6 components to consider when hiring key staff

It’s no secret that staffing plays an enormous part in the performance of a practice. Hire the wrong person, and you will likely suffer a variety of frustrations and inefficiencies that take a long time to sort and smooth out. Hire the right person, however, and marvel at the new ways your business can thrive.

In the last five years, Marcus T. Henderson, Sr., RFP, MRFC, a 26-year MDRT member from Brentwood, Tennessee, has vastly increased his productivity by adding a strategic coordinator to his office. “I hire for personality and train to technicality,” Henderson said. “You can’t teach someone to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and do the necessary things they either do or don’t do on their own.”

He also said he doesn’t look to hire the most cost-effective person but rather prefers someone he has to pay a little more for but as a result doesn’t have to be taught as many basics. These are the six questions he asked when looking for his strategic coordinator, who is a Registered Paraplanner (RP) and not only coordinates his schedule but sits in on all initial and follow-up appointments with clients while preparing their net-worth analysis:

1.       Do their strengths match well with your weaknesses?
2.       Are they comfortable working in your market niches?
3.       Is their demeanor credible and professional?
4.       Do they have a high aptitude to master all tasks?
5.       Is there respect for each other and reciprocal trust?
6.       Do they buy into the vision of your firm?

Henderson is clear: This member of his staff is not a secretary but an executive-level employee who must meet all of the above requirements, and whom you must make the time to support and mentor as needed. “A practice, if you’re not there, shuts down,” he said. “If it’s a business, it’s not just you, and clients appreciate having so many people that they can call for an answer if I’m not there.”

Listen for more tips on staffing in the MDRT podcast.

Written by Matt Pais, MDRT Content Specialist