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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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 For immediate Release Contact Caleb Brown, MBA, CFP® Phone: 1-888-666-1021 Email: cbrown@newplannerrecruiting.com New Planner Recruiting Announces Inaugural Winners Of CFP Exam Scholarship To advance the growth of financial planning and CFP certification, New Planner Recruiting, LLC, is proud to announce the winners of its inaugural CFP® Exam Scholarship award for 2014. This year's winners - Jamie Engelken from Kansas State, and Joseph Stallings and Peter Geckeler from the ...

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Last month we reviewed strategies on dealing with candidates who might have multiple job offers. In this month's post, we will look at some ways to RETAIN your recent new hire.   *http://blog.hrsmart.com/2014/03/can-your-company-afford-not-to-provide.html Ask yourself these questions routinely, if you do not already, and think about possible outcomes for success. Here are a few Dos and Don'ts  to consider if you find yourself getting stuck: Do: Have them meet with other ...

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If you are seeking to hire new talent for your firm, chances are you are not the only one. FA Insight's 2013 People and Pay study revealed a majority of firms were looking to increase their headcount by at least one new employee. Yet, 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 can you emerge as the ...

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In last month's post, I shared some recent comments that I received from college students looking to enter financial planning that shed light on what could be causing a current dearth of talent in the profession.  The question to be considered is what should we be doing now to ensure that current and future potential entrants into our profession consider financial planning as a career of choice. Here are some commonly cited hurdles and some possible solution ideas to attract mass top ...

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For Immediate Release Contact: Caleb Brown, MBA, CFP® Phone: 1-888-666-1021 Email: cbrown@newplannerrecruiting.com New Planner Recruiting Launches National CFP® Exam Fee Scholarship Program New Scholarship Awards will be available annually for three candidates to cover the cost of sitting for the CFP® Exam  March 17, 2014 – To support the continued growth of the next generation of financial planners, New Planner Recruiting announced today a new scholarship program to encourage more ...

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As some of you already know, each year I spend several days visiting various CFP Board registered programs throughout the country to ensure we are continuing to source, screen, and integrate the best available talent for the financial planning firms we represent. Last month, I visited three CFP Board registered programs:  Virginia Tech University,University of Missouri, and University of Wisconsin.  It was my own little version of planes, trains and automobiles! During these visits, I ...

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Just like in investing, there are certain risks in running a business - such as having a new planner leave your firm after you have put in many hours of recruiting, mentoring, and integrating them into your organization. There are a variety of reasons an employee might leave your firm that you cannot control, such as when they meet someone and get married, and either relocate to another area or choose to become a stay at home dad/mom. In this month's post, we are going to focus on the reasons a ...

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