Article How to attract and develop new talent in your firm

The topic of young talent is something almost every business in every industry will have likely discussed at one point or another. New generations bring new ideas, skills, methods and knowledge – untapped potential that could help your firm to keep up with a changing world, or even make the big leap that allows you to get ahead of it.

Within financial advice, attracting and supporting young talent is a particularly hot subject, as the industry tries to cut through an increasingly cluttered job market and overcome challenging preconceptions of what an advice professional looks like. It’s no easy feat, but one that could reap great rewards for your proposition, both now and in the long term.

To help you realise the potential of new talent within your firm, Aegon and NextWealth have teamed up to produce their latest guide, Organic Growth for Financial Advice Firms.¹ This article will use data and examples from said guide, showcasing how you can attract and support young advisers to grow your business strategically and sustainably.

• The value of new talent
• Creating entry opportunities
• Progression paths and specialisation
• Building a growth culture

The value of new talent

As part of our research, when asked to pick the factors they believed would be most helpful when trying to attract new clients, only 17% of advisers said the hiring of younger advisers. This made it the 8^th most popular choice, but further results indicated it should probably be a little higher.

In fact, over the past 12 months, advisers aged 45 and under generated the largest proportion of their personal revenue from brand new clients (22%). This compares to 17% for those aged 45-54, 14% for advisers aged 55-64, and 16% for those aged 65+.

We also found that younger advisers are more than twice as likely to be working with new clients that have simpler needs (33%), compared to the next closest age group (15% of advisers aged 55-64).

With the FCA and government looking to open advice up to more people over the next few years, particularly to those with simpler needs, taking action to attract and support new talent now could be incredibly valuable in helping you to get ahead of the game and grow your business organically for years to come.

Creating entry opportunities

As with any career, being given the opportunity to get your foot in the door can be the deciding factor between pursuing one path from another – and entry-level roles within financial advice are no different.

When it comes to attracting the best and brightest, it’s important to recognise that it’s often about more than a nice title or competitive salary. Your entry-level roles should be built around the core principle of inspiring and empowering new talent to grow individually and as part of the collective journey you’re on as a team and business.

By offering a variety of experiences across business areas through the likes of shadowing or ownership of structured cases, they’ll not only learn from those around them, but they’ll also see your firm and purpose in action from the ground up. This could inspire a greater connection to and confidence in helping your business grow, empowering them to better use their unique skills and ideas in pursuit of your firm’s goals.

Progression paths and specialisation

One of the most obvious ways to make any operation run smoother is to have the right tasks done by the right people.

Having gained a thorough understanding of your business and how they can play a part in its growth, enabling new talent to specialise in the role that most aligns with their skills and interests could see them perform to the top of their abilities. This could be as a company finance expert, paraplanner extraordinaire or a holistic adviser – whatever their calling is, having your best people in their best role could lead to a better service for your current clients and a more attractive proposition for new ones.

Building a growth culture

While inorganic growth often sees firms take something from outside of the business, organic growth is built upon the idea of inspiring positive change from within your firm. As a result, having a collaborative and growth-led culture is fundamental to any business that wants to grow strategically and sustainably.

Fostering a positive culture can take time, but there are key decisions you can make early on to lay the foundation for years to come.

The first is to define your company’s purpose, ambitions and proposition, creating an identifiable and inspiring image of a business that your team can get behind and want to be a part of. This includes setting clear, time-bound goals that can be measured and celebrated as you progress.

Transparency and collaboration are also vital to a building a positive culture. Involving the whole team in decision-making and review processes can motivate them to keep pushing forward with things that are working or tweak bits that need adjusting, and help everyone to feel part of the change.

Find out more

Preparing and executing a plan for long-term organic can be a tricky task, but also incredibly rewarding – both for your business and your team of new and experienced talent alike.

For help with planning for organic growth, you can read our article on the 6 steps to grow your business organically. More information and the full Organic Growth for Financial Advice Firms guide can also be found on our dedicated hub.