Hi, I’m Adam Moseley with Schwab Advisor Services.
I spend my days in the offices of some of the fastest growing advisory firms in the industry, helping them advance their practices and expand their competitive edge.
Today, I’m eager to introduce you to our Workflows Consulting Engagement, which uses the principles of design thinking to drive client-centered process improvement, increase efficiency, and implement lasting change.
Improving how you get things done can have a big impact on a business like yours. In fact, more than a third of firms that invested in standardized workflows saw a jump in efficiency of 30% or more. Imagine what 30% more efficiency could do for you, your staff and your clients, not to mention your bottom line.
Advisors participating in this engagement will walk away with a deeper understanding of their firm-wide operational strengths and weaknesses, a redesigned workflow, a detailed implementation plan, and a repeatable approach for process redesign.
At the center of the program is client journey mapping, a collaborative exercise where you’ll put pencil-to-paper and reimagine one of your processes. Once you learn this approach, you and your team will be able to apply it to any workflow you feel should be improved.
Let’s take a look at the client journey mapping activity to give you a preview of what you can expect.
You’ll start with a blank slate, breaking down a process into individual tasks to show how your firm gets it done today.
Then you’ll take a deep dive into how your clients and staff experience the journey, step by step, paying special attention to how they are thinking and feeling. During this stage, you’ll also begin to notice places where the process might be repetitive or confusing.
As you redesign your workflow, you’ll use what you’ve observed to smooth out any bumps and create an improved client experience.
Many firms tell us their processes could better reflect the ways they’ve grown, or could be used more consistently.
In fact, fewer than half of advisory firms feel they are efficiently and effectively using workflows.
Our engagement is designed to help you improve your operations so you can stand out even more in this competitive landscape.
The program draws from more than 25 years of experience, integrates RIA Benchmarking Study insights, and offers actionable best practices from across the industry.
Once you choose to engage, one of our Technology and Operations consultants will guide your team through the mapping process, and provide you with tools such as an operational assessment, a roadmap to define your strategy, and an action plan to help you look ahead.
At Schwab, we build these programs because we want you to achieve your goals. We understand the value of your time and effort, and we appreciate the trust you place in us.
In our 2018 Benchmarking Study, advisors identified back office process improvements as one of the top three business areas that could benefit from outside help.
If you’d like to see your client experience and efficiency get to the next level, I encourage you to participate in this invitation-only program.
Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your Schwab team. Thank you.
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This material is for institutional investor use only. This material may not be forwarded or made available, in part or in whole, to any party that is not an institutional investor.
The RIA Benchmarking Study compares self-reported data from advisory firms that custody their assets with Schwab. Schwab does not independently verify or validate the self-reported information. Participant firms represent various sizes and business models. Best-Managed Firms represents advisors in the study who are in the top 20% of qualifying firms, ranked by productivity (revenue per professional), profitability (standardized operating margin), revenue growth (compound annual growth rate in revenue) and net asset growth (compound annual growth rate from net asset flow). The top 20% of firms was calculated after removing those with less than $1 million in revenue or fewer than two professional staff. Best-Managed Firms were selected without regard to peer group, and most groups are represented in the Best-Managed Firms group.
Schwab Advisor Services™ serves independent investment advisors and includes the custody, trading and support services of Schwab. Independent investment advisors are not owned, affiliated with or supervised by Schwab. Experiences expressed by advisors may not be representative of the experience of other advisors and are not a guarantee of future success.
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