Attracting the next generation of advisers

A telling passage was found in the executive summary which read: "At a time when our country needs to be highly productive and nimble we impede our own progress as a nation if we do not maximise the talent of all our citizens – especially those that start the furthest behind. We fail if we do not make it possible for every individual to have choices about where they go and what they do in life. This report shows that more needs to be done to support the most vulnerable. Our analysis finds that, too often, well intentioned policies fail to reach those who would benefit most, while cuts to other provisions disproportionately impact the most vulnerable."

This is an interesting conclusion from both a personal and business perspective. I won’t dwell on the intricacies of government or social policy, although – whilst we can’t compare widespread inequality with general business practices – there are some lessons we can learn from this.

As a company who evolved from a tiny serviced office in Guildford, it’s always been relatively easy to see the value in all our employees, the benefits attached to investing in them and maximising their talent where possible. Any successful business is one which works hard to motivate and look after their employees as best they can, even though recruitment, training and development remains a constant learning process.

Here at Dynamo, an integral component in this process is our training academy which we launched a few years ago. Being an adviser – at least, being a successful one – requires a certain kind of passion. It’s often difficult to appreciate a person’s assets from a piece of paper without having the opportunity to shine. People enter the business from different backgrounds and with different levels of education, but the common theme remains that those who possess the right attitude and the drive to succeed usually do.

Attracting such individuals isn’t easy, and not everyone that comes into the academy thrives, as is the case in any business or sector. We have seen the mortgage market struggle with the recruitment process in recent years, with outstanding candidates often choosing different career paths. However, we must continue working hard and looking outside the box to attract a better quality of personnel to the industry. Offering the right levels of training and apprenticeships provides the platform for people to maximise their talents and for the industry itself to progress in the right manner. And this is an area all growing businesses within the mortgage market should be focusing on now, and in the future.