Peter Dawson

Financial planning firms have weathered storms in the past, but nothing like what we are currently experiencing. In this challenging time advisers are faced with a raft of additional operational issues while keeping focused on their clients, providing them with the advice and support they require.

The changing environment

Throughout the industry there has been a significant increase in client communication with advisers mounting the phones and using communications technology to reassure clients that not only their investment strategies are sound, but they are there for them. Often this requires an empathetic approach talking through the challenges clients are facing, not just in terms of their financial situation, but in their professional and personal lives.

In this time of heightened emotion, clients are watching local and overseas events ever more vigilantly, often with great trepidation. Investment markets have witnessed considerable volatility which there is no end yet in sight and this has led to anxiety with clients seeing declines in the value of their investments. This anxiety has been further exacerbated by social restrictions, which have cocooned families, physically isolating them from extended family and friends.

Client’s personal stories resonate with advisers

Advisers are hearing clients concerns about the welfare of their families where they are facing critical decisions about their children and elderly parents. They relate stories of parents with pre-schoolers having to reassess their child-care options with those usually depending on their parents to help them having to revert to full time carers while juggling their work obligations. There has been considerable stress with working parents at home with toddlers doing what they do while parents are on Zoom trying to actively engage in business meetings.

Advisers have also related stories of clients with school age children and the challenges they face getting them in to a routine that has them using their computers to enter the classroom. Almost universally there would seem to be more appreciation of the work of teachers as clients take on a hands-on role with home schooling. Older clients who are grand parents have had to relinquish their role as carers and this has been difficult to come to terms with although many have taken to Zoom and Skype to keep in touch.

Some advisers reported discussions with clients regarding communications technology options particularly with their older clients, however a number noted that this was sometimes challenging with some clients experiencing difficulties in making technology work for them. Other clients who haven’t access to this technology or think it is beyond them find themselves in a position they never expected to be in with their phone becoming their lifeline.

Those that have lost their jobs and those business owners who’ve had to pare back their operations letting staff go, or even worse closing their businesses are shell shocked by these events and often their first port of call is to their adviser who can help them navigate their way through the options available to them. Many of those now without work have never experienced unemployment and find the challenges of dealing with their situation unsettling if not frightening.

Advisers supporting role

Uncertainty increases stress levels and dwelling on what lies ahead can be poisonous for isolated individuals, so it is crucial that they have support they need to get them through this challenging period. While advisers aren’t psychologists, they do play a counselling role, bringing perspective and offering sage advice to conversations with their clients. Advisers not only have financial planning expertise but are good listeners and can help bring calm to the lives of those who are feeling adrift in this storm.

Financial planning has always been a relationship business, building trust with clients being the cornerstone of successful advice businesses. Advisers are listening to their client’s stories whether they are the parent struggling to home school their children, the grand parents who can no longer be directly involved in the care of their grandchildren, the business owner who has had to close their business or the employees who no longer has a job.

Many of the stories their clients are telling them are familiar to advisers, as they are hearing similar stories from their friends, industry colleagues and employees as well as experiencing these challenges in their own lives. This helps them understand their client’s problems and enables them to take a sympathetic role in helping their clients navigate the current situation.

Advisers have a history of playing an active role in times of disaster including the recent past with the drought and the catastrophic destruction from the bushfires. This pandemic has wide-spread effects on people’s lives as it reaches directly into every corner of our society causing economic loss and social isolation.

Advisers are making sure they play their part in supporting their clients, ensuring that they are in constant communication with them offering them guidance and reassurance and it’s their steadfast commitment that will help them steer a steady course through this storm.

By Peter Dawson

The post In the eye of the storm financial planners steer a steady course appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Peter Dawson

Uncertainty stokes the flames of fear and that is particularly evident across the financial services sector with daily news of new Coronavirus infections recorded in Australia and other parts of the world. Closing businesses, restricting travel, being told to stay home and perceived mixed messaging has heightened anxiety amongst employees and their families. Talk of shutting-down the Australian economy and what that will mean has left many people thinking that their secure jobs are no longer secure and that they too may soon be lining up at Centrelink offices.

What happens next will depend on how long it is going to take to flatten the infection curve. If it is within a relatively short period there is a strong possibility that the Australian economy will start to recover soon after, however if the infection rate doesn’t decline or isn’t at least halted and the stimulus packages introduced by the government aren’t effective then there is a significant increase in the possibility the economy will slide into depression. So what does this all mean for our industry?

Wealth Management

Wealth Management businesses that have established client bases look to be on relatively firm ground. Financial planning principals have reported that while clients are concerned by recent events, there is only a relatively small minority that have altered their investment strategies. Most of those that have altered their asset allocation have reduced their expose to equities but not liquidated their positions and there are those who are keen to dollar cost further investment in the coming months.

