Carson Coaching Chronicle Issue #13: Managing Stakeholders and Designing a Stellar Stakeholder Experience

Are you treating your employees as well as you treat your clients? ?

Forbes notes that doing so can lead to higher retention—maybe even a “hire to retire” type of pipeline. Plus, Forbes also reported that treating employees well can have a positive impact on your company’s bottom line because employees who are taken care of will turn around and take care of your clients. ?

Executive Business Coach Michael Rose advises you take a minute and ask yourself: “What would I want to experience if I were an employee versus an employer?” ?

The answers could range from being able to have flex time to leave early during the summer to having casual office days when there is no client work. Maybe it’s offering professional development stipends or having regular check-in meetings. Or it could be having an employee wellness program. ?

It’s critical to answer this question honestly and identify gaps between the type of stakeholder experience you want to create and the one you are creating, then close the gaps. ?

In this issue of the Carson Coaching Chronicle, we offer you:??

• Guidance on?how to create an employee experience that leads to better client experience. ?
• Access a free resource from Carson Coaching – plus invites to some other free events!??
• Insight into what we’re reading.??
• Some stats and facts that might be top of mind for your clients.??
• The inside track on advice from our coaches on how to get out of your own way.

Let’s get into it! ?

Better Employee Experience = Better Client Experience?

Many new advisors fail within the first three years, according to RIA Intel and Cerulli. And more than 100,000 advisors are set to retire within the next decade. So it’s critical to retain the talent you do have by creating a stellar employee experience.??

Executive Business Coach J.J. Peller writes in his latest Journal of Financial Planning article that doing so can lead to increased revenues and happier clients.?

But what are the elements of a stellar employee experience? J.J. says it includes the following:??

• Flexibility. Employees highly value flexibility – some people might even be willing to take pay cuts for more flexibility and remote options. Some ideas for increased flexibility include having flex hours during the summer where employees can rearrange their schedules to leave early on Fridays. Or institute a policy where employees have the final two weeks of the year off without it counting against their PTO.??
• Focus on outcomes rather than hours worked. This can lead to increased productivity and employee satisfaction.?
• Check in regularly. Checking in with employees can help prevent burnout and identify areas where they are passionate or feeling unfulfilled.?

• Offer opportunities for professional development. Offer employees the opportunity to go to conferences, training sessions and workshops. This can sharpen their skills while also keeping them engaged and motivated.??
• Promote a culture of recognition and reward. This can include rewards like bonuses or public acknowledgement, which can boost morale.??
• Foster an inclusive environment. Welcoming diverse perspectives can lead to more creativity and innovation.??

This is just a brief sample of some ideas! Check out the full article for more. And remember, employees who have a great experience will in turn provide a great client experience. Everybody wins! ??

Closing the Gap: Getting Where You Want to Be?

What is the key to getting your firm from where it is to where you want it to be? Michael Rose writes in his latest blog that the key lies somewhere at the intersection between staffing and service models. But since this month’s topic of the month is designing a stakeholder experience, let’s just focus on the staffing model.??

Michael notes there are two major elements to a quality staffing model: organizational design and retention, which both have numerous segments.??

Solid organizational design and clear expectations. This encompasses designing roles that are clearly laid out and communicated and that use your team members’ strengths and preferences so you can maximize efficiency (and satisfaction!)

Retaining your rock stars. Among the most important things in retaining your team members is to have clear career paths, reporting structures and regular performance reviews. Lastly, consider also promoting and designing career paths for non-advisor roles.??

And remember to keep asking yourself that question in this newsletter’s introduction regularly. And if your reality is different from your answer, find ways to close the gap! ?

?? What We’ve Got for You This Month??

This month, you have access to a range of events and resources. Here’s what we’ve got for you this month:?

90-Day Check-In Meeting Guide. Earlier in the newsletter, J.J. Peller recommended regularly checking in with your stakeholders to ensure everything is going well and on track. You should be checking in with them regularly, but especially for new hires, it’s critical to check in with them after the first 90 days. Use this resource to help guide your meeting and ask questions that will make it a success!

Group Coaching Call with J.J. Peller. Join us for a free Group Coaching Call, co-powered by the Financial Planning Association (FPA) , where we’ll dive into ways to design a successful stakeholder experience. Register for the call, which will be at 1 p.m., Central, on June 11.??

ReFrame Live. Join us on June 20 at noon, Central, for a ReFrame Live interview with Carson Partner Development Associate Amanda Bearden, CFP? on how mentorship, sponsorship and a positive mindset helped her pass her CFP exam. Put it on your calendar!

