The mere mention of advisory practice work flow — or even thinking about how the work gets done (or doesn't) in an advisory business — is enough to cause many advisers' eyes to glaze over.
But my own experience as an adviser and my countless discussions with other advisers convince me that getting a handle on work flow is central to the success and profitability of any advisory business. It's almost impossible to improve efficiency or streamline a practice in ways that make sense operationally and financially without written documentation of everything you do for clients and how that work gets done.
Just think of the times you have hired staff or bought expensive software only to feel that the investment didn't pay off.
Creating a work flow system need not be daunting. Essentially, there are three components: the work flow, or the high-level view of the task itself; the detailed procedures that support the work flow and provide the step-by-step instructions of how to complete the task; and the checklists and templates that support the procedures, such as forms, spreadsheets or diagrams.
To start, create a vision of what your “perfect practice” would look like.
If you are planning-oriented, do you envision prospects going through a thorough planning process and then coming in for periodic checkups? If you are more of an investment manager, do you see yourself issuing regular reports and asking clients to come in periodically for performance updates?
Whatever your vision, write it down in a few paragraphs and share it with your staff members and strategic partners. They should all share your vision of where the firm is heading.
Once you have buy-in, ask them to become involved in the work flow creation process.
Start small. Don't plan to document your entire business at once, but rather start with one or two important areas. I recommend that you pick an area that is in disarray, perhaps the way you open accounts or schedule meetings.
Whichever area you select, ask everyone involved in the process to write down every step that needs to be done.
Once your work flow steps in that area are documented, you likely will see redundancies or steps that can be fine-tuned. Make those changes and then test and tweak each new procedure that you have created.
Continue on to the next area of your business and repeat the process of documenting, assessing, modifying, testing and tweaking.
As you will discover, a work flow system isn't static. It should change dynamically as your business evolves and as you add technology or improve your procedures.
The key is having a dynamic work flow system that is documented at every step, simple to use and kept updated as steps change.
The actual documentation of the outlined steps need not be complex. Word or Excel documents accessible by everyone in the organization work fine, with work flow steps listed simply in numerical order.
Admittedly, starting the work flow documentation process — which involves identifying each step of your procedures and putting those steps in writing — is a bit like taking a swig of cod liver oil: not exactly tasty, especially for those who don't delight in administrative detail. But the business benefits are well worth the slight initial unpleasantness.
A documented work flow system builds efficiency into your practice, which reduces errors and cuts costs. It also creates a consistent client experience that helps retain your best clients and serves to attract new clients like them.
And to be honest, once you take the first few steps, you're likely to be inspired to continue forging ahead.
With a work flow system in place, your business can deliver more- comprehensive and more-sophisticated services because much of the work can be handled faster. The standardization of daily tasks means that compliance becomes more manageable and new technology is easier to implement.
It also means the business is less likely to be held hostage by one or more key employees. All these benefits, of course, translate into a more salable and more valuable business.
Whenever I speak about the value of a documented work flow system, most advisers nod in agreement but never get around to starting the process. I challenge you to give it a try.
You have nothing to lose except inefficiency.
Deborah Fox heads the Fox Financial Planning Network. She can be reached at dfox@foxfinancial planningnetwork.com.
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