on strategic planning from a staffing perspective. If you have heard of the mastermind concept, it is possible that you have already established ...

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Hiring a new employee can be a difficult and lengthy process to navigate.  Firms often do not have a formal documented hiring process to follow (or may have never even hired a professional staff member before!), thereby exacerbating the situation. In instances where a firm does have a process in place, some either have no screening measures to evaluate and vet the prospective “fit” of their candidates, or alternatively, screen so much that candidates deem it excessive and burdensome to go ...

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When contemplating staffing decisions for your firm, things such as timing, interest, philosophy, expectations, compensation, personality, and skill set all have to align for you to make a good hire. So how do you know which one(s) to focus on to ensure you make the best possible hire? There are no "fool proof" proverbs in employee selection, but I have found that hiring based on the demonstrated efforts of the candidate is a leading indicator of success – and this includes the effort they ...

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Last month we looked at a few tips on how best to utilize your unique culture to recruit great candidates. This month, we pick up with a few other ideas to consider as you evaluate and shape your firm's culture. Consider the work flow required in your firm. Team members who are seeking to grow in responsibility and who want to be challenged can easily become frustrated repeating the same monotonous tasks each day, week, month, quarter, etc. Pull a page from Google, 3M, FedEx, and a host of ...

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Occasionally, when we have a new client come on board, we receive questions regarding how they should structure compensation and benefits, and it usually revolves around salary, incentive bonus, and perhaps health insurance and vacation. When looking at attracting talent, this focus on compensation and benefits can quickly become a Red Ocean of competitive fighting with other firms pursuing the same talent. I suggest instead, pursuing a Blue Ocean strategy of avoiding the competition and ...

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This month we continue with a few additional tips for the staff members in your firm who are responsible for training new hires. Last month's can be found here http://bit.ly/TrainTrainersPart1of2 • More Closely Monitor Workflow: Everyone will have to take a step back when a new hire is brought aboard if you have a collaborative culture. Make sure you do not underestimated the time it will take to train someone. A good rule of thumb I like to use (sometimes tongue-in-cheek!) is to take ...

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Whenever you hire a new employee, someone has to spend time training them on the intricacies of how your firm operates, no matter what the new employee’s experience level may be. Due to the nature of our profession, though, and the limited time and resources constraints for typical financial planning firms, training a new staff member is usually not the best use of a firm owner's time so your staff ends up doing a lot of the heavy lifting.  Training should not be viewed as a time intensive ...

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