Framework Series on Trends in Investing. Join Ana Maria T. this month as she interviews Carson Group SMEs like Jacob Bleicher, CFA , Jessica Golson, CIPM and Erin Wood CFP?, FBS? to talk trends in investing and Carson’s Women CEO strategy. Subscribe so you don’t miss these episodes!??

?? What We’re Reading??

Our team of lifelong learners is big on reading. Here’s what we’ve been reading this month that you might want to check out!?

• What if you could create moments your clients would remember forever? Or create moments for your employees that would make them feel valued, special and part of the team? You can, according to Chip Heath and Dan Heath in The Power of Moments. This book can help you learn how to create those powerful moments for both your clients and employees. The book dives into how?the most powerful experiences in our lives have these four elements: insight, connection, price and elevation. You shouldn’t leave creating incredible moments to chance – you should actively shape them. This book can show you how. ?
• This month, our content is focused on how to build the ultimate employee experience. But equally important is having the ultimate employee. Many leaders must engage in talent development and team building. One book that can help with that is The Ideal Team Player by Patrick M. Lencioni. Lencioni dives into the virtues of great team players, including hunger, humility and having people smarts. Lencioni offers a framework to evaluate talent based on these attributes to build your dream team. ?

?? Top of Mind: 10 Stats and Facts??

Here are some stats and facts in the news that might be top of mind for your clients!?

56%...Percentage of respondents to a Guardian poll who say they think the U.S. is in a recession. (CNBC)?

70%...Percentage of respondents to a 2023 Forbes Advisor survey who said they were either living paycheck to paycheck or that their income doesn’t cover their standard expenses. (Forbes)?

49%...Percentage of Baby Boomer respondents who say they’re living paycheck to paycheck, which is a higher percentage than any other generation. (Forbes)?

$333,945...The average retirement savings for all families in the U.S. (Federal Reserve as reported by Motley Fool) ?

$87,000...The median retirement savings account balance in the U.S. (Federal Reserve as reported by Motley Fool)?

79%...Percentage of Americans who agree that there is a retirement crisis, up from 67% in 2020. (Forbes) ?

2 in 3...The number of Americans who worry more about running out of money in retirement than they worry about death. (Allianz)?

43%...Percentage of respondents who say high inflation contributes to their worry of running out of money. (Allianz)?

$54,600...The figure that student loan borrowers over the age of 55 are earning less than. (CNBC)?

11...The average number of years it will take workers age 55 to 64 to pay off their student loans. (CNBC)?

The Inside Track: What the Coaches are Saying About Getting Out of Your Own Way

We want to give you some insight from our coaches, so they weighed in on this question: “Where do you see advisors getting in their own way?”?

Here’s what they had to say:??

“Not delegating out effectively to your team. Not providing clarity on what needs to be done, expectations on timelines, what you need to do if they need help. Make sure that you’re really delegating to elevate those around you.”??

— Jessica Colston, MS, PCC ?

“One place I’ve seen advisors – and frankly all humans – get in their own way is when they focus on what they’ll lose instead of what they’ll gain. It’s very easy, specifically around control, to feel like we’re going to lose control of something if I give this thing up. But the reality is we gain so much more freedom and opportunity to the upside by letting go of certain things, by letting go of the control of certain decisions or actions within the business. As soon as you let something go, you have the opportunity to reach for something new.”??

— J.J. Peller

“Don’t always make someone come into the office to meet with you or think of that as being the official start of a prospect opportunity. Sometimes it’s just a follow-up phone call after you’ve chatted with somebody for a while. Call people out of the blue and say, ‘Hey, I’m just taking a chance so I could get ahold of you to finish up what we just talked about the other day.’ Then take it one step at a time and see where it goes from there.??

— Tammy Breitenbach, ACC, MBA

Check out the full video of our coaches answering this question here:??

Want More???

Did you like this newsletter? Then you might like our platform Carson Coaching Online, where you can get access to more content like courses, resources, ghostwritten articles (such as our beloved Weekly Market Commentary) and greeting cards.??

See if membership might be a good fit for you. Visit our website or email us at [email protected]. Or, schedule your complimentary 30-minute coaching exploratory call today with Katie Trout, Client Relationship Specialist.

If you need some help with designing a stakeholder experience, give us a call! With Carson Coaching, you don't just have one person, you have a whole team.?

We will see you again in next month!?

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