These principals are confident that their clients will ride out the storm and they plan ride it out with them. At this stage they are not looking at reducing employee headcount and if they have to look at cost reductions in coming months will look at other areas before they consider redundancies.

Those practices that have been established in more recent times and rely on continued business growth will find the coming months difficult with some seeking to shed support staff and others looking to merge their client bases with other firms as a survival strategy.

The work undertaken by leading wealth management consulting firms has been beneficial to ensuring the welfare of many financial planning businesses. The inclusion of risk management strategies into business planning processes have been designed to prepare principals for disruption to their businesses. While few would have planned for the scale of this event, financial planning principals that have engaged these consultants have policies and systems in place that will help them keep their firms on a steady footing.

Institutional wealth management businesses have gone through significant rationalisation of the advice arms and are now in the process of making sure that their clients are provided advice to meet their needs through this period of upheaval. However, these companies have significant cost bases and cost management will be a focal point in these businesses as they navigate the months ahead.

Investment Management

The global titans of investment management have the ability to ride through the worst of storms without introducing major cost savings. From talking to senior executives of these firms, the consensus view is that while this is a major disruptive event their companies won’t deviate from their business strategies. However, on a day to day basis this doesn’t mean business as usual as most of these executives are working from outside their offices and client interaction is conducted by phone or via a conferencing platform. These executives kept reiterating their concern for their employees and that they are committed to holding their teams in place. Any significant cost reduction initiatives are not planned at least in the short term.

Most small to mid-sized investment firms run lean operations, however the impact of decreasing revenues may seriously impact some of these businesses, particularly those that don’t have institutional backing. There are those that may be forced to close their doors or seek out a new home with larger, more established businesses.

The fear people have of losing their jobs in financial services is not without reason, particularly if the virus continues to spread and the economic impacts reverberate through the employment market. Already there has been a reduction in recruitment activity, shedding of casual employees and contractors but what next?

Worse-case scenario

Wide scale job losses in back and middle office positions and those in client facing roles may face redundancy if they are deemed non-essential employees. Job sharing will become more widespread particularly to fill roles left open by exiting employees. Voluntary redundancies will be offered at first and then if business conditions further deteriorate, companies will introduce compulsory redundancy programs.

Human resources executives, as well as managing redundancy programs, will be expected to take on the recruitment function as the preferred service provider arrangements with recruitment companies are suspended.

Best case scenario

Companies able to adapt to the changing environment and will be able to keep their businesses operations on course, focusing on the needs of their clients and maintaining employee headcount. There are also some positives for small practices, one being that those who have been reticent to use client engagement technology and will now seriously consider embracing it.

When it all comes to an end

Financial services is comprised of a large community of people and in challenging times like this are always willing to give support to each other particularly those who are struggling. Hopefully, we won’t be visiting a worst-case scenario but whatever the challenges we face going forward, there is a recognition that those companies that treat their employees with dignity and compassion will be the employers of choice when this all comes to an end.

By Peter Dawson, Principal

The post The storm sweeping across financial services appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Get control of your retirement strategy.

There are two career events that can trigger acute anxiety: redundancy and retirement. While redundancy can bring with it some major challenges that shouldn’t be underestimated, these are invariably short term in nature occurring while we are looking for the next career opportunity. Retirement however marks a permanent shift in our lives and unless we have taken the time to plan the transition out of the workforce we may be faced with a whole range of issues that can end up derailing our peace of mind.

While many people put serious effort in to retirement planning, the time invested is all too often weighted to financial matters. Having enough money to live a comfortable life in retirement becomes the top of mind issue as we know that if we retire at age sixty five we may have twenty plus years ahead of us.

With this focus budgets are worked over and over factoring in all those overseas holidays we want to take, home renovations, the new car and all the on-going expenses that were more of annoyance when we are working and then there are the consequences of living in to old age with the possibility of failing health and all the medical and caring expenses that go with it.

Financial considerations, while a critical part of the retirement planning process, often eclipse other important issues including our psychological well-being and our ability to cope in our post work world. The reality of retirement can be daunting particularly if consideration hasn’t been given to how we will fill the days that were once full of meetings and deadlines.

After the honeymoon period, when the elation of our new found freedom has subsided we need to find meaningful activities particularly those that keep us engaged with other people unless our intention is to retreat in to ourselves and live a hermit like existence

Engagement

Within the industry

The nature of retirement has evolved over the years with more retirees remaining active participants in the industry, at least in the early years of their retirement. Over the last decade there has been a marked increase in the numbers financial planners and executives who have sought to take on consulting, coaching/mentoring assignments and non-executive board roles with a number lured back from retirement to establish new business ventures.

