Keys to Building a High-Performing Team

Building a team is one of the most common challenges for advisory firm owners who have grown to the point where they need additional staff to maintain a good client experience. However, hiring the right team requires work and doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, it is much like developing a strategy to attract and retain clients, but instead of an outward focus, the emphasis is inside the business focusing on creating capacity, business continuity, and growth.

Nothing illustrates working as a team better than cycling. Anyone who watches the Tour De France knows cycling isn’t about a solo performance. Instead, every team member understands their role in supporting a single individual who aims to win the race. The cyclists are racing for the team’s good and are motivated by working towards a common goal rather than for personal gain or glory. This is the perfect demonstration of how a high-performing team works.

So, like winning the Tour de France, the ultimate goal in building a culture of success in your office is to have every employee working to achieve a shared vision, with clearly stated roles and responsibilities and a process to support and compensate accordingly.

The bullets below outline some steps you should consider to develop a winning team.

1. Align Your Staffing with Your Strategic Plan

The most critical aspect of human capital is ensuring alignment with your business’s strategic plan. The services and client experience you offer will dictate the essential positions needed. Consider the vision for your firm and what this will mean for future staffing. Ask yourself:

• Where is my business today, and what is my vision one, three, and five years from now?
• What do I want my client experience to be?
• What specific job functions need to be in place to offer that experience?

2. Define Roles and Responsibilities

Employees can best fill their positions if the role has been clearly outlined. Define responsibilities and create job descriptions for every function in the firm. Involving existing team members in developing their job descriptions will help the team feel invested and recognized, which can lead to increased job satisfaction. Create growth opportunities for existing staff who could grow into the next required role in the office, and work with them to develop the skills and attributes that will be needed.

3. Design A Compensation Strategy to Fit the Firm’s Culture

Advisory firms spend more money on compensation than any other expense, so it is important to get it right. The most successful firms in the industry have a compensation philosophy that aligns with the firm’s culture, drives employee motivation, and incentivizes the behaviors the firm desires. With a deliberate plan, the compensation strategy will be an excellent tool for recruiting and retaining team members. Use these three steps to design your compensation plan:

• Evaluate the current plan by benchmarking compensation against others in the industry, considering the experience and tenure of existing team members.
• Design an easy-to-calculate plan that includes rewards for firm-level achievements and individual performance.
• Execute the plan and review the plan annually so it changes to align with the current year’s objectives. Establish a regular employee evaluation schedule and include a compensation review.

4. Develop an Education and Training Program

Finally, foster an environment that encourages learning and development. Collaborate with your team to develop an education and training program so they build future-ready skills. Establish a repeatable in-house training program to accelerate a new hire’s learning curve, allowing them to become a productive team member as quickly as possible.

In summary, to build a high-performing team, define the roles and responsibilities needed to fulfill your business plan and develop job descriptions with compensation that reinforces the desired outcomes for each position. Create a growth path and continued education and training program to help keep staff engaged and motivated.

Developing your human-capital strategy can take time, but the investment can produce returns well beyond what you could accomplish alone.

For more ideas and resources for growing and scaling your advisory business, contact your wholesaler today.

FOR ADVISOR USE ONLY. NOT INTENDED FOR CONSUMER SOLICITATION PURPOSES.

Beacon Capital Management, Inc. is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additional information about Beacon Capital Management is also available on the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov under CRD number 120641. Beacon Capital Management only transacts business in states where it is properly registered or excluded or exempted from registration requirements.

Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments or investment strategies.

Sammons Financial® is the marketing name for Sammons® Financial Group, Inc.’s member companies, including Beacon Capital ManagementSM.

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