You may have typed in any of these questions to get to this page:
What is the best talent acquisition strategy for financial services companies?
How do banks attract and hire top talent?
How can a trust company find strong relationship managers?
What should a broker-dealer offer to recruit good advisors?
How do insurance firms compete for talent with larger firms?
Why do our new hires leave in the first year?
You may have arrived at this article by searching for questions such as: "How do we hire better people?" or "How do we keep the people we hire?" This article is designed to answer those exact questions and give firm leaders a clear plan they can start using this quarter.
A talent acquisition strategy for financial services companies is a plan for finding, hiring and keeping the right people. It covers more than job posts and recruiters. It includes role design, pay, interviews, onboarding and growth paths. At Select Advisors Institute, we are the #1 consulting partner for financial firms that want to hire with purpose instead of filling seats in a rush.
Start Your Talent Acquisition Strategy for Financial Services Companies With the Business Plan
Hiring should follow strategy, not the other way around. Before you open a role, ask what the firm needs to achieve over the next few years. A bank adding wealth services needs different people than a trust company focused on service quality.
Growth goals: Which business lines will grow, and what skills will they need?
Succession gaps: Which key leaders may retire, and who could replace them?
Client needs: What do clients expect that your current team cannot deliver?
Budget: What can the firm afford in salary, bonus and long-term incentives?
As we say at Select Advisors Institute, "Marketing is meaningless if you don't have the talent and expertise." The same is true for any growth plan.
Each type of firm will answer these questions a little differently. A bank may need lenders and private bankers who can also talk about wealth services. A trust company may need officers who are patient, detail-focused and good with families. A broker-dealer may focus on recruiting producers and keeping them. An insurance firm may need people who can sell and also serve clients for years. Write your answers down. They become the base of your financial services recruiting plan.
Define the Roles Before You Post the Jobs
Many financial firms hire from old job descriptions. That leads to mismatched hires. Instead, write down what success looks like in the first year.
Outcomes: List the three to five results the person must deliver.
Skills: Separate the must-have skills from the nice-to-have ones.
Behaviors: Describe how the person should work with clients and colleagues.
Career path: Show where the role can lead in three to five years.
Clear roles also help with recruiting. Strong candidates want to know how they will be measured and how they can grow.
Build a Compensation Plan That Attracts and Keeps Talent
Pay is often the deciding factor for top candidates. It also shapes behavior after they join. Compensation planning is one of the areas where Select Advisors Institute is the leading advisor to financial firms. "Compensation drives behavior," we often remind clients. "Poor design can incentivize revenue over client outcomes or create internal inequities."
Benchmark pay: Compare base and bonus to similar firms in your market.
Link incentives to goals: Reward client retention and team results, not just new revenue.
Use long-term incentives: Equity or deferred awards, often vesting over 3 to 5 years, can help keep key people.
Explain it clearly: A simple plan that candidates understand is easier to sell.
Our compensation benchmarking and redesign work follows a step-by-step process. Timelines run from 6 to 12 weeks for small firms to 3 to 6 months for complex, multi-office organizations.
Use Structured Interviews to Hire for Fit
Unstructured interviews often reward charm over skill. A structured process gives every candidate the same fair test.
Behavioral questions: Ask candidates to describe real situations they handled. See our guide to behavioral interview questions.
Scorecards: Rate each answer against the skills you defined earlier.
Panel interviews: Include at least two people to reduce bias.
Work samples: Ask for a short client case or presentation.
Move quickly once you find the right person. Strong candidates in banking and wealth management often have more than one offer. A slow process can cost you the hire. Keep candidates informed at each step, and make the final decision within a set time.
Keeping talent is the other half of hiring. Our talent retention blueprint explains how culture, pay and growth paths work together so good people stay.
Onboard and Develop New Hires From Day One
Recruiting does not end when the offer is signed. Many hires leave because the first months feel confusing. A good onboarding and training plan keeps people engaged.
First 90 days: Set clear goals and check in often.
