Speaking at the launch of the AFA-Beddoes Institute Trusted Adviser white paper in Sydney yesterday, AFA chief executive Brad Fox also said dealer groups should be factoring emotional intelligence quota (EQ) levels into their recruitment process.
“A key question for those businesses that are looking to recruit new practices is whether they are looking at the EQ of prospective candidates,” Mr Fox said.
Mr Fox called on licensees and practice principals to consider ‘train the trainer’ workshops to develop a dialogue with their networks about the importance of emotional intelligence in financial advice businesses and client relationships.
“There are implications around training and whether [licensees and businesses] are training in a way that takes EQ into account,” he said.
“They should help [advisers] build their EQ rather than talking about the latest product innovation, or in addition to that.”
The comments followed the release of a white paper, conducted in association with the Beddoes Institute, which found “soft skills” were in high demand among the clients of “trusted advisers”.
The research underlying the white paper found that 82 per cent of clients of 13 advice practices that have been in the running for AFA Adviser of the Year listed interpersonal skills, such as communication skills, rapport building and empathy, as the quality they most value in their adviser.
“Academic qualifications and technical proficiency on their own will never be enough to build sustainable relationships with clients,” said Dr Rebecca Sheils, a psychologist with the Beddoes Institute.
“The Trusted Adviser demonstrates that the way an adviser interacts with the client and the development of a relationship with them are more influential in developing trust.”
