The Battle for Talent

The competition for talent has not only tightened for clients but for adviser’s own firms, according to top plan advisers speaking at an Advisers in Conversation seminar ahead of the 2024 PLANADVISER Industry Leader Awards dinner on Wednesday.

“Now one of the biggest challenges that we’re facing is this war on talent,” said Joe DeBello, vice president of CAPTRUST. “It’s still extremely hot and that’s not going away. Our labor force is shrinking. It is a constant barrage from committees and HR professionals wanting to understand where they stand from a benefits perspective, as the competition is really heated up for talent.”

To address these challenges, advisers need to talk about how plan design stacks up from an outcomes perspective, making sure that they’re engaging plan participants, according to DeBello. He said when he first joined the industry it was a “badge of honor” that an adviser just focused on the plan. Now, plan sponsors are asking advisers to do more.

Leah Sylvester, executive partner and president of retirement plans at Shepherd Financial, said she is also trying to learn how to help clients recruit new talent, and agrees advisers must expand their offering.

“I’m really learning about the facets of how plan sponsors can meet the growing needs of retaining and recruiting talented individuals,” she said. “And some of the things that we’re learning along the way is how many employers are facing the student loan crisis that they did not know they even had within their population.”

Sylvester said the idea of plan design continues to broaden as advisers figure out what plan sponsors need to draw and retain employees. Having additional value adds as part of a consulting practice is the way to win business, keep business and be able to help employers navigate their ever-changing benefits landscape, she noted.

Advisers too are trying to overcome challenges of talent acquisition within their own practices. Chuck Williams, CEO of Finspire, said a common mistake he has come across is advisers seeking out successors with the same age and background as him and many others in the industry.

“What you want to make sure is that you have a natural progression for talent,” he said. “We’re training the next group coming in so there’ll be people filling in our spots. That’s how we’re doing it in our organization.”

Janine Moore, senior vice president and retirement practice leader, Hub Retirement and Wealth Management, said she’s run into her own problems with succession planning as well. She has learned to be more careful about her expectations of other people.

“I invested a lot of time and energy into somebody that I trusted wholeheartedly, and unfortunately, they left us unexpectedly at the worst possible time,” she said. “It taught me not to put all my eggs in one basket.”

Moore also discussed how she looks for talent to join her organization. Early in her career, she noticed that clients would approach her because she didn’t look like the “typical financial adviser.” They felt comfortable talking to her for that reason, so she decided that her mission was to expose the retirement industry to more people like herself.

“I have worked very hard to find women and people of color throughout the industry to mentor,” she said. “I’m big on diversity panels and those types of events. I’m also big on finding talent through non-traditional avenues.”