For those who have a strong network of business contacts the challenge is far less than those who don’t, however expectations need to be realistic as there has also been a significant growth in the numbers of those over fifty who on leaving executive employment have established consulting businesses.

Voluntary work

There has been an increase in the availability of voluntary work in recent years and retirees can be involved in different ways depending on the institution. There have been a number of executives who have taken on board roles with major charitable institutions, advisory roles with companies looking to increase their community reach and working at the coalface with an organisation’s clients.

The degree of difficulty in securing this work will depend on the nature of the role and the institution itself. Most of advisory work and board positions are sourced through networking, recruitment consultants or by making a direct approach to the institution.

Social interests

People who have participated in a range of activities during their working lives can increase their commitment to them in their retirement. This can include sporting, artistic, travelling or other interests. Those who are seeking new activities and looking to meet new like-minded people are spoilt for choice as there are meet up groups that cater for a broad range of interests.

Social media has facilitated the growth of a diverse range of these meet up type websites which has made it easy to join up with a click of a mouse. A former senior executive told me recently that he thought that on retiring he might struggle to fill in his time. As he said ‘There only so many rounds of golf you can play in a week.’ He has joined three groups and said that his social network had doubled since he retired and he was as busy as he was when he was working.

The importance of engagement

One of the biggest challenges in retirement is finding a sense of purpose, particularly when many people see their intrinsic worth in terms of their work. Over the years their career achievements have built and supported their confidence and a sense of pride in their abilities and provided them with a feeling of well-being. When they walk away from a satisfying career it can be a struggle to fill the void and self-worth can erode quickly along with self-confidence and their state of mind.

Financial planners help lay the foundations of a secure and fulfilling retirement

Many people before their introduction to a financial planner think they will focus the conversation just on financial issues and are often surprised when the discussion broadens to a more holistic approach to retirement planning.

Financial planners ensure that their clients are in the best possible position to get the most from their retirement. They are trusted advisers providing guidance on both financial and life matters and help transition clients from long and rewarding careers in to a retirement that offers a host of opportunities that may not have arisen otherwise. This advice comes from years of professional experience, education, training and a passion for helping their clients who are seeking more than what a robot can offer.

By Peter Dawson

The post Futureproofing your retirement strategy appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Engage with the next generation and your business will reap the rewards.

Financial advice business owners are facing a raft of challenges in dealing with the new generation of financial planners who are not only very career focused but have expectations that can prove both challenging and confronting.

No matter how we label them; Generation Z, iGen, or Post-Millennials, this generation comes with a healthy amount of the self-esteem with its focus clearly on professional development and career path trajectory.

Generation Who?

This is the most educated generation yet with in excess of seventy percent completing high school, thirty five percent undertaking an undergraduate degree and forty percent completing some other post-secondary education. Furthermore thirty percent undertake part time work with a high proportion volunteering for community based activities.

While we are looking at a generation that values education and entering the workforce at an early stage, these young people not only react positively to change but actually embrace it. When it comes to adapting to innovation and adopting business efficiency initiatives, this generation is miles ahead of its predecessors particularly the Baby Boomers and GenX. The critical question for financial planning businesses is how to recruit, train and retain the best of this generation.

Engaging the Next Gens

A major challenge in dealing with Next Gens is managing expectations as to the scope of their roles particularly those that don’t provide significant intellectual stimulation. Next Gens are hungry to learn and will devour all that interests them but may see the more routine tasks as suitable for someone else. However it is not all hard work as most will adapt when they understand the importance of the interconnecting parts of the business and how it all results in a valuable client offering of which they are a part.

Next Gen financial planners have inquisitive minds and will be unrelenting in gaining a thorough understanding of a particular issue. This is highlighted in their positon as natural adapters of technology. Those business owners who are not on top of the raft of technological innovations that are entering the market including the proliferation of diverse robo advice models will be able to draw on Next Gens as a valuable resource.

Disruption for Baby Boomers and Gen X may be at times confronting but to Next Gens it’s duck to water.

The Next Gen talent pool

With the upscaling of financial planning educational requirements there will be a marked increase in Next Gen’s who will be sourced from universities that offer relevant qualifications. However, many will initially gravitate to financial services companies that offer entry level call centre, client service and administration roles. Institutions with scale operations have training programs that provide a comprehensive orientation to the industry along with product and client service information.

Next Gens are not only adept at getting the most out of training but are keen to put what they learn in to practice and make themselves targets for financial planning practices who are looking for new talent.

