Beverly Flaxington is a practice management consultant. She answers questions from advisors facing human resource issues. To submit yours, email us here.
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Dear Bev,
We are busy. Too busy. We keep churning through administrative staff who tells us the environment is too fast paced and too intense. We keep adding new clients, and our clients are demanding. Honestly, the partners thrive on the fast changing nature of what we do, so I don’t see it changing. How do we find the right people to keep up with us, or how do we slow the partners down so they stop burning out staff?
Paula N.
Dear Paula,
Do you really think you can “slow the partners down”? Behavioral style and our approach is like hard wiring. I’m not sure you have an option to change the successful partners who are running your firm. Instead, you might want to take some time to consider the culture of your firm. Many times when advisor firms hire, they focus mostly on the job itself – what kind of duties and responsibilities and what type of skills are needed. It’s just as important to talk about culture and to be sure that the people you are considering are a good fit for your culture.
For example, in your firm you might want to put words like “extremely fast paced” or “constantly changing requirements.” You want to outline the fact that someone needs to be very nimble and able to stop what they are doing and respond to new needs.
People often hire someone just because they have the capability or the skills to do the job, but the thing that makes someone really successful and happy is how they are treated and how the culture matches who they are.
Research shows that people take a job because of the job itself. It’s something they want and are qualified to do. However, people leave a job because of the boss. Because of a mismatch in style or a resistance to a certain way of managing.
One of our clients was struggling to find the right person for a specific role. We encouraged the leader of the advisory firm to write a descriptor of the business, why they were in it and what it meant to them. In the process of writing what the business meant, how they ran it and what kinds of people they hired, the true culture came through. They were able to extend this and include it in the job description itself. The candidates they started to see were much more aligned with the philosophy and style of the firm.
The “what” and the “how” are certainly important, but consider the “why.” Why would someone want to work here? Why do you do what you do? Try and bring that passion through and see if it doesn’t start to appeal to a different set of individuals that might be better matches for your firm.
Dear Bev,
We hired a vendor for a redesign of our website. After spending a lot of money, we don’t see that they get us at all. It’s the same website, albeit with better design, that we had before. How can we spruce it up without spending a great deal of additional money?
Pat K.
Dear Pat,
What’s your URL so that I can view the website? Your question is asking for specifics, but without a company name or URL it’s hard for me to know exactly how to advise you. However, I can give some general pointers for any firm seeking to redo their website:
- Were you clear on your messaging and your differentiators? A web company is trying to create something unique, but without an underlying message that helps define you against the competition, that can be challenging. Be sure your messaging is clear and unique.
- Are the people working on the site in alignment with the message? We do a great deal of marketing development and often find that partners are not on the same page about what they say and how they say it.
- Do you know your target market? Having a general message like “We work with people in retirement” or “We work with people in transition” is very bland. It’s hard to create a meaningful message when the target market isn’t clearly defined.
- Do you have a goal for the website? Is it purely an online brochure for you, or do you want the website to do more? It’s important to be clear about the purpose and the expectation for someone who comes to the site. What do you want their experience to be?
- Are you using all “We” language? We do this and we do that, or are you speaking to your audience and acknowledging needs they might have, so they are compelled to stay and learn more?
Any good design firm is only as good as the messaging underneath the design. Review how much effort you have put into the underlying message and target marketing, and make sure the designers had something very substantial to work with for any redesign.
One more suggestion is to have a client or Center of Influence with whom you work review the site and give their opinion. Does it tell a story about you? Do they identify with the message and the look and feel? Don’t hesitate to ask for help in making the site as beneficial as it can be!
Beverly Flaxington co-founded The Collaborative, a consulting firm devoted to business building for the financial services industry in 1995. In 2008, she co-founded Advisors Trusted Advisor to offer dedicated practice management resources to advisors, planners and wealth managers. She is currently an adjunct professor at Suffolk University teaching undergraduate students Leadership & Social Responsibility. Beverly is a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst (CPBA) and Certified Professional Values Analyst (CPVA).
She has spent over 25 years in the investment industry and has been featured in Selling Power Magazine and quoted in hundreds of media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, MSNBC.com, Investment News and Solutions Magazine for the FPA. She speaks frequently at investment industry conferences and is a speaker for the CFA Institute.
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