In recruiting, use online connections

It seems like you can’t crack open an industry publication these days without stumbling on an article about succession planning — and for good reason.

Thousands of financial advisers are approaching the end of their career and face the reality that they can’t continue to run their practice forever. Not only must they determine the value of their practice and how they plan to transition out of it, they must also figure out who will fill their shoes.

Although most advisers with whom we work tell me that they will have to be dragged from their office kicking and screaming, that isn’t necessarily the best thing for clients.

Although the best answer would seem to be to find someone within their organization who can succeed them, sometimes there simply isn’t a logical candidate.

In other cases, the need to seek a quality candidate arises not from impending retirement but because advisers realize that they can’t be all things to all people and decide to round out the team.

Regardless of the situation, the adviser must ask a few questions.

Do the candidates’ background, credentials and areas of expertise fit what I am looking for? Are they accustomed to dealing with and knowledgeable about my target market? Would their client interaction and communication skills be an extension of me?

These are tough questions and certainly ones in which the majority of the answers can’t be gleaned from looking at a paper résumé. Sifting through résumés takes time, as does interviewing people multiple times.

Your time is crunched already. So why not leverage social media to gain the information you need?

HOW TO FIND THE PERFECT FIT

Here are a few tips to help you find your match.

Are the candidate’s background, credentials and areas of expertise a fit? Perform an “advanced search” on LinkedIn, looking specifically for the background or credentials that you want. Use keywords (financial adviser, CPA, estate planning, etc.) and be sure to search only second- or third-degree connections. You want your search to yield only those to whom you can be easily introduced. One of our clients uses this method religiously, performing targeted LinkedIn advanced searches of only second-degree connections and then asking for an introduction to that candidate. In most cases, if the person seems to be a fit, the common connection goes the extra step and arranges a meeting for them.

Does the candidate have experience with my target market? By reviewing profiles of potential candidates, you can often glean the type of work they do or the type of clients with whom they work. Does their experience match up well with your practice? Further, if you connect with a candidate online, you can view his or her professional network. As a new team member, this individual will need to build his or her own network, instead of relying solely on yours.

Would the candidate’s client interaction and communication skills be an extension of me? Anytime you add someone to your team, whether a successor, junior partner or staff member, that person is an extension of you. You can’t be everywhere all the time, and your clients don’t expect you to. But your clients do expect you to surround yourself with a team that is a natural extension of how you do business. Use social media to find the centers of influence and clients who know the candidates you are interviewing, and ask them whether they think a candidate’s a fit. You likely will be surprised by their candidness.

As an example, a large investment firm for which I provide consulting services was looking to bring over an adviser from another firm. In researching the candidate, one partner noticed that they had a mutual LinkedIn connection — an attorney who had long been a client of the firm. The partner made a phone call to inquire about the candidate, and the attorney replied, “He’s a good enough guy, but I know you and your firm well, and he’s not you.” When asked to clarify, the attorney said that in the marketplace, the candidate just didn’t carry himself the way the firm’s other advisers did.

You can’t find that kind of input on paper. It’s found only by seeking feedback from those already connected to your candidate. And social media is a critical tool to help you do so.

Selecting the right candidate for your team isn’t an easy job. It takes time and patience. But by leveraging social media to research and seek feedback on job candidates, you can focus your search and help bring the right people on board efficiently.

In this business, relationships are the key component in making your online interactions fruitful.

Kristin Andree (kristin@andreemedia .com) is president of Andree Media & Consulting.