(August 2006)

Your financial advisory practice is doing well, but you are working harder for longer hours without seeing the rewards. Perhaps it’s time to consider bringing other people into your business. This second instalment in a series on building an office team looks at the elements of a good team.

When it comes to team-building, success is in the details. From performance goals to well-defined processes, a comprehensive business plan is the foundation for all elements of a good team.

“If you have a team, you have to have a written plan,” says Thane Stenner, first vice president and lead partner of the T. Stenner Group of CIBC Wood Gundy in Vancouver. “You need to ensure that everyone knows how they’re expected to contribute.”

Merely assuming all team members are on board with the company’s business plan is one of the biggest mistakes an advisor can make, says Sandra Foster, founder of Toronto-based Headspring Consulting Inc. “Most advisors start out on their own, not with a team,” she says. “New members won’t automatically know what the firm’s goals are.”

Creating — or revisiting — your business plan with your team ensures that all members are working toward the same goals. At Rogers Group Financial Advisors Ltd. in Vancouver, each of the firm’s employees co-creates an individual annual business plan with company founder Jim Rogers. “I indicate what I would like each employee to do, and they tell me what they’d like to do,” he says. “This helps my employees understand what’s important to me and helps me understand what’s important to them.”

Stenner’s business plan also bears the mark of his team, whose members sat down together to develop the firm’s long-term vision, mission statement, mandate, purpose and culture. “We spent a lot of time figuring out our unique value proposition,” Stenner says. “This created a lot of buy-in.”

Specific actionable goals are a crucial component of any business plan. “If one of a firm’s objectives is to sell 10 new insurance policies in the next six months, the plan must outline who should do what in order to achieve it,” says Foster, who notes that clearly defined processes and clear expectations are essential for critical goals to be met.

Rogers has spent considerable time honing the processes of his 30-year-old practice. “An advisor is affected in no small part by having good systems,” he says. “We have clearly defined processes in place for all client interactions, from the very first contact on the phone and in the reception area.”

Within each individual annual business plan, Rogers spares no detail in telling employees exactly what is expected of them — from meeting project deadlines to error-free client letters. “It’s important to be very clear in your expectations,” says Rogers. “A business plan should be full of measurables.”

For instance, all team members are well aware that reneging on a deadline — the day of — is unacceptable. “I just don’t want to hear about it,” says Rogers. On the other hand, if there is a good reason and if he is approached in advance, he’s more than willing to reschedule deadlines. Similarly, Rogers’ employees also know that client correspondence must be impeccable. “An absolutely perfect letter is critical,” says Rogers. “I expect that of my support staff.”

A work list — a daily prioritized outline of an employee’s tasks — is a tool Rogers finds useful in ensuring his expectations are met. Every morning he has one-on-one meetings with both of his support staff to discuss the day’s clients and to review each employee’s work list. “We negotiate the list together, but once we sign onto it, I expect those priorities to be followed,” Rogers says.

Such accountability is key, as even the most well laid-out plan will flounder if employees aren’t held to it. “It’s one thing to build the plan, and another to be accountable to it,” says Stenner.

After developing annual goals, Stenner’s team discusses whether each goal is realistic and achievable. Objectives are then put on paper and signed by every team member. “This is a small but significant contributor to our success,” he says. “It creates an extra level of accountability.”

A professional coach also keeps the Stenner team accountable; Stenner recommends that every advisor with a team practice hire a coach. “Our coach drills down and makes sure that our goals are achievable and attainable,” Stenner says. “Coaching also helps us define our roles within the team and the key duties each person should be executing.”

@page_break@If a detailed business plan can be likened to the heart of a successful team, open communication is its lifeblood. “So often, difficulties arise because people don’t talk openly with one another,” Rogers says.

However, good communication doesn’t always come naturally. “For many advisors, communication is something that’s learned over time,” says Foster. For starters, regularly scheduled team meetings can go a long way in creating open communication. “You need to give your team time to ask the questions they need to ask in order to be able to do their jobs,” she says.

While team meetings are often the best venue for discussing day-to-day business and long-term team objectives, one-on-one communication between an advisor and individual team members is also essential. “There are issues that are up for team discussion, and others that should be discussed one on one,” says Foster. “Those related to individual performance and salary are between the advisor and the individual.”

She also advocates annual performance evaluations — but not the type that simply rate an employee numerically on performance. “An evaluation needs to be descriptive,” says Foster. “You need to draw out skills that are beneficial to the team.”

Nor should an annual evaluation be an employee’s sole source of positive feedback; even a few kind words to an employee can have an impact. “Sometimes we only give negative feedback,” says Foster. “Just saying ‘I really appreciated your help’ can make a huge difference.”

Regularly discussing performance goals also keeps team members on track. Rogers revisits individual business plans each quarter, while Stenner sits down with individual employees every six months to discuss their objectives.

Stenner’s team also talks about individual goals at group meetings, although, he says, this works only because the team gets along so well. “There seems to be a higher level of accountability when we talk about goals in a group setting,” he says. “We really encourage openness and transparency — and we really like one another.”

Indeed, at the end of the day, a team’s compatibility may be the surest sign of its success. “The way I communicate in the office is similar to the way I communicate at home,” says Rogers, who calls the relationship between an advisor and his senior staff a “business marriage.”

Stenner also likens his team to family. “You have to have a real sense of camaraderie,” he says. “If it’s just business, they won’t go to the wall for you.” IE



The team-building series continues in the September issue of Investment Executive with a look at the skills required by team members in a financial advisory practice.