Best Places to Work 2021: How top firms stood out in a year of change

The winners of InvestmentNews’ 2021 Best Places to Work for Financial Advisers are in, and the unique approaches of this year’s top industry employers show how firms can remain attractive workplaces even as the nature of office life has shifted dramatically.

As part of the selection process for the Best Places, firms completed a questionnaire outlining the benefits they offer to employees and the workplace policies they have in place. The policies with the largest gaps in adoption between Best Places and other firms — the biggest differentiators of the top employers — are displayed below.

Each year, these surveys tell us that although traditional pay and benefits are important to employees, they are not enough to become a top destination in a competitive talent market. This year, the standout policies also show how the industry’s top employers are shining when, in many cases, their workplaces have become a constellation of home offices.

PAID PARENTAL LEAVE

Paid parental leave shot to the top of the standout policies among the 2021 Best Places. Eighty-four percent of these firms offer fully or partially paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child, compared with 59% of other firms. Nationally, only 14% of civilian workers have access to paid family leave, according to the National Conference of State Legislators, and about 40% of workers lack access even to unpaid leave. Not only are the Best Places far ahead of the pack on paid leave for a new child; each one also offers flexibility to accommodate school and family events. Employee time for family has become more salient amid widespread disruption to parents’ usual childcare arrangements, and it is important for preventing burnout, especially among working mothers. According to an InvestmentNews Research survey late last year, women in the industry were about twice as likely to be working longer hours due to the pandemic.

FLEXIBLE HOURS

Flexibility also helps address burnout. In prior years, many top employers differentiated themselves with telecommuting options. Now that the pandemic has shifted remote work from a perk for the few to an obligation for many, more flexible work hours are helping the Best Places stand out. As a standard year-round practice, 77% of Best Places offer flexible work hours or a compressed workweek, compared with 53% of other firms. Flexible workweeks may remain a standout perk going forward, with so much uncertainty about the future of in-person work. According to a recent survey by polling firm Gallup, two-thirds of workers hope to continue working remotely after the pandemic.

PROFIT-SHARING PLANS

It’s fitting that financial advisories that help clients secure retirement would be attentive to the retirement benefits they offer their own employees. Virtually every firm surveyed for the Best Places program offered their staff a 401(k) and a large majority — whether they made the cut or not — offered matching contributions. The Best Places stand out, however, by being about twice as likely to offer a profit-sharing component in their retirement plan. Beyond the financial incentives such plans offer employees, many workplaces institute profit-sharing to build a culture of ownership and invest employees more fully in the organization’s success. Whether through profit-sharing or other means, the Best Places have achieved that goal: altogether, 96% of employees at this year’s winners said they felt valued in their organization.

EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS

A majority (52%) of Best Places to Work this year sponsor employee assistance programs (EAPs), up from 45% of the 2020 winners. These programs, which address a range of employee mental health issues, are more common at larger firms: more than three-quarters of Best Places with more than 50 employees offered one. Not only has the offering expanded year-over-year among the Best Places to Work, but the programs have come under renewed focus for their role in helping workers adjust to new work environments and manage increased stress. According to the Society for Human Resources Management, EAPs help employers raise productivity and reduce turnover costs.

PAID VOLUNTEER TIME

Along with mental health and wellness, for many, the past year has put a renewed focus on giving. Financial advisers have helped their own clients ramp up donations to charitable causes over the past year in response to the pandemic. Giving back is also important to advisers themselves: 81% of Best Places this year offer paid time off for community service activities or volunteer work, compared with 59% of other firms. Amid high unemployment and economic uncertainty, advisers certainly had skills to offer during the pandemic, and they responded to the call. According to the Financial Planning Association, the number of individuals served pro bono by its members rose 7% in 2020.

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Related Topics: Best Places to Work, work-life balance