Take the headache out of hiring

I found The Strategic Implementer through the FPA Message Board when I needed some help with hiring.  Someone on the Board said “hey, these guys do good work, give them a call” and we did.

My Partner and I had tried to do the hiring on our own, sifting through 100’s of resumes looking for gem.  It was exhausting and time consuming.  Additionally, since we’re both “People” persons, our inclination is to make a connection with the individual, so we never really knew if the person was qualified, just that we had made a connection.

Brian brought a clear, objective process to the table and allowed us to get back to the work of servicing our clients.  He set clear upfront expectations and every Friday I received an email update from him.  I didn’t have to think about the hire the other 6 ½ days of the week.

They hired two phenomenal people for us – a CSA and an Associate Advisor – who have added greatly to our team.  We appreciate the work they did for us and will use them again when the occasion arises.

I reached out to The Strategic Implementer to help me with a hire.  I was handling the process myself – postings ads in what I hoped were the right locations, going through resumes hoping to spot a gem, and I was not having any luck and it was taking a huge amount of my time.  This is not my “unique ability” and I know it.

The Strategic Implementer’s process was so successful and smooth.  I appreciated their thorough communication throughout. The way they managed the process step-by-step and gave insight for how to unearth potential red flags as I interviewed final candidates made me more confident in the decision I made. Not to mention, the insight allowed me to set clear expectations with candid conversation so that my hire was more aligned with my long-term vision.

The Strategic Implementer has helped us hire a number of new employees and I wanted to talk a little bit about what that has meant to our firm.

Having A Players has changed the way our business runs – we have employees who self-manage, are self-starters, and they know what they are going to do everyday and they are excited about it and that energy is contagious.  The Strategic Implementer works with us to implement training schedules and it’s helped two-fold.  It’s helped the firm organize the skills we want to train that employee on in that particular role and having that template to use repeatedly when we hire. It also gives the trainers clarity on what they need to train the new employee on and keeps from just “throwing the new employee to the wolves”. 

They have also worked with us on creating Career Paths for our employees.  It really helped Associate Advisors coming in and what they need to do and approximately how long it would take them to go from an Associate to a more Senior Advisor.  It made us aware of the skills they needed to go to the next levels and then document those skills.

My advice to Advisors – understand, very well, the role you are hiring for.  Once you have clarity around that, hire the candidate that fits that role and don’t tweak the position to fit the candidate.  Second piece of advice is to hire people that reflect your core values and will fit culturally within your firm. Having that positive energy, cohesiveness and everyone on the same page is crucial.