Two thirds (68%) of advisory firms reported that they are looking to add new members to their team during 2023, according to a compensation survey of Australian advice firms.
Business Health’s report Swimming at the Deep End of the Talent Pool: Understanding salary & benefits packages currently offered to employees in Australia’s advice firms says that competition will be greatest in the city/metropolitan areas where 72% of practices will be actively recruiting. (Also see: Average Salaries for Advisers, Paraplanners).
The report says that “…interestingly, it will not be revenue-generating advisers that will be the most sought after.”
“While 46% of businesses will be searching for a junior adviser with less than five years’ experience, half are intending to appoint additional client service managers/officers to their team.”
It also notes that a third of firms (31%) indicated they will be adding an experienced adviser and 25% expect to bring on additional administration/reception support.
Business Health says the positions in least demand will be experienced paraplanners (with only 2% of practices recruiting for this role), junior paraplanners (10%) and General/Practice Managers (15%).
Recruitment Channels
It also notes that while most firms will continue to leverage the traditional recruitment channels to find their new hires, there were some interesting differences based on the location of the practice.
“While 61% of city-based practices intend to use a recruitment firm/head-hunter to help find their next appointment, this drops to just 25% for non-metropolitan based businesses.”
Business Health says this is perhaps as a direct reflection of the availability of this service in regional areas. To counter this, two thirds (67%) of regional firms will be using an online job website.
…half of the regional practices will be looking to their BDM, PDM, licensee to refer potential new team members…
The report adds that half of the regional practices will be looking to their BDM, PDM, licensee to refer potential new team members.
“This may pose a conflict for the BDM/PDM and some delicate discussions will need to be had to manage the expectations of practice principals,” Business Health says.
Half of the country firms stated they will be recruiting direct from a local university, college, school, well above the 31% of city-based businesses which will be looking to follow suit.
Business Health notes that offering internships or short-term paid projects to university students is a great way for practices to reach new candidates.
“It also allows both employers and potential employees to assess the ‘fit’ before committing to a full-time hire.”
Impact on Total Salaries/Benefits Expenses
The report also states that while two thirds of firms are actively looking to add additional members to their team, they do not expect this to have a dramatic impact on their total salaries/benefits expenses.
Business Health says that approximately half (51%) of the businesses “…are budgeting for increased staffing costs of between 10%-25% and 47% of businesses expect their salaries bill to remain relatively unchanged.”
It says none of these practices expect staffing costs to increase by more than 25%.
Click here to view the full report.