Institutionally owned advice businesses draw on new entrants in their own organisations to feed their financial planning practices, however specialist financial services recruiters see these companies as talent pools for their clients. Next Gens have a propensity to explore new opportunities and readily engage with those who offer them career advancement.

Rising to the challenge

Small to medium sized financial planning practices often find recruiting Next Gens a challenge. This starts from the commencement of a recruitment program where the practice may struggle to identify best fit candidates and when they do they fail to coherently demonstrate their relevance to the candidate by effectively positioning their value proposition.

Many business owners turn to their colleagues as a source of referrals and when this doesn’t prove effective place piecemeal advertisements on job boards. If suitable candidates make themselves available for interview it is critical that whoever is conducting the interviews is fully conversant as to not only interview techniques (including having a structured interview questionnaire) but able to present themselves in a professional manner.

Preparation is critical as Next Gens will quickly make an assessment of whether they identify with the interviewer who is the gateway to the business.

Five tips to recruiting Next Gen candidates for your business

• Invest time on mapping out your recruitment strategy. Not only do you need an effective road map of how you are going to identify relevant candidates but how you are going to conduct interviews, gain the proffered candidate’s commitment to your business, conduct psychological evaluations and instigate a rigorous reference procedure.
• If you have little or an experience recruiting Next Gen employees then consider drawing on the services of a professional recruiter who has a track record of recruiting Next Gens.
• Next Gens are savvy as to what they perceive to be employers of choice, which includes an inclusive culture that welcomes their ideas. The initial discussion is an opportunity to position your business as forward thinking and welcoming them as a respected colleague not as an indentured apprentice.
• Next Gens will do their homework on your business and it is critical that you have a web presence that is in accord with the professionalism of your practice. Next Gens will also look at your LinkedIn and Facebook pages. If yours are looking tired then freshen them up in terms of design and content. Additionally, do you have a Twitter presence? Next Gens see Twitter as a core social media platform so if you don’t have a presence or even worse you think a twitter is something that should be left with the birds then you will struggle to engage with them.
• While to some this may seem a given, it is important that the interviewer presents themselves in a professional manner. Making sure that there is appropriate time for the interview, that the interviewer is on time and they don’t enter the meeting in a dishevelled manner is critical to the candidate making an assessment of the professional standards of the practice.

Next Gens are the future of financial planning and as much as they will welcome the opportunity to learn from you with all the experience you have garnered over the years and you will have the opportunity to benefit from their knowledge, abilities and enthusiasm.

Peter Dawson, Principal, The Dawson Partnership

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Employee remuneration in the context of this survey is divided in to three components:

• Salary and superannuation and other benefits including the payment/subsidy of fees for relevant vocational courses, association/club memberships, parking, subsidised childcare and health care.
• Short term incentive schemes including cash bonuses.
• Long term incentive schemes that include participation in equity/shadow equity schemes.

The Dawson Partnership 2016 survey found that in terms of salary and superannuation and other benefits:

Increasing existing employee remuneration:

Of the 25% of businesses in the 2016 survey that stated that their intention was to increase remuneration:

• 56% stated that the increase was targeted primarily at employees who had met or exceeded their KPI’s
• 31% stated that the increase was targeted primarily at valued employees as a part of a retention strategy
• 13% stated that the increase was targeted primarily at those employees who weren’t being paid market remuneration.

Maintaining existing employee remuneration:

Of the 63% of respondents who stated that they would maintain employee remuneration levels:

• 69% stated that they will maintain the current remuneration settings in order to meet current and projected business targets and currently didn’t see there would be any change in their position in the 2016 year. However when asked if they would consider increasing remuneration levels if business conditions did improve beyond their current expectations 28% stated that they would consider it but only if they believed the improvement was sustainable.

• 31% stated that they were adopting a cautious approach to expenditure even though their businesses were experiencing increased business growth. 38% of these respondents expected this business growth to come from new and lower cost technology increasing productivity.

Decreasing employee remuneration

The 6% of respondents looking to decrease employee remuneration stated that this would be achieved by implementing cost reduction strategies including not replacing employees who leave their businesses and or replacing back office employees on lower level remuneration.

Short term incentives:

Long term incentives:

Other findings:

• 52% of employers who stated their intention is to increase employee remuneration in 2016 will do so by between 4-6%
• 44% stated they would increase remuneration in line with CPI
• 4% stated they would increase remuneration above 6%
• There was a focus on employee retention with 67% of those employers increasing remuneration seeking to offer market based remuneration to employees who had performed well and had demonstrated loyalty to them.
• 62% of those surveyed stated that they believed that that recruitment activity for high performance employees had continued to maintain the momentum from 2015 and that they were aware that their best employees were being approached by competitors either directly or by recruiters.
• 56% of employers stated that salaried financial planners with high level technical knowledge and strong communication skills were in particular demand with recruitment activity also picking up for paraplanners and support staff.
• 33% stated that they were interested in recruiting employees who are across digital technology.

