Beverly Flaxington is a practice management consultant. She answers questions from advisors facing human resource issues. To submit yours, email us here.
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
Dear Bev,
Several years ago, after a fiasco with a couple of new hires, I made a conscious decision to be a “solo-preneur” and grow my practice without adding to staff. I used an outsourced service for admin for a few years, and when growth got to be crazy I hired one full-time person (“Sally”) who is solely focused on administrative details. At the beginning of this year (2020), I took stock and found I had grown significantly over the last three years and was piling too much on Sally, so I took the difficult step of hiring another admin person to help her. I let Sally interview people, had her participate in discussions about who might be the best fit and how we could reallocate duties and generally included her in the process. We brought “Gina” onboard and I left it up to Sally to handle the integration.
We have been working together for four weeks. Sally and Gina barely speak to one another. They spend much time in my office complaining about the other person’s work style and approach. They are nitpicking on the smallest things. I don’t want to deal with it. Part of the reason I made the conscious decision years ago to be solo was to avoid all of this!! To top it off, our growth is off the charts. I have a very unique niche and have worked it for many years. New clients come without putting in much effort.
But the biggest issue is the back-office administrative piece. There is endless paperwork, follow-ups and address changes. I need the infrastructure support. I want to talk to clients and ease their concerns during this market volatility, I don’t want to be fielding internal staff fights. Why does growth hurt so badly?
A.I.
Dear A.I.,
They don’t call them “growing pains” for nothing! Yes, the more people and clients you add, by definition the more complexity you add. But you have to dive headlong into it because what is your alternative? Do you stop bringing in your niche clients? Do you ask only one person to cover what certainly appears to be plenty of work for two people? Do you run the risk of losing someone and then going back to outsourcing when you have spent so much time building a strong infrastructure?
I will posit the answer to all of these questions is “no.”
There are likely three things happening, all of which are fixable in one way or another. But it will take your time and attention:
- The roles and differences in the roles are not as clearly defined as they need to be. They might be picking on one another because the lines are blurred about who is doing what, when and how. I don’t know if you have job descriptions but these often don’t address the day-to-day who is doing what issue, even if you have them. And, they may have similar roles without clarity about where there is overlap or where one is supposed to do something another one could or should be doing. Put them in a conference room for a few hours (yes, I know always hard to do when everyone is running around busy) and ask them to map out the processes and identify which one should be doing which step, and how they can communicate together to be most effective. I have found that when you ask the people who are closest to the work, they can often identify. Ask them to pull you in only if there is a question or point of clarification they need.
- Talk to them about style and where they need support. I’m going to guess if they are good at administrative tasks, they are high on what’s called the “steadiness” and “conscientiousness” scales. People who are high on these behavioral approaches tend to do well when (a) there is clear process, (b) they have time to digest new things and new approaches, © roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, (d) they have time to get the work done in a high quality manner and (e) things are not moving so fast that they can’t prioritize and can’t keep up. People who are good with process and procedures tend to resist change, but they react negatively to change when things get thrown into chaos. You might not perceive it as chaos, you just see it as new clients coming on board but it might be throwing their world into a tailspin. They might need you to sit with them to prioritize, to let them know what’s coming next into the firm in terms of new clients, what timeframes are associated with everything and to give them a window into what’s happening and why.
- You are contributing to the problem by allowing them to come in and complain about one another and in indulging their concerns about what’s happening and how they view the other one as part of the problem. When one comes in, tell them, “Stop right there – I need to call Sally/Gina in now so we can all address this problem together.” It never helps to allow someone to talk about what someone else is doing wrong without allowing the supposed guilty party a chance to address it. Will this cause an uproar? You bet. Will they potentially fight in front of you in your office? You bet. Will they decide maybe the problem isn’t so big and they need to deal with it on their own…..? Eventually yes, they will.
Put some power back into their hands but provide support in the form of direction around what’s most important and what priorities exist. Move forward but with a clear focus and bring them into that focus with you.
Dear Bev,
We finally closed three new clients we have been courting for almost a year. It was just in time for the market fluctuations and their concerns about, “making the wrong decision to move now.” We have had a singular focus on organic growth. I wish we were able to put more focus on our existing clients to help them navigate through these times.
P.O
Dear P.O.,
The story you have been telling to win these prospects, and the ones your clients have come to know must be one that is applicable in all markets and through all conditions, right? Yes it is difficult to onboard and give new people the attention they need and deserve when you are juggling calls and emails from existing clients and trying to quell their concerns, I do understand this but it is all part of running a successful financial advisory firm! You wouldn’t have been able to foresee the current conditions (who would have?), but you certainly know from being in the business the one thing you can always count on is that nothing stays the same and surprises happen.
This might be an opportune time to examine what’s working well and where the holes might be (alongside all of the other things you are doing….) but as a first order, remind your new clients of the story that brought them to you. Keep repeating your short and long-term steps and how you will help them through this.
I’m not minimizing the difficulty – at all – but what other choice do you have?
Beverly Flaxington co-founded The Collaborative, a consulting firm devoted to business building for the financial services industry in 1995. The firm also founded and manages the Advisors Sales Academy. She is currently an adjunct professor at Suffolk University teaching undergraduate and graduate students Entrepreneurship and Leading Teams. Beverly is a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst (CPBA) and Certified Professional Values Analyst (CPVA).
She has spent over 25 years in the investment industry and has been featured in Selling Power Magazine and quoted in hundreds of media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC.com, Investment News and Solutions Magazine for the FPA. She speaks frequently at investment industry conferences and is a speaker for the CFA Institute.
Read more articles by Beverly Flaxington
Beverly Flaxington is a practice management consultant. She answers questions from advisors facing human resource issues. To submit yours, email us here. 
