Financial services firm Edward Jones’ branch-team concept—one branch office administrator and one financial advisor serving clients in a neighborhood branch—is one of its competitive advantages. This is how the firm provides an ideal client experience and grows deeply served households, financial advisors, and assets under care. And the administrator is Edward Jones’ client-service secret weapon, with client surveys demonstrating a high correlation between satisfaction with the administrator and overall satisfaction. If a financial advisor leaves, the firm tries to keep the administrator in the branch. Because if administrators stay, so do more clients.
In March 2012, Edward Jones completed rollout of Zero-to-12 Onboarding and Support in an attempt to reduce high turnover among its newest U.S. branch office administrators and create effective branch teams more quickly. Zero-to-12 prioritizes the new administrator’s learning experience to focus on improving efficiency, effectiveness, and customer service most highly valued by clients. Tailored Zero-to-12 coaching encourages the financial advisor to exercise leadership skills with the administrator and the administrator to proactively contribute to branch business goals.
Program Details
This initiative was unique in several ways:
- Edward Jones had never offered a cohesive 12-month onboarding and training program for new administrators.
- Edward Jones had never involved the branch team—financial advisor and administrator—in the process.
- Edward Jones had never required new financial advisors to participate in a virtual instructor-led (VILT) session and confer with a coach about choosing the right candidate and effectively leading the branch before administrators were hired. Additional financial-advisor VILT and coaching during the year also is new.
- Edward Jones had never offered so many VILT sessions or so many customized learning experiences for the administrator, the financial advisor, and the team targeted at onboarding and creating a successful team.
- Edward Jones had never dedicated home-office development specialists to coach the team through the entire 12-month period. These specialists help the administrator contribute to business results more quickly, the financial advisor to exercise leader of the branch skills, and the team to communicate and collaborate on expectations and business planning.
- Edward Jones had never used capstone activities to improve branch-team skills, with administrators completing a task, conferring with their financial advisors, then both rating the other’s performance and participating in a coaching call concluding with an action plan. This occurs every three months.
The firm continued expanding existing best practices, including: interactive online learning bolstered by new courses, simulations, and knowledge checks; regular conference calls for groups of new administrators; and mentoring by veteran branch office administrators, with in-person branch observations required.
Results
Less than 2.5 years after Zero-to-12 was fully implemented, there was a significant shift in Level 1 feedback. In 2011, administrators rated onboarding and training 46 percent positive and financial advisors only 6 percent positive. By July, administrators rated Zero-to-12 86 percent positive and financial advisors 82 percent positive.
In addition, important measures of client satisfaction, branch team performance, and engagement improved:
- U.S. CEI (client engagement index) increased 21 points on a 500-point scale from 2010 through end of 2013, mostly due to clients’ rating of administrator service. That rating alone jumped 10 percent.
- Branch office administrator engagement rose two points—to 90 percent—last year on the Region Climate Survey.
- Most significantly, administrator trainee attrition dropped. From a high of 21.7 percent in June 2012, turnover plunged to 16.7 percent in July.
- Markets have been good but branch team performance is spectacular, with 92 percent of branches meeting or exceeding expectations and firm goals for net new assets and relationships deeply served far exceeded.
Retaining effective administrators empowered to strengthen client relationships is key to achieving branch and firm goals. This initiative proves that training and coaching both the new associate and that associate’s close supervisor in tandem creates more effective, more satisfied teams pulling in the same direction.