While salaried financial planners employed by institutions received CPI increases or marginally below or above this level those employed by independent firms fared better, particularly those who contributed to the firm’s revenue growth with increases upward of 5%.

There was also an element of employers playing catch up. Employees who were identified as being paid below market or who had some stage during the year taken on additional responsibilities and there had been no adjustment to their remuneration were granted increases in the range of 7%-15%.

Sources of remuneration data/trends:

Respondents drew on the following sources to assist them in their remuneration decision making:

• 13% drew on market data available from web based resources including remuneration survey data released by remuneration and recruitment consultants
• 11% sourced the information from their practice manager or HR manager
• 6% had discussions with a remuneration consultant/recruiter
• 70% didn’t identify any sources of remuneration information

Positive factors cited by respondents:  

• The improvement client sentiment
• The growth in business profitability
• Efficiency gains from technology

Negative factors cited by respondents:

• Continued volatility in investment markets and the flow on affect to client sentiment
• Further government changes to the legislative framework
• The impact of negative news related to personal insurance

‘We are seeing an upward trend in recruitment activity and an awareness by financial planning businesses that to retain their employees they need ensure they are remunerated in line with the market or they will face the possibility of losing them. It was clearly evident that there is more emphasis being placed on employees having high level technological skills and experience as financial planning practices refine their client communications strategies. Employees and candidates with requisite skills and experience will be the beneficiaries of higher level remuneration’.

Financial Planning businesses involved in this remuneration survey:

Ownership

• Institutionally owned – 42%
• Independently owned – 58%

Location

• Metropolitan – 74%
• Rural – 26%

Number of employees

• Between 1-10 – 26%
• 11-30 – 35%
• 31-50 – 15%
• 51-100 – 12%
• 101-200 – 7%
• 201-500 – 3%
• More than 501 – 2%

The post 2016 Financial Planning Remuneration Trends Survey results appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Sally Humphris

The Dawson Partnership Remuneration Trends Survey canvasses a broad range of institutional and independently owned financial planning companies that are surveyed at the end of each financial year. One of the most notable results from the 2015 survey was the increase of 10% over the 2014 year in employer intentions to increase employee remuneration.

‘The 2015 Survey recorded an increased emphasis on employers ensuring that they’re offering market based remuneration with respondents wanting to reward employees who had performed well and also they believed that recruitment activity had increased in the first six months of the year and that they were aware that their best employees were being approached by competitors. Recruitment activity and a trend in remuneration increases were most notable in compliance/governance roles within advice businesses.’ Sally Humphris

The increase in recruitment activity reported by respondents is supported by our 2015 Hiring Intentions Survey which reported an increase in recruitment intentions by employers when they were interviewed in December 2014. The industry wide survey reported an increase of 8%, over the 2014 year and reflected the upswing in positive sentiment.

The primary reason given for the increase in remuneration by respondents was that their employees had met, or exceeded, their expectations and they wanted to reward them accordingly. Additionally, employers were aware that some of their best employees had been approached about other roles and that the remuneration increase was part of their employee retention strategy.

Specifically, in the aligned financial planner business model, an increase in remuneration (including bonuses) was sited principally from a growth in total funds under advice driven by the acquisition of individual financial planner practices, boosting remuneration in compliance and administration roles.

Those holding client service/ administration roles also fared well with increases in the range of 3-6%.

While salaried financial planners employed by institutions received at best CPI increases those employed by independent firms fared better, particularly those who contributed to the firm’s revenue growth with increases upward of 4%.

There was also an element of employers playing catch up where there was provision for employees who were identified as being paid below market or who had some stage during the year taken on additional responsibilities and there had been no adjustment to their remuneration. At the upper end these employees received increases in the range of 6%-10%.

Remuneration Trends Survey Results:

The Dawson Partnership 2014 survey found that:

• 13% of employers were looking to increase employee remuneration

• 71% of employers were looking at maintaining employee remuneration

• 11% of employers were looking to decrease employee remuneration
• 5% of employers were unsure

The Dawson Partnership 2015 survey found that:

• 23% of employers were looking to increase employee remuneration

• 66% of employers were looking at maintaining employee remuneration
• 5% of employers were looking to decrease employee remuneration

• 6% of employers were unsure.

