DePardo said, “Your organizational structure should be creating a career path. As you grow, you can progress from role to role to role.”
She added, “Whether you are a wealth manager, family planner, investment manager or family office, those decisions will influence your structure. The challenge is to get the balance right between the client experience and efficiency.”
The path for many firms as they increase in size is that they usually increase in specialization. To know a firm is headed in the right direction, she recommended focusing in on metrics like revenue-per-revenue generator and revenue-per-full-time equivalent.
If one does not focus on the metrics, it can be hard to generate growth, as firms get overwhelmed with work and cannot handle all the prospects. She believes firms should ask themselves, “How quickly are we growing and are we seeing any challenges?”
Additional (median) metrics were shown to guide hiring decisions:
• 1.3 = a little more than one non-revenue role supports each revenue role
• 1 in 4 = lead advisors account for one in four full-time employees
• 1 in 10 = one full-time employee out of 10 represents a management or technical position
• $228,000 = this is the point in revenue growth where one additional full-time employees is added (median)
Be A Standout At No Matter Your Size
In another session, DePardo gave more advice to be a standout firm at each stage.