Next generation of financial services workers: Are they prepared?
Colleges are doing a better job preparing people for financial services, but a communication gap between generations in the industry still exists.
The next wave of financial planners will graduate and enter the workforce this spring, but are they ready? Redtail Technology recently surveyed more than 4,000 financial professionals and students across the nation to gauge how well their education has prepared them for the real world. Among the key findings:
Students are not quite as focused on pre-graduation certifications as professionals would like. This may be because of the large number of certifications and licenses available, what many in the industry call the “alphabet soup,” that are presented to students. This can overwhelm students and detract from a focused effort on earning the professional certifications and licenses that will be most beneficial to their careers.
Academic programs are adequately preparing students for a financial planning career. More than half of professionals surveyed believe academic programs are adequately preparing students, compared to 43 percent of professionals who believe they are not. Survey results point to significant progress in the last few years.
Salary, company culture and quality management drive perceived job satisfaction. Students and professionals agreed on the top three things they are looking for in an employer. However, the groups placed these three reasons as to why they would choose one employer over another in different orders. The majority (more than 40 percent) of student respondents said salary and opportunity for advancement is the main driver of job satisfaction.
Skilled professionals and students emphasize the importance of interpersonal skills. Professionals (91 percent) and students (78 percent) agree that mastering interpersonal communication must be a top priority. Both groups rank technical knowledge of financial planning content, prospecting/marketing skills and financial planning technology skills as the three next most important skillsets.
Students ranked financial planning technology skills the second most important skill, while professionals placed a much greater emphasis on the importance of technical knowledge of financial planning content.
Perceived communication gaps and entry barriers exist. A communication gap between generations in the industry exists and was a concern highlighted by both groups. Nearly one-third of professionals, regardless of age, ethnicity, gender or firm type, experience communication challenges with new financial planning professionals entering the industry.
Forty-five percent of students are worried about potential communication challenges with their future employers. There also is a gap in terms of perceived and real barriers to entry into the industry.
“The results of this survey support the idea of professionals counseling the students to help them better understand what is expected of them once they enter the working world,” the survey report concluded.