Increasing existing employee remuneration:

Of those businesses in the 2015 survey that indicated their intention was to increase remuneration:

• 55% stated that the increase would be awarded to those employees who had met or exceeded their KPI’s
• 31% stated that the increase was primarily targeted at valued employees as a part of a retention strategy
• 14% stated that the increase was targeted at those employees that weren’t being paid market remuneration

Maintaining existing employee remuneration:

Of the 66% of respondents who stated that they would maintain employee numbers:

• 67% said they would do so to meet current and projected business targets and currently didn’t see there would be any change in their position in the 2015 year. However when asked if they would consider increasing remuneration levels if business conditions did improve beyond their current expectations 27% stated that they would consider it but only if they believed the improvement was sustainable.

• 33% stated that they were adopting a cautious approach to expenditure even though their businesses were experiencing increased business growth. 10% of these respondents expected this business growth to come from new and lower cost technology increasing productivity.

Decreasing employee remuneration

The 5% of respondents looking to decrease employee remuneration stated that this would be achieved by implementing cost reduction strategies including not replacing employees who leave their businesses and or replacing employees on lower level remuneration

Positive factors cited by respondents:

1. The improvement client sentiment
2. The growth in business profitability
3. Technology benefits with efficiency gains from compliance and reporting

Negative factors cited by respondents:

1. Continued volatility in investment markets and the flow on affect to sentiment
2. Further government changes to the legislative framework

‘We noted not only a positive change in sentiment of respondents in the 2015 Survey, but that there is more emphasis on remuneration being viewed as an employee retention strategy. While there isn’t a war for talent as was evidenced in the lead up to the GFC we are seeing an upward trend in recruitment activity and an awareness by financial planning businesses that to retain their employees they need ensure they are remunerated in line with the market or they will face the possibility of losing them’. Peter Dawson

Click here to read about the The Dawson Partnership 2015 Hiring Intentions Survey results.

The post The Dawson Partnership 2015 Financial Planning Remuneration Trends Survey appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Sally Humphris

The results of The Dawson Partnership 2015 Hiring Intentions survey highlighted a marked turn-around and improvement in participant sentiment.

The 8% uplift in hiring intentions over the 2014 year is now being born out in the increased recruitment activity in a broad range of roles across the wealth management market.

The continued growth in head count numbers demonstrates that there is increased optimism amongst companies that have achieved, or exceeded their performance benchmarks over the last year. There is an inherent belief that now is the time to build on personnel infrastructure to both increase client service levels and build new business in existing and/ or new business channels.

While a proportion of new hires are opportunistic with employers targeting high quality personnel who have been dislodged from their previous employers, or have chosen to return from offshore postings, this talent pool is limited and will rapidly dry up unless there is another wave of expats returning home and/or a substantial increase redundancies.

Considering there has been a large influx of returnees in the last few years it would seem implausible that this will increase in momentum and considering that none of our respondents were looking to down size headcount, the initiation of substantial redundancy programs seem to be unlikely. Supply of quality talent is expected to dry up quickly.

Adding to the challenge for employers to secure the requisite candidates for their businesses is the reticence among candidates to move employer. Candidates are more conscious than ever that they need to protect their brand in the market place and scrutinise opportunities often in forensic detail.

Sally Humphris noted; ‘we are finding that candidates will undertake detailed due diligence on opportunities that are presented to them with increased scrutiny of the companies that include more than visiting the corporate website. More often than not, candidates will draw on their networks to make an informed decision about the company and the position itself and unless there is a compelling reason to move they will stay put’.

There can be a disconnect between the employers view of the available talent pool and reality and it may take some time for companies who view the market as awash with relevant candidates to recognise that this is not the case. To avoid spending an inordinate amount of time conducting ad hoc recruitment campaigns it is essential in this market to be more focused than ever on not only identifying who you want to recruit but ensuring candidates are carefully managed through the recruitment process. Hiring managers who don’t have strong recruitment skills and experience will increasingly find recruitment a frustrating and expensive experience and one that they’d wished they’d handed over to a professional recruiter.

There has been strong growth in hiring in investment managers that have increased funds inflow and profitability and we are seeing greater emphasis on the segmentation of positions along business channels. This is particularly evident in distribution where we are seeing a growing demand for specialists who are focused on a particular channel; the advent of the SMSF business development managers being, but one example.

Changes in technology are also having a marked impact on the distribution of investment management companies’ product offerings to the Direct (SMSF market). In particular we have seen the growth in employment opportunities in new disrupters, that is lower cost technology providers (e.g cloud based platforms and administration systems) accessing and servicing the superannuation funds member direct options and the direct SMSF market.

