6 Ways to Develop the Highest Performing Financial Services Team

Developing a strong team of financial service professionals requires a mix of science and art. Whether hiring your first assistant or looking for individuals with specific skillsets, following the steps below will help ensure success at every stage of the hiring process.

Perhaps you’ve heard the proverb; a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The same is typically true when it comes to professional associates - the group is only as strong as its weakest member. So, does the fact that most advisors spend more time creating a financial plan than they do finding, selecting and developing a high-performing team surprise you? 

The responsibility of a financial services team is to support the advisor and provide a consistent, high-quality and long-term experience for clients. Whether you’re a finance professional who has gone through 10 different administrative assistants in just as many years, or you’re looking to build a high-performing financial services team from the ground up - below are six tips to help ensure success.

1) Define your practice culture

An important thing to remember is that culture does not equal perks. Culture is made up of several components and usually starts at the top of an organization: work ethic, personal accountability, ethical conduct, and excellence. A strong mission statement will reinforce your culture. If you don’t have a mission statement already one should be created. Define why your practice exists and why prospects should choose you. Highlight any differentiation between your practice and others. The hallmark of a strong culture is consistency, in service and business value. Culture leads to consistency which increases the perception of professionalism, resulting in a continually growing referral-based practice.

2) Create the vision

Working in tandem with the mission statement is your vision for the practice. The vision does not need to be made public nor do prospects and clients need to know about it, but your vision for the practice should be ingrained in the minds and hearts of everyone on your team. It is a clear statement outlining organizational growth goals and including a definitive timeline.

3) Make a list, check it twice

Grab a pen and some paper and think of all the tasks required for your practice to meet the vision and mission statement, while providing a consistent level of service to clients. Now write down everything that comes to mind, including how to answer the phone and who will answer it; case preparation tasks and responsibilities; and even who is in charge of sending birthday cards to clients. This list of duties should be comprehensive and detailed. When creating the initial list remember, no task is too small. You can always revisit the list and pare it down or edit as needed.

4) Assess KSAT capabilities

Once you’ve got an extensive list of daily duties, tasks, and ongoing responsibilities, it’s time to evaluate the knowledge, skills, abilities and traits (KSAT) necessary for team members to complete all tasks in a consistent manner. Not everyone on the team will possess all KSATs, and that is alright. You’ll use this information when identifying potential hires.

5) Mind the gaps

Once you’ve got tasks and KSAT capabilities recorded it should be easier to determine the gaps between current and desired KSATs. The gaps that you identify will define the “ideal” KSATs of potential team members and new hires. These gaps can be a variety of competencies like marketing, organization or routine case preparation, it all depends on your current team’s skillset. One mistake advisors often make is to look for people who have the same skills as themselves. Hiring someone who possesses some of the same qualities as yourself may seem logical, but resist the urge. The key to building a highly successful financial services team is to find and hire individuals with complementary skills.

6) Create and maintain a clear, effective hiring process

Consistency and clarity in your hiring process cannot be emphasized enough. Start with a clear job description to inform advisors and potential hires what traits are required for a new team member to fit in with the existing culture. One of the best ways to ensure a cultural fit is to have several existing team members interview and vet potential candidates.  If the new hire is your first, be especially careful to select someone who will set the stage for all future team members.

Now that all the steps to developing a high-performing financial services team have been laid out, we’ve got one pro tip when it comes to the hiring process: hire slow and fire fast! From a legal and team management standpoint, if someone is hired and they just don’t fit it is crucial to move them out of the practice within the first 90 days.

Good luck creating a financial services team that will strengthen your practice and potential for success.  In parallel to focusing on creating a solid team, don’t forget to keep your client building skills sharp.  

Take the Client Building Assessment to evaluate your client building skills, identify new business opportunities and learn six actionable client building tactics.