Do you deserve your employees?

Our industry is not renowned for looking after its employees. Yes, there are exceptions, but too often we employ people to do a job without appreciating that they can make a meaningful difference to the practice. Just how far are you prepared to go to develop your employees?

Norman Brodsky, entrepreneur and 'guru of small businesses', once said, "I consider it the highest compliment when my employees go out and start their own companies in competition with me". Few of us have the courage to make such a strong statement but in reality, if you allow employees to grow and support them to this extent, they are unlikely to leave you anyway.

Leveraging value

The bigger the role played by employees in the running of and day-to-day operations of the practice, the more time advisors and business owners have to spend on strategic issues and in front of clients. Consider the cost of having a member of your support staff offering basic client service, versus the cost of a senior advisor doing so. By leveraging the true value of your employees you can increase both revenue and profitability.

You are likely to find that support staff members are much better at dealing with administrative issues and providing basic client service than advisors are. Make these functions their responsibility and give them the authority to carry out their duties and you will be amazed at how well they will perform and grow in the process.

Training is essential

There is a caveat. People can be constrained by a lack of knowledge and skills. Having employed the right people in the first place, ensure that they are continuously developed and trained. Technical knowledge and training is relatively easy to come by. A number of product providers are more than happy to offer training on technical subjects in addition to the fundamental product training that they offer.

Personal development

But even more is required. Competent employees often need skills training that have nothing to do with the product. It's easy to deal with a satisfied client, for example, but how does one handle an irate client, unhappy about something that has gone wrong. You will find that companies known for providing excellent service are also among the leaders when it comes to rewarding employees. They do so by means of compensation (salaries and bonuses) and personal development.

Retaining skills

There is the risk that you could train and develop employees and then lose them to competitors. If your compensation package is below par this will happen, but if you offer market related remuneration benefits your contribution to employees' personal development provides them with an incentive to stay with you.

Zig Ziglar, a performance enhancement organisation, suggests that, "The only thing worse than training your employees and losing them is not training your employees and keeping them."

But perhaps the most appropriate statement comes from Sir Walter Raleigh who said, "The employer generally gets the employee he deserves."