The risk insurance sector shows little sign of slowing. This year a number of companies will actually increase business written and grow their personnel headcount in line to meet service requirements. Advisers that are predominantly risk focused are quietly optimistic about the year ahead and product suppliers are working to enhance products and improve their services to advisers and their clients.

Advice businesses that are well managed and have established client bases along with diversified revenue streams are well placed particularly where the client base is at most moderately geared into the investment markets. While these businesses may not be looking at further recruitment activity at least until the new financial year they are not in a position where they are having to instigate redundancies and will be the first in line to recruit new staff.

Superannuation outsourcing has areas of personnel growth particularly with companies that have built significant market share over the last two to three years. There are a number of companies that have continued to recruit senior level candidates to bolster servicing and new business infrastructure and have further plans to increase headcount in the first quarter of this year.

Peter Dawson commented; ‘while the war for talent is more subdued than it has been in the past, companies are still sharpening their pencils offering competitive market remuneration to secure the high achievers for their businesses. There is however significant emphasis placed on making sure that the decision to hire the right candidate is supported with a rigorous approach to the recruitment process’.

Remuneration remains a pivotal issue in recruitment and while there has been little movement in salaries over the last year, companies continue to sweeten short and long term incentives. We will be able to provide you with further detail on remuneration trends when we release our annual Remuneration Survey in July.

The post Hiring, firing and remuneration – 2015 Trends appeared first on AdviserVoice.

‘The Hiring Intentions Survey found that there has been an increase in the number of organisations intending to hire new employees in 2015 compared with the outlook at the start of 2014. In our survey for 2015, 32% of organisations surveyed intended to hire new employees compared with 24% of such businesses in our 2014 Survey. The increase in hiring intentions is primarily attributable to the increased growth and profitability experienced across respondent organisations in 2014 and their belief that this will continue in 2015. While there were a number of domestic and international factors identified by respondents that could negatively impact on their hiring decisions, most were of the view that the impact would be short lived and would not have a material adverse effect on full year profitability.

Our 2014 survey found that:

• 24% of employers were looking to increase existing employee numbers.
• 12% of employers were looking to down size employee numbers.
• 9% of employers were unsure.

• 55% of employers were looking at maintaining existing employee numbers.

Our 2015 survey found that:

• 32% of employers were looking to increase existing employee numbers.
• 8% of employers were unsure.

• 60% of employers were looking at maintaining existing employee numbers.

Increasing existing employee numbers:

Of the 32% of those businesses in our 2015 survey that indicated their intention was to increase employee numbers:

• 42% stated that this was due to positive investor sentiment. Respondents stated that there was continued investor appetite for retirement and non-retirement products particularly across main stream asset classes.
• 34% stated that it was due to factors related specifically to their business operations. These factors included, the success of business initiatives including the launch of new products, entering new business channels and building deeper relationships with existing clients.
• 22% stated that this was due to factors underpinning a positive business environment including more certainty in the legislative agenda in particular the FOFA reforms.
• 49% stated that domestic and or offshore factors could adversely impact their businesses at some point in the year and 72% of this group stated that the impact would most likely be of a temporary nature and have no material impact on their full year business profitability.

Maintaining existing employee numbers:

Of the 60% of respondents who stated that they would maintain employee numbers:

• 67% said they would do so to meet current and projected business requirements and currently didn’t see there would be any change in their position in the 2015 year. However when asked if they would consider hiring more employees if business conditions did improve beyond their current expectations 42% stated that they would consider it but only if they believed the improvement was sustainable.

• 58% stated that they were expecting domestic and or offshore factors to impact on their businesses at some point in the year with 56% of this group stating that the impact would most likely be of a temporary nature and would not have a material impact on their full year business profitability.

Positive factors cited by respondents:

1. The improvement in US economic conditions to continue through 2015  – 36%
2. Continued downward pressure on the Australian dollar to be a positive factor for those businesses exporting their products and services and for a number of offshore companies operating in Australia – 28%

Negative factors cited by respondents:

1. Continued contraction of the Chinese economy – 42%
2. Budget reforms not being legislated – 23%
3. Further problems in the Euro Zone – 17%.
4. An X factor – 7%

While no respondents stated that they were likely to reduce current employee numbers, 22% stated that they would be adopting a cautious approach to employee levels. A further 11% stated that in the immediate term they would not replace employees who left their businesses.

‘The positive sentiment of respondents was not only evidenced in increased hiring intentions but also since respondents indicated that they weren’t considering decreasing employee numbers. Where business conditions call for cost cutting respondents stated that they would look at natural attrition. This sentiment differs from the 2014 survey where 8% of businesses were considering decreasing employee numbers.

