Aligning With Your Message

The talent problem in financial services has reached a crisis point. The oversupply of clients and scarcity of people providing financial advice also presents an opportunity, however. Firms seeking to capture talented employees have the chance to position themselves as the employer of choice. This can be done on a local or a national level and it can be aligned with your messaging. To maximize this opportunity, advisory firms must begin with a tough self-examination:

• What will it take to make our people feel engaged?

• What will it take for our staff to agree that people are our differentiator?

• What compels people to join our firm?

• What compels them to stay?

In a way, it's like developing a strategy to attract and retain clients, but with an inward focus on creating capacity, business continuity and growth. What an epiphany to realize that your best employee is more valuable to you than your best client!

As with investing, a bull market for talent camouflages many sins. Our current environment necessitates the development of a true differentiator in the talent wars. Leaders need to define and manage to three key areas within their firm: the nature of the work itself, the nature of the worker filling each role and the nature of the workplace.

Nature of the work. Advisory firms commonly write job descriptions in terms of function and duties. Rarely do they include an indication of what success in the role looks like. Define exactly what personal qualities and aptitudes are needed to perform the job effectively. Many leaders like to blame younger generations for lacking a strong work ethic, but the truth is that the best firms are having no difficulty maximizing the potential of Generations X and Y.

Nature of the worker. Once you have a clear idea of the nature of the work, you should be able to identify the optimal characteristics of the person filling that job. If the role is repetitive and routine, for example, it will appeal to a focused type rather than to a multitasker. If the role requires on-the-spot judgments and responses, such as in client service, your job process must allow for more autonomy than control.

Nature of the workplace. Finally, create an environment in which motivated people will flourish by minimizing the distractions, or what some human resource people call "dissatisfiers." Having matched the right people to the right jobs, you want to help them focus on their work without frustrations such as poorly performing technology, a bad boss, a toxic work environment or even abusive clients.

With these important defining factors in place, ensure that your vision for the business aligns with that of the people you count on to execute the plan. Be clear about what you value as an organization. Craft a statement of cultural values that includes phrases like passion, intellectual curiosity, lifelong learning, leading by example, accountability and respect.

A statement of cultural values by itself is not sufficient. You must institute a method of evaluation based on the qualities you expect, both for employees and partners. Upstream evaluations of how the partners in a firm treat others provide excellent teachable moments for even the most seasoned founder. I have yet to meet a person who has achieved perfection in all aspects of his or her life. Extending the human capital plan to the top demonstrates the firm's total commitment to its people.

The decision to work with a firm usually hinges on the client's strong personal connection with the advisor. Likewise, prospective employees wish to connect with the leader's vision and statement of value. To attract talent to the firm, leaders must reinforce their commitment to their people with a concrete plan and consistent behavior. Together, leaders, veteran advisors and new employees can invest in the future success of the business.