Hi, I'm Leslie Tabor with Schwab Advisor Services. On the Business Consulting and Education team, we work with some of the most successful and fastest growing advisory firms, talking with leaders about the complexities of growing their businesses and creating enduring enterprises.
One thing that sets these firms apart is their ability to attract, develop, and retain the best diverse talent, and to celebrate and cultivate those differences into real business value. And we believe that talent is truly what sets these firms apart.
In fact, one of our five Guiding Principles for Advisory Firm Success states "Your people are your most important asset." According to our independent Advisor Outlook Study, 29% of advisors face challenges in attracting diverse talent, and almost 40% of firms don't have a formal diversity and inclusion strategy in place to help in their efforts.
That's why I'm so excited to share our diversity consulting program for advisors, Building an Inclusive Firm Culture. This program is a series of workshops over the course of five months, focusing on the heart of your firm, your people, and your culture. It's designed to help you develop a strategy for cultivating and sustaining a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive firm.
During the program, you'll create a formal plan aligned with your firm's overarching talent strategy and growth objectives, explore actionable insights, and build connections with industry peers who are on a similar path.
The centerpiece of our program is a guided learning journey to help you discover insights and assess your firm tactics around four key pillars, cultivating an inclusive workplace culture; attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse workforce; serving the needs of a diverse marketplace; and supporting diverse communities. These pillars all rely on each other, and when working in concert, create an ecosystem that can help you achieve optimal and sustainable success. Our first workshop will help you envision what a diverse and inclusive future looks like for your firm, what it means, and why it matters to your business. You'll define your vision for diversity, equity, and inclusion, or your DEI vision, to ensure it supports the overall goals of your business and is anchored in the objectives and tactics you pursue.
In subsequent workshop, we'll fully explore each key pillar, diving into what top performing firms are doing today, and learning critical concepts and best practices to help shape your plan. You'll identify long and short-term goals and supporting tactics that help move your firm towards your vision for diversity. In the final workshop, you'll examine key considerations for driving and sustaining change in your organization, and finalize your action plan so you're ready to execute in the months ahead.
We understand the value of your time and effort, and we appreciate the trust that you place in us. We look forward to helping you develop your DEI vision and strategy to uncover powerful opportunities that lead to meaningful change.