You can’t do everything yourself. But some advisors have difficulty delegating responsibility to staff members.

There are a number of reasons for that. Some advisors believe clients want to deal only with them, and not other team members. Some are reluctant to share clients’ trust with their staff. Others may think they are the only ones who can handle certain tasks. But research shows delegation can mean happier clients.

A study by Toronto-based Advisor Impact Inc. reveals that 70% of the most successful advisors delegate some client contact to team members. The 2004 survey shows only 36% of advisors with an average-sized practice delegate tasks.

The survey also shows that clients are comfortable with advisors who delegate work to other team members. When asked to rate their confidence in dealing with a team, 6,300 clients gave an average rating of 4.8 out of a possible 5 — and named it the third most important factor in a relationship with an advisor.

“In the past, we tended to think that delegation was largely about increasing efficiency and increasing capacity, but we found that it is also about increasing satisfaction,” says Julie Littlechild, president of Advisor Impact.

Client contact

Advisors find it easy to delegate routine office procedures such as processing paperwork, changing addresses and sending out statements. But they have difficulty in allowing staff to deal with clients.

“Delegating some part of client contact is when advisors have a tougher time letting go,” Littlechild says. She offers these tips on delegating to help you build a team that you and your clients can trust:

> Promote a team approach as soon as possible. “If your clients understand from Day 1 that you are taking a team approach to your business, it will become increasingly easier for them to deal with members of the team throughout the years,” Littlechild says.

> Transfer credibility. Let clients know why your team is the best, and why you chose them. Create a team profile that describes each member, spelling out who they are, where their experience lies and what they are doing through continuing education to stay on top of the industry.

> Let your assistant or junior do the follow-up after a meeting, including making the phone call.

> Monitor the team. Make sure everybody is doing his or her job.

> Encourage feedback, annually or on an interim basis. Tell staff how they are doing.

“If you have clearly defined processes in place and you have some way to check that things are being done the way they are supposed to be, then it is a lot easier to trust people,” Littlechild says. IE