In the finance industry, four-year retention rates have never exceeded 20%.
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When you work in the recruiting industry, sometimes the numbers work against you. In the financial world, there’s one statistic that I think about regularly: 21 percent.
According to The Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association (LIMRA), the three-year retention rate for companies in the financial industry is 21 percent, and for the four-year retention rate, it has not exceeded 20 percent—ever. Keeping your best people is important, but knowing that one out of every five advisors you recruit will still be there after four years is difficult to manage. How do you break that cycle and beat the odds?
For us, the answer came in a few different forms.
Training and Support
Our organization already had in place a solid training system, built up over decades by our prior CEO. But we also recognized that times had changed. Sometimes there are unpredictable shifts in the economy, the world, or even our own organization. We had to be able to adapt.
We hold four training classes a year. During those sessions, one of the things we did was explain to our potential candidates how our company was different from others. In this case, they were not interviewing for a job with our firm, but instead for a business opportunity. This was a mutual selection process, and they needed to be prepared for that.
Now, while we do have a different kind of structure than other companies, when we bring on people, we need to make sure our business model is a good fit for them. They are essentially running their own company as an independent contractor, and they wouldn’t have a salary. However, they would have an office space and would work through us, not with us.
These training sessions show how all of the pieces come together, and the more candidates hear, the more invested and interested they become. This means we don’t attract people who just want to clock in and out every day. Our preferred candidates have an entrepreneurial spirit. They just have to create their business within our model, and if they follow the guidelines, they will succeed.
Of the 20 new advisors we recruited for one of our training sessions in 2010, 8 were still around in 2024.
A Culture of Learning
While our system is a bit out of the norm, what it also does is help cultivate people who want to improve themselves and their businesses. To foster that need, we provide mentoring and coaching to all of our people. It gives them the skills they need to thrive, but it also has another benefit.
When new people enter the organization, we want to support them with mentors as well. It’s important to our organization that we have our Veteran Advisors take the time to share their wisdom and really pour their lives into our new advisors, the way they were taught by those before them.
It keeps the system propulsive and helps stop the high turnover rates found at other organizations.
Keeping Things Personal
I know there are many leaders in my position who would be content to look at the statistics from afar, but I feel it’s important to get to know everyone. I learn who they’re married to, what’s going on with their kids, and their interests. I’m a firm believer that knowing your people is critical. This helps them feel supported as well as connected to the business. Without it, our turnover rates would inevitably rise.
It’s Not for Everyone
Not every company can run the way we do, but we’ve found this system works well, particularly when it comes to beating the numbers. At this point, our advisors’ lifetime retention rate is over thirty percent. People want to work with us, and as a result, they stay here. The numbers bear that out.
The process takes time, but it is achievable. It will take dedication on the part of the field management leaders, but you can raise your advisor retention rate, too. All you have to do is beat the numbers.