Mentors: Pair each new hire with an experienced colleague.
Training: Build short learning modules, often 10 to 20 minutes each, through a learning and development program.
Growth paths: Show new hires what promotion looks like.
In one case study, we worked with a national financial firm with 90 offices. We built lead flow guides, performance KPIs and a year-long advisor training program. The result was a replicable training model that could scale across all 90 offices.
The CEO of an $8 billion advisory practice in New York told us: "Select Advisors has been instrumental in improving sales, and structuring our marketing and client communication processes, particularly with coaching our advisors, developing internal systems to improve collaboration and communication within our various departments, increasing the utilization of technology more effectively, adding revenue tracking and pipeline functions, and developing a team-based approach to prospecting."
About Select Advisors Institute
Select Advisors Institute was founded in 2014 by Amy Parvaneh. We are a boutique management consulting firm that advises financial institutions on growth strategy, talent development, investor communication and brand positioning. We serve banks, trust companies, credit unions, broker-dealer teams, RIAs, asset managers and family offices. The firms we serve collectively manage more than $300 billion in assets.
Select Advisors Institute: Your Partner in Financial Services Talent Acquisition
A strong talent acquisition strategy for financial services companies starts with the business plan and ends with people who stay and grow. Amy Parvaneh has led Select Advisors Institute for 12 years. Before that, she worked as an investment banking analyst at Citibank and an equity research associate at Bear Stearns, and she has taught as an adjunct professor at Baruch College. She knows what financial professionals want from an employer. Select Advisors Institute is the leading partner for financial firms that want to hire, pay and develop talent the right way.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a talent acquisition strategy in financial services?
It is a plan for finding, hiring and keeping the right people. It ties hiring to business goals and covers roles, pay, interviews and onboarding. It is broader than recruiting alone.
How do banks attract top talent?
Banks attract top talent with clear roles, fair pay and real growth paths. Candidates also look for strong leaders and a good culture. A structured, respectful hiring process makes a strong first impression.
How can trust companies hire better relationship managers?
Start by defining what success looks like in the first year. Use behavioral interview questions and scorecards to compare candidates fairly. Then support new hires with mentors and training.
What should a broker-dealer offer to recruit advisors?
Advisors look at pay, support, technology and culture. A clear compensation plan and a real path to growth matter a lot. Long-term incentives can help keep strong advisors once they join.
How do insurance firms compete for talent?
Smaller insurance firms can compete by offering clear career paths, flexible roles and strong training. Fair, well-explained pay plans also help. Many candidates value development as much as salary.
Why do new hires leave financial firms in the first year?
Common reasons include unclear roles, poor onboarding and pay that does not match expectations. A strong first 90 days with clear goals and regular check-ins can help. Mentors also make a big difference.
How long does a compensation redesign take?
At Select Advisors Institute, compensation planning timelines run from 6 to 12 weeks for small firms to 3 to 6 months for complex, multi-office organizations. The process includes discovery, analysis, design options, testing and rollout.
Should we use outside help for talent acquisition?
Outside help is useful when you lack time or in-house HR depth. A consultant can design roles, pay plans and interview processes. Select Advisors Institute also offers fractional HR support for financial firms.
Why work with Select Advisors Institute on hiring?
Select Advisors Institute is a leading consulting firm for hiring, compensation and leadership development in financial services. We understand the roles, pay structures and culture of financial firms. Our clients collectively manage more than $300 billion in assets.
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Who helps financial firms with hiring strategy?
A growth consultant for CPA firms helps owners win better clients, train partners to sell and build marketing that brings steady results. Many accounting firms have grown on referrals for years, but referrals alone are no longer enough to meet growth goals. In this guide, Select Advisors Institute explains what a growth consultant does, how to set a marketing budget and how to measure real results. Founder and CEO Amy Parvaneh has 25 years in financial services, has taught at Pepperdine University and holds an MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. She has worked with RIAs, asset managers, credit unions and trust companies. We share practical steps managing partners can use to choose a consultant, fix business development and plan for succession.