Tips for successfully implementing adviser technology

Math, science and engineering often are considered the most difficult academic subjects. But anyone who has ever been involved in implementing new software tools knows that technology is easy; people are hard.

In the advisory business, putting in place new tools to help improve workflow and business process is particularly difficult. Each firm tends to believe that its approach to solving client problems is unique. For that reason, and because the focus and passion of advisory firm principals typically centers on new-business generation and investments rather than operations, deciding on which technologies to employ and then using the tools most effectively is a process that often generates frustration.

In several sessions at the recent Laserfiche Empower 2016 conference in Long Beach, Calif., advisers and advisory firm executives discussed how they implemented new technology, and especially the new Laserfiche Enterprise Content Management system. The following are some of their suggestions and recommendations, based on their experiences of what worked and what didn’t.

Amy Flourry, Director of Operations, Rehmann Financial, Troy, Mich.
“Since people vary in how receptive they are to something new — a few at our firm were all in from the start while others wouldn’t give up their yellow pads — we try anything new on a target group and then roll it out from there. If you show people the value to them personally of a new method or tool you’re rolling out, they’ll want to use it. So you have to try to figure out that sweet piece of information and then shamelessly use it. The process involves endless communication: We have to talk to the people using the new tool day in and day out. If there’s one thing I would have done differently in rollouts it would have been to listen more to our VAR (value-added reseller) and take smaller, simpler steps. It would have saved us months of work.” Watch Amy Flourry, Director of Operations for Rehmann Financial, on the secrets to setting up processes – and unlocking untapped efficiencies.

Ken Evans, Chief Operating Officer, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors, Seattle, Wash.
“Although you often want to use the stick to get people on board, it’s better to use the carrot. We focus on user groups, and try to stay in front of the groups and talk to them to find out how the process is going. Early on, we didn’t track who was submitting documents. Then we started to do it so we can figure out who’s using the tool and who’s not and then follow up with them directly. We’ve found that people have to get comfortable with the change in their individual work style, so achieving an 80 percent solution and tweaking it from there is better than shooting for perfection. And if there’s one thing I would have done differently, it would have been to pay more attention to the associate advisers and their importance in the process of updating information.” Watch Ken Evans from Moss Adams Wealth Advisors on why technology integration is critical to effectively managing ‘big data’ and client information.

Timothy Delaney, Director of Operations, Wall Street Financial Group, Fairport, N.Y.
“We’ve found that using pilot groups has been the best way to see where we’d get the most benefit from implementing technology. As in an independent broker-dealer, we also found that in working with our affiliated advisers it all came down to money. If we show them how they can save money through technology — such as by eliminating the cost of overnighting documents or by getting paid quicker ¬— they are willing to change. Inside the firm, where we needed adoption first, we showed how new technology would save time and make life easier so everyone would not feel so overworked.”

Linda Schecter, Records Manager, Tocqueville Asset Management, New York, N.Y.
“For the first four years, we used Laserfiche as a filing cabinet; last year, we started to automate some of our processes. There was a lot of resistance, so we started small. First, we set up a test system that wouldn’t interfere with the existing workflow. Then we set out to automate our quarterly transaction report. Currently, we’re working on a new account-opening form. Every Wednesday morning at 10, we have a group conference call with our firm team and our VAR to see where we are in each process improvement. It’s a matter of tackling one small project successfully before moving onto the next.”

Adrian Darmawan Chief Technology Officer, First Foundation, Irvine, Calif.
“We started as an RIA in 1990 and opened a bank in 2007, and our challenge now is tying together our 325 people working in 12 locations using multiple systems and different processes. We chose Laserfiche, and our plan was to first get buy-in from the firm’s executives, who were interested in the cost savings; department heads, who were interested in efficiencies; and then the actual users, with whom we talked about how the work actually got done. It all involved lots of meetings and discussions. We also found that the projects we tackle have to be the right size. If they’re too big, users start losing interest because the project takes too long. If the project is too small, it’s too insignificant and people don’t think it will make a big enough difference to make their time investment worthwhile. If you roll things out in phases it allows users to remain excited and expect that more new and better things are coming.”

For more information on implementing adviser technology, watch the video Keys to Combatting Compliance Constraints. and visit the Laserfiche Enterprise Content Management microsite.