How can you create a winning team? Implement these key strategies for successful team building: Strategy #1 – Hire Highly Effective Team Members Nothing is more important than hiring the right people.  This necessitates having a disciplined approach to the hiring process.  I recommend these 5 steps to the process: 1) Create job descriptions that… Read more

Don’t underestimate the importance of regularly updating your employee handbook, as well as your firm’s underlying policies and procedures. Not only are state, federal and local laws changing rapidly, so too is the technology shaping how people work today. Click here to read this important article that outlines the top 10 employee handbook updates for 2016. Contact… Read more

From the desk of Jennifer Goldman. The client is always right. The client is king. The client comes first. There are probably a thousand other sayings tied to client service that we use every day. However, as the saying goes, talk is cheap – and losing clients is an expensive proposition. So how can you… Read more

Advisory firms spend more money on compensation than on any other expense, so getting it right just makes good business sense. Your compensation plan should define the behaviors you value the most and reflect what you are willing to pay to attract and retain key talent. I have found some consistent compensation misconceptions across advisory… Read more

We are excited to announce that our new whitepaper, Hiring & Retaining Top Talent for Growth, is now available! This whitepaper covers key human capital areas including: designing your org structure; recruiting and hiring; managing and developing your team; and how to compensate your team. Read the Introduction excerpt below and please contact us to… Read more

One of the keys to a successful firm is creating a process for setting goals and managing performance. A performance management process is best when it links execution to compensation. That, in turn, encourages employee engagement. Whether used for individuals or teams, the process should include setting, measuring and rewarding achievable expectations. Over time, it… Read more

A majority of employees at advisory firms — both professional and nonprofessional — now receive a combination of base salary and incentive pay, industry studies find. But firms don’t seem to be satisfied with their pay packages and, at my consulting firm, the most highly requested engagement is for designing (or, more commonly, redesigning) incentive… Read more

Employees are probably the largest cost to your firm, but they are also the foundation upon which the firm’s entire value proposition is built. To maximize employees’ contribution and effectiveness, your firm needs to have a range of programs aimed at investing in them — and making sure your investment pays off. Start by understanding… Read more

At its heart, an advisory firm is a people business: The value delivered is driven almost entirely by its members. Just as advisors would look for the most appropriate assets to deliver on a client’s investment objective, firm owners need to understand that the way you staff and motivate your practice will drive your firm’s… Read more