Doctors are not known for their soft skills, hence all the jokes about bedside manner.
There’s no question they are technically proficient. Before practicing, they must undertake five to six years of study, complete a one to two year internship and pass the Australian Medical Council exam but there isn’t much upfront and ongoing training on soft skills like listening, empathy and rapport building.
When it comes to soft skills and emotional intelligence, financial advisers have it all over doctors and many other professionals too.
Natural personality traits are part of the reason, but soft skills can also be learned and honed.
While the government sets the minimum education and training standards for advisers, and ASIC is responsible for implementing and overseeing them, the advice ecosystem, including licensees and life companies, has traditionally played an important role in helping advisers build both technical and interpersonal skills.
As advice businesses grow and establish offices in multiple locations, there is an opportunity for them to play a bigger role in the ongoing training and professional development of their people and, in doing so, deliver a better client experience, reduce variance, and gain a unique competitive advantage.
In other industries, it’s common for large, national businesses to develop their own training programs.
For example, hospitality company Merivale has earned a reputation for consistently good food and service, albeit pricey, by putting its people, which are spread over 80 venues, through the Merivale Development Program. This bespoke program provides extensive inhouse training and ongoing career progression opportunities.
However, company-specific training programs are rare in advice, due in part to its cottage industry roots.
Some may argue that they are unnecessary given the mandated education and training obligations already in place but for business leaders with ambitions to build a national firm, through both organic activity and by acquiring and partnering with other businesses, customised training and resources can help establish one clear way of doing things across a group including promoting a common value proposition, ideal client, and client engagement model.
They can help ensure that clients not only receive consistent advice but a consistently excellent client experience, irrespective of who their adviser is and where they are based.
While every adviser is different and should be encouraged to embrace their own style and personality, it’s important for people operating under the same brand, as part of the same firm, to sing from the same hymn sheet when it comes to standards, values and advice philosophy.
Advisers and clients aren’t the only ones who stand to benefit. Businesses will benefit too from greater simplicity, transparency and confidence, making it easier for them to scale.
They can also minimise the risk of bringing on the wrong type of adviser by being clear and upfront about their expectations, so people can self-assess their fit.
As such, customised training programs are effective tools for attracting like-minded people and fostering business identity, unity and collaboration.
But they must be more than an onboarding tool, although it should form part of the onboarding process. To have a significant impact, training and development must be an ongoing exercise.
Programs should be regularly updated to incorporate internal feedback and reflect the latest thinking and training methods.
Proprietary programs are also an excellent way to bring corporate values to life by reinforcing key messages and promoting ideal behaviours.
Corporate values should not be a static page on a website or on the wall in the kitchenette.
Effective and relevant
For businesses thinking about how best to invest in their people, the most effective programs build on the key areas advisers need support in but are often neglected in technical training programs, such as relationship building skills and leadership skills.
They may leverage and incorporate models and methods that are well known and have been tried and tested, but then add proprietary insights and their own style to ensure relevance and uniqueness.
For example, at Fitzpatricks, our Lead Adviser Program teaches our people how to position our value proposition, advice process, and pricing methodology. Advisers are coached on how to engage clients and have effective conversations on issues like goal setting, risk profiling, investing and establishing referral partnerships.
As the shape, structure and size of advice businesses evolve, customised training programs will become more common and play a bigger role in helping businesses corporatise and scale up. Technology will play a major role too in helping streamline the advice process, automate tasks and drive efficiencies but ultimately advice is a relationship business.
Advisers listen, understand, guide and reassure, making both technical and soft skills a must.
The most successful firms will be those that can effectively develop and train their people to deliver advice their way while also empowering them to embrace their own unique style and personality.
