DeVoe & Co.'s 2021 RIA Talent Management Study, released Tuesday, paints a bleak picture of the pandemic's effect on the wealth management industry, and on its people in particular.
Advisors should be prepared for employee retention risks and a more challenging hiring market, the report says. Getting people's practices right is paramount for advisory firms to succeed in the post-pandemic era.
DeVoe conducted a survey between February and May among 123 representatives of RIA firms. Respondents were senior executives, principals or owners of firms with $100 million or more in assets under management.
The study found that the cultures of RIA firms were negatively affected by the pandemic, with 38% of advisors saying their firm's culture had declined. Although this deterioration came on suddenly, repairing any damage to culture will take a long time, DeVoe said, noting that firm culture is among the most critical influences on employee engagement.
Employee engagement suffered because of the pandemic, the survey results showed, as four times as many advisors said it had a negative rather than a positive effect. Several factors may account for the lack of engagement, according to the report.
One is that team members have been unable to physically work together, leaving them isolated and disconnected from their colleagues.
Another is that workers are reexamining their career paths because of pandemic-related stresses. Others may look for alternative employment if their current organizations require staff to return to the office full time — at a time when opportunities for those seeking a change are on the rebound.
