Weighing the need for hired help

Whether you’re hiring an administrative assistant or an analyst, taking the time to decide if your business truly needs an extra hand before putting out a ‘Help Wanted’ sign will save you from making such a costly mistake. Consider whether current team members could take on new responsibilities before starting the hiring process, suggests Joanne Ferguson, president of Advisor Pathways Inc. in Toronto.

Also, assess the impact that a new hire would have on the profitability of the practice. Would the new member of the team generate revenue above and beyond the extra salary he or she would cost the business? If not, it might make more sense for existing staff members to pick up the slack.

Reviewing the overall budget for staff will also help you to decide whether to hire someone, and if so, whom to hire. If there is a limited budget for an additional salary, it may be necessary to bring on an employee with less experience, according to April-Lynn Levitt, a coach with the Personal Coach in Oakville, Ont.

Before a salary can be finalized, however, it’s important to create a very detailed outline of the new staff member’s responsibilities. Advisors at larger firms often have access to job descriptions from their human resources departments, outlining basic skills and salary expectations. Although that can be helpful as a guideline, Gilbert suggests going beyond the basics and being very detailed regarding the expectations for a new hire.

“Be as precise as you can,” says Gilbert, “because that’s going to help you when you’re in the interview process and you’re in the hiring process to really find the candidate that’s right for what you need in your business right now.”

That precision comes from creating a detailed list. Gilbert recommends writing out, over a two-week period, every task you’d like to delegate. Once the list is finalized, you can review it with someone outside of your immediate business, such as a branch manager or administrator.

“[The branch manager] knows the advisor’s business plan,” says Gilbert. “So, often the branch manager can help the advisor to see if this is in line with [his or her] business plan or not.”

Furthermore, the branch manager may know of other teams that have made a similar hire in the past, and thus, could provide insight into the type of skillset that might work best.

Branch managers or administrators can also help point out tasks that the new staff member may not want to do as part of his or her regular routine. For example, if you’re hiring someone to do all of the marketing and communications work for the business, it’s not likely that you can expect that person to have your coffee ready every morning.

“You have to be realistic,” Gilbert says.

Decisions pertaining to licensing and designation requirements for support staff, meanwhile, are often left to the larger company and its policies. If a team is already fairly large (more than three people), it may not be necessary for every person to be licensed, Gilbert says, since there will always be a staff member on hand to execute trades as needed.

According to Ferguson, however, it’s more common for support staff to be licensed than not. “In a full-service arena, the bare minimum [requirement] is the [Canadian Securities Course (CSC)],” she says.

The important thing is to be very clear on what responsibilities you want fulfilled and what requirements, whether a specific license or designation, are necessary to make sure the job is completed and done well.

This is the first article in a three-part series on support staff.

Up next: The components of a successful interview.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on June 22, 2015.