Respondents to the Dawson Partnership Survey included:

Sally Humphris, The Dawson Partnership

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Sally Humphris

Peter Dawson, founder of The Dawson Partnership, said yesterday: ‘I am delighted that Sally has agreed to join our firm at a time where we are experiencing growing demand for our services”.

Sally brings with her extensive knowledge of the financial services industry and a substantial network of trusted relationships gained over a twenty year period.

Sally’s career spans institutional stockbroking, retail and institutional investment management marketing, third party product distribution and executive recruitment having worked for Australian and international companies in both the Sydney and Melbourne markets.

‘I have known Peter throughout my career and he and I share the view that clients gain significant benefit from the experience we have gained from the senior executive roles we have held in the industry. This is reflected in our approach to candidate identification and screening and our in depth understanding of the industry. It was important to me that in making this move I was joining a firm where professionalism and integrity are the cornerstones of the business’s success.’

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Peter Dawson

I was reminded recently of how candidates can sabotage themselves in interviews when a financial planner called me to vent about an interview he had attended for a role with a large financial services group.

He came to our conversation with an armoury of incendiary abuse regarding the interviewer’s incompetence, lack of professionalism and inability to recognise his talents.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t a good fit for the role; in fact his skill set and experience put him at the front of the queue of candidates in consideration but his interview went south from an early stage when he thought that there was no appreciation of what he was able to bring to the table. Rather than working with the interviewer he took umbrage to a question about his achievements in a previous role. ‘If he knew anything about me he should have known that I had understated what I did in that role but he started asking a lot of questions he should have known the answer to’.

When I asked him how he thought he came across to the interviewer he missed the point saying that he now knows what he could do to grow the client’s business and didn’t appreciate how his abrasiveness was a likely deal breaker.

Candidates have a number of sabotage techniques they unwittingly draw on to ensure they implode in interviews including the abrasive approach just mentioned. The most common are:

• Lack of focus where answers to questions lack structure and often the candidate will tell a meandering story that loses the interviewer at an early stage of the telling. I know of one case where a practice manager told a story that had no relevance to the question asked and took all of ten minutes to tell it. I’m sure if there was an ejector button the interviewer would have taken considerable pleasure in pressing it.
• Jargon is often used to show case the candidate’s knowledge but often backfires when their responses are heavily littered with industry speak that only serves to negatively impact on their assessment.  This is particularly relevant to interviews where the interviewer is not an industry insider and finds they’re at a loss to understand what you are talking about.
• Waffling is common in interviews particularly where candidates are either unable or uncomfortable in answering a question. They focus on peripheral issues and steer the interviewer away from what was asked in the hope that they can distract them long enough so that they lose their train of thought or that they’ll give up and move to the next question.
• Fidgeting becomes a serious problem when candidates cling on to something like it’s their security blanket and use it as a prop for their answers to questions. I recall a senior financial planner from a private bank who wielded a shiny gold Mont Blanc pen like he was conducting Beethoven’s ninth all through the interview. My distraction grew very quickly in to annoyance and the ‘conductor’ was exited before he could get in to his next symphony.
• Mobile interruptus – here we are looking at someone who thinks that their need to answer their mobile or read and send texts or email is more important than the interview. I remember a business consultant who at the time was working for a global consulting firm spending more time on his mobile than talking to me. Needless to say he didn’t make the candidate short list and the next time I saw him was at a café where he was talking on his mobile while the other person at the table looked on painfully.
• Making inflammatory statements – the most common form of this is bad mouthing former colleagues and bosses or repeating negative rumours about companies. Malicious stories even if there is some truth to them are best avoided with a barge poll as they reflect a lack of professionalism. However sometimes interviewers when probing behavioural characteristics touch on a nerve. A senior executive was once asked what the first thing he would do if he was appointed Prime Minister and he replied that he would order the armed forces to attack one of our Asian neighbours as he thought they were a threat. Needless to say he didn’t get a call back for the role he was interviewing for.
• Telling jokes is the preserve of the fool hardy as we all know comedy is subject to taste and context. I have met only one candidate over the years who was able to effectively weave jokes in to an interview. He really had the talent to pick his audience and his timing was up there with professional comedians and if nothing else he couldn’t help but make you smile even when asked some pretty serious questions.

My advice to you budding comedians is to keep your jokes for another forum as there is nothing that kills an interview like a flat or inappropriate joke.

To avoid sabotaging your chances in an interview aim to build a rapport with the interviewer which is best done by answering what is asked of you directly and succinctly as possible and not taking them on a journey that goes nowhere, is loaded with jargon, distracting jokes or annoying phone calls or texts.

By Peter Dawson, The Dawson Partnership, Author of Successful Recruitment – Building your business through best practice

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