How can you successfully navigate the role of business manager in financial planning firms. Michelle Hoskin, managing director, Standards International, provides some key points from her years of experience.
In the competitive realm of financial planning firms, excelling in operations and retaining talented employees are key to long-term success and stability. Business managers play a significant role in ensuring these areas thrive, especially amidst a constantly changing market. Through strategic planning, process improvement, and effective people management, they create a solid operational framework and a positive workplace environment.
Setting the Stage for Operational Excellence
What is Operational Excellence?
Operational excellence in financial planning firms encompasses various areas such as adhering to best practice standards and rules, delivering excellent client service, and maintaining and continually improving robust internal processes. Consistently bringing all these elements together delivers outstanding value to everyone impacted by them. Achieving operational excellence is not a one-time goal but a continuous effort requiring regular check-ins and adjustments. In fact, excellence is the journey, not the destination.
The Role of Business Managers
Business managers are crucial for achieving operational excellence. They set goals, align team efforts, and implement policies that promote efficiency and best practice. Overseeing daily operations and making long-term decisions, they positively affect the firm’s growth and stability. Acting as a bridge between business owners and operational teams, they translate strategic goals into tactical actionable plans.
Improving Processes
Under a well-structured business development programme like the one offered by Standards International, business managers learn to apply strategies tailored to the unique needs of the practice. Our programmes, enriched by the experience from working with hundreds of businesses, imparts industry-specific knowledge to business managers. The strategies aim to refine operations, reduce waste, and improve overall efficiency, which is key to identifying and fixing operational roadblocks.
Fueling Growth Through Streamlined Processes
Growth Driven by Processes
Streamlined, sustainable and scalable processes are about more than just repeatability; they drive growth. When operations are efficient, effective and repeatable it saves resources, time and money, allowing the firm to focus on expansion, innovation, and client engagement. Happy and well supported clients often lead to better client retention and referrals, further driving growth.
Scalability and Adaptability
Operational excellence sets the foundation for scalability. Business managers need to be skilled in establishing and embedding processes that can handle increased demand without losing quality or efficiency. This requires forward planning, smart resource allocation, and the ability to quickly respond to market and firm changes.
Using Technology
In today’s digital age, technology is central to achieving operational excellence. Business managers can use tools like Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, automated compliance checks, and data analytics to enhance processes. They are also responsible for finding the right tech solutions that align with the firm’s goals and ensuring successful implementation.
Talent Retention Reflects Operational Excellence
The Connection
Operational excellence and talent retention are closely linked. A well-run firm is more likely to keep its employees, who find satisfaction in a well-done job and a business that values and recognises their input. High levels of operational excellence often result in lower employee turnover rates, saving the firm the costs and disruptions of frequent hiring.
Creating a Good Work Environment
Operational excellence contributes to a better work environment by reducing daily task frictions and promoting a culture of high performance and achievement. This leads to higher job satisfaction and talent retention. Business managers play a role in ensuring the work environment is both comfortable and empowering.
Strategies for a Retention-centric Culture
Fair recognition and rewards, continuous learning and development, open communication, and employee engagement are key strategies. Business managers, enriched by the training received from the development programme, arrange training programmes, mentorship schemes, and provide resources for self-improvement, fostering a culture of continuous growth and engagement.
Measuring and Refining
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Regular assessment through KPIs is crucial for understanding the effectiveness of operational and retention strategies. These metrics provide insights for improving existing processes. Business managers should extend their focus beyond financial KPIs to metrics related to employee satisfaction and client retention.
Feedback Loops and Continuous Improvement
Feedback is invaluable for continuous improvement. Business managers should set up ways to collect and analyse feedback from both employees and clients to enhance operational processes and improve retention efforts. This could include regular surveys, client conversations, and even external audits for an unbiased view of the firm’s operations.
Case Studies
Illustrative case studies from financial planning firms show the transformative impact of skilled business management in achieving operational excellence and talent retention. These case studies underline the tangible benefits of a structured approach to business development and management, especially when enriched by industry-specific training and development programmes.
Operational excellence, growth, and talent retention are interlinked, with business managers at the heart. Their varied role, from refining processes, managing talent to making strategic long-term decisions, greatly contributes to a firm’s success and sustainability in the challenging landscape of financial planning firms. The structured business development programme offered by Standards International significantly enhances the operational and managerial efficacy in financial planning firms, preparing business managers to navigate the complex financial sector effectively.
