A financial advice recruiter has shared his tips for hiring in an adviser exodus where labour shortages mean employees have the upper hand.
There was an adviser exodus currently with the industry falling below 16,000 for the first time last week, according to Wealth Data. This meant there was lack of supply and high demand for those advisers who had met the educational requirements and had a clean compliance record.
According to Warren Corston, principal consultant at Kaizen Recruitment, firms were being forced to raise their salary offers as candidates were being offered counter-offers by their current workplaces to remain.
He said the firm was tending to recruit within six to eight weeks but it depended on the seniority of the role.
“Salaries are going up to attract talent, firms are facing advisers being offered more in counter offers because of the shortage and then having to up their offers. Lots of big firms want advisers who have the education and the clean record of compliance and that gets harder to find when there’s an adviser exodus.”
From an adviser perspective, John Cachia, founder of the AFA Wealth Group, also said he had noticed candidates were seeking higher salaries than they were three years ago.
“People who were advisers used to look for $75k three years ago, now it’s more like $95k plus super. It’s an employee market at the moment.”
As to what was attractive to candidates, Corston said it depended on the seniority of the role the firm was seeking.
“For junior advisers, they want opportunities for progression, they are looking for a Professional Year and opportunities to grow and learn. For senior ones, they are looking at the firm’s breadth of offering and what it can offer future clients and the support given such as paraplanners and customer support.
“If you want to recruit, look for flexibility in your offering, look at the support structure and look at how competitive you can be with salaries.”
Cachia said he was starting the recruitment process six months early as the firm wanted to find staff who would be a good fit with the company.
“They need to have the right cultural fit, be driven and impactful and be committed. It is better to hire slowly and fire quickly than the other way around.”
To hear more about attracting a future-fit workforce into your advice practice, come along to the ifa Future Forum, run by Money Management’s sister publication ifa, on 16 November at the Montage in Sydney.
Click here to register to attend.
