Hire, train and keep the right people
Expert: Mark Somers, Founder, Somers Partnership
Facilitator: Lee Robertson, Founder and CEO, Octo Members Group
Key Takeaways:
- A key positive from the pandemic for many has been remote working
- Adoption of remote working brings potential for a happier workforce
- Hiring strategies have changed
- Labour market changes and requirements
- Difficulties in finding younger talent to join firms
- Making the financial services sector attractive to new entrants.
Context:
Amidst changes to work patterns financial services firms still face many of the same issues. Attracting, training, and retaining talent. Without this they cannot scale or thrive.
There is a real shortage of rainmakers and those who can actually bring in real new business as opposed to a more supported approach of farming and servicing.
Tensions around rainmakers who typically command higher salaries and have greater demands. Rainmakers and the efforts they have to make to provide for many are rarely understood by recipients. This can lead to a cycle of dissatisfaction amongst teams. Rainmakers feel undervalued or experience jealousy, those who benefit from them are poor at understanding the efforts made on their behalf. Rainmakers therefore leave seeking appreciation.
- Many claim to be rainmakers few are
- Process can help those less able at winning new business by opening further opportunities with existing clients
- Costs and risks associated with recruitment are disproportionally higher for smaller firms
- Salary competition is difficult for smaller firms
- Support for planners from good administration and paraplanning is becoming the norm and is seen as desirable
- Hiring and recruiting are different. Proactivity and defining the requirements of the role are key in a successful recruitment strategy
- Committing to training new entrants is expensive but is a way of defining a role without previous bad practices
- Development and training of all team members is highly desirable
- Defining a career path and key career milestones is also highly desirable.
Retention of key individuals through equity is an option and much discussion was made of not granting equity without effort. Sweat equity or earned equity is more appropriate in smaller firms. Giving away too much equity without such effort is highly disadvantageous.
Similarly, titles such as co-founder need to be carefully considered before being conferred, many claim or seek this, but few are actual ideates and founders. As with equity, this needs to be earned by action and deed.
