CONSULTING > insightsGetting Started with Career Tracks
Instead of trying to create a comprehensive chart showing how to progress from associate to senior advisor, Herbers & Company recommends starting with a simpler, more incremental approach to career pathing.
Written By Herbers & Company Senior Consulting Team
A significant challenge for financial advisory firms is attracting and retaining talented professionals to serve their clients, while ensuring sufficient client-service capacity as the business expands. The fastest-growing firms excel in this area, largely because they have established career tracks.
Career tracks provide a distinct advantage in recruiting and retention because top talent in the financial advisory industry—and in any industry—seek more than just financial compensation. They aspire to build meaningful careers and contribute to organizations that engage in impactful work. Career tracks demonstrate to both candidates and employees that their dedication and effort will lead to substantial career advancement.
Why Career Tracks Are Important
So, why haven’t all advisory firms implemented career tracks? The primary reason is often a lack of clarity among firm leaders on how to begin. The various aspects of career progression can make career tracks appear complex and overwhelming. However, as with many seemingly daunting challenges, the key is to simplify the process. A good starting point is identifying the key roles within your team or the team you envision.
While job titles may differ across firms, most organizations have three primary financial advisor roles. Each role can have its own advancement path, and all three can be integrated into a cohesive career track. The first key role is that of associate advisors, whose goal is to start working with clients in a supportive capacity as soon as possible. Lead advisors (sometimes referred to as service advisors) can work independently with clients. Lastly, senior advisors are typically more experienced and may possess specialized expertise.
Rather than attempting to create a comprehensive chart that outlines progression from associate to senior advisor, Herbers & Company recommends a simpler, more incremental approach. Begin by selecting one of the three roles and clearly defining the qualifications required, the core responsibilities involved, and the criteria for success—the milestones needed to progress to the next level or role. For each role, a forward progression path can be established by outlining the position in three levels, each with its own set of qualifications, responsibilities, and definitions of success as illustrated below.
In the example provided above, note that each role is broken down into three categories: qualifications, core responsibilities, and criteria for success. The subsequent levels follow the same format, specifying advanced qualifications, responsibilities, and success criteria for the associate advisor role. Qualifications, core responsibilities, and success criteria should be clear, unambiguous, and quantifiable wherever possible. This allows employees to understand precisely what is required to advance to the next level and ultimately to move up to a higher role.
The illustration provided is intentionally straightforward. The career tracks we develop with our clients are far more detailed. However, the key takeaway is that there is a manageable way to organize career tracks and begin developing them. Once this framework is in place, your firm will have a consistent, objective method for evaluating individual growth and readiness for advancement, one that is understood by both leadership and employees. Over time, as you gain experience and move employees through the career track, you can refine and expand upon your initial efforts.
Once a basic framework for career track progression is developed, your firm will be well-positioned to create or enhance another critical area of employee management: training programs.
Training programs, when paired with career tracks, form a powerful combination for recruitment and retention. From an employee's perspective, your firm will not only provide a roadmap for career advancement but also actively support their professional development. There is nothing more valuable to a financial advisory firm than engaged employees, and career tracks combined with training programs are powerful tools to attract and retain your most valuable talent.
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