Project Experience

Star Talent Defections/HR Issues - Financial Services…Retaining top sales performers isn't always an issue of money.

Client Situation
Financial services firms often spend significant sums on the training and development of registered investment advisors, brokers, agents and other sales staff. One of our clients found that, after investing considerable time and money grooming a high-quality sales force, it was losing many top performers to competitors. Our client operated a nationwide sales network, with representatives often working out of home offices in remote locations. While the field staff had occasionally complained about the lack of support services and poor communications with the head office staff, it was unclear how much of a role these support issues were playing in the unusually high attrition rates.

Fuld Approach
By interviewing both long-standing and recently-hired salespeople in competitor firms, as well as regional sales managers and head office support staff, we were able to present our client with a thorough, objective analysis of how its sales support ranked relative to the competition.

Benefits and Implications
We not only identified several areas where the client needed improvement, but also uncovered areas where the competitors' actual delivery of support services fell far short of the promises that had been made to woo sales people away from our client. Armed with this information, our client was able to improve its field support services, solidify employee relations and stem attrition. As a result, our client retained numerous high-value client relationships that might otherwise have been lost to competitors. For more information on addressing star talent defections/HR issues in financial services, contactlscanlon@fuld.com.