Best practices for implementing new advisor tech
The financial technologies industry is rapidly growing, especially as automation and AI continue to drive innovation. RIAs recognize that technology is the most effective growth accelerator in the industry — but implementing that new technology comes with its own set of challenges.1
A recent study found that 73% of respondents said insufficient time was the biggest challenge when managing and implementing technology in their firm. Interestingly enough, 62% said their biggest challenge was a lack of integration with their other platforms.1
With the right tools in your tech stack, your firm has the ability to streamline processes, operate more efficiently, and scale more effectively. By outsourcing manual or repetitive tasks to technology (that can complete them faster and at a higher rate of accuracy), advisors are able to refocus their time and energy on delivering a superior client experience.
Being able to seamlessly integrate new technology in your firm is an effective way to enhance your value proposition to future and existing clients — especially as the financial services landscape faces increasing competition.1
The question is, how can firms integrate new technology with minimal disruption to their everyday operations? And, how can they achieve firmwide adoption in a reasonable amount of time? Here are three best practices for successfully integrating new technology into your advisory firm.
Communicate your intentions
Depending on the size of your firm, it’s likely that not all staff members or advisors were involved in the initial decision to implement new technology. But what’s important now is to help them understand why you’ve made this decision and, most importantly, how it will benefit them individually and the firm as a whole.
New technology should always feel like an exciting opportunity to improve processes or widen access to new resources and tools. What you don’t want it to feel like is an ambush, inconvenience, or waste of time. Before it comes time to onboard and implement something new, take time to tell your staff what’s happening and why the decision was made. Share the most important benefits and tell them what sort of challenges it’s going to address (such as lack of integration, manual data entry, limited capabilities, etc.). Open the floor for questions and acknowledge any concerns or trepidation.
Support and encourage internal advocates
Achieving full firmwide adoption will depend on your leadership team’s ability to excite and encourage advisors and support staff. If senior-level employees aren’t using it, or are putting off the initial implementation, it’ll be much harder to motivate lower-level staff to jump on board.
Make sure your senior advisors are fully trained and well-versed in the new platform right off the bat. Once they’ve implemented it successfully, encourage them to turn their experiences into teachable moments for other team members. Have them explore the platform, find its best features, and tell others about them.
Not only is continuous encouragement helpful, but so is sharing practical tips and how-to’s — especially if some less tech-savvy team members are feeling overwhelmed by the change.
Offer ongoing training
Change is hard, especially if team members think there is nothing “wrong” or “inefficient” with the old way of doing things.
For most people, there’ll be a learning curve before they feel fully comfortable incorporating a new piece of technology or platform into their daily routine. While you’ll likely have an initial onboarding session, ensure your team members have access to opportunities for continual training.
Here are a few ways to provide ongoing training and support for your firm:
Establishing a resource library on the server
Give team members access to the platform’s customer service team
Hold open office hours with knowledgeable platform users
Offer monthly “refresh” courses for anyone who needs it
The most effective way to ensure firmwide tech adoption is to let your employees know they’re supported — and to show them that you’re committed to making their lives easier and more streamlined.
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Sources:
1. The Cerulli report – US advisor metrics 2022