Published: Saturday, January 12, 2008 
Companies That Care About You
By Jim Robinson
Companies That Care About You
Companies are the sum of its people... Diversity strengthens the sum.
Financial Services Industry Occupations
In A Nutshell...Financial Services Occupations include:
- Brokerage Manager
- Capital Market Broker
- Claims Adjuster
- Claims Operations
- Commercial Banking
- Commodities Broker
- Compliance Officer or Specialist
- Consumer Banking
- Education and Training Manager
- Elder Care Agent
- Estate Planner
- Finance Specialist
- Financial Advisor
- Financial Analyst
- Financial Planner
- Financial Services Marketing
- Financial Services Recruiter
- Insurance Actuary
- Insurance Specialist
- Investment Banker
- Investments Specialist
- Marine Insurance Agent
- Marketing Specialist
- Property and Casualty Agent
- Registered Representative
- Retirement Planner
- Risk Lending Manager
- Sales Management
- Securities Trader
- Stockbroker
- Underwriter- Life or Health Insurance
- Underwriter - Commercial or Marine Insurance
- Wealth Management Advisor
This list is not inclusive.
Look For A Company With Shared Multicultural Values
We will suggest several strategies. First I need you to listen closely to this advice. Today, in the 21st century, successful American companies must have shared multicultural values. How can you tell if a company has shared multicultural values? It’s a simple matter…the company has Shared Leadership. In point of fact, the company has cultural and diversity richness on all levels of the organizations. The tend to have shared values and guiding concepts that are key drivers…not secondary objectives.
In the book Changing Faces – America’s Wealth Advisors we selected four great American Financial Services Companies based on their Shared Leadership. There are over 3,400 property and casualty insurers in America. Also there are more than 2,300 life and health Insurance companies in America. There are approximately 5,200 brokerage firms, over 96,000 branch offices and more than 664,000 registered securities representatives come under NASD authority. We are adamant when we say that there are many other companies with shared leadership.
Diversity Richness Is The Key!
Diversity richness is not just making sure you have one minority on each team or in the company. Diversity means inclusion on all levels of the organization. The acid test consists in the examination of their top level management positions.
The Six Question Smell Test For Your Potential or Current Employers
Please ask yourself these questions as you look at potential employers:
- Question One: Does the company embrace different people, different ideas and different backgrounds to become greater than a traditional firm?
- Question Two: Does the company make sure their management chain of command inspires and acts on ideas and strategies coming up from the diverse workforce?
- Question Three: Does the company empower its employees with an environment and ability to better at doing their jobs. Does the company provide opportunities to prepare for career advancement? I am not asking does the company offer career advancement. I am asking “Does the company offer and pay for opportunities for you to prepare for future career advancements”? Big difference folks!
- Question Four: Is the company field or sales force wired to the same consistent diversity initiatives as the Home and Regional offices?
- Question Five: Does the company have measurement tools to measure diversity initiatives on an ongoing basis?
- Question Six: Does the company have clearly defined consequences for non-conformance or non-performance for the management chain of command?
Firms and Companies with Shared Leadership Values:
- Warmly embrace the idea that diversity means more than hiring the right mix of ethnics in the current hiring cycle.
- Demand excellence from their diverse workforce.
- Prepare their people for excellence by providing opportunities to prepare for career advancement? In Chapter 9 of our book; Changing Faces – America’s Wealth Advisors we discuss “Staying Strong! : Accreditation, Credentials and Designations”.
There are approximately hundreds of thousands of Financial Services Professionals to choose from. How does the American Public and businesses make the choice? How does the American Public make sense of the noise and find the lighthouse that guides them through the fog?
Professional designations will help you to get better at what you do as a Financial Services Professional. Here's a few sugestion. Look for companies who:
- will help you obtain your credentials.
- apply a consistent accountability, responsibility and reportability across the organization
- motivate their management chain of command to inspire and act on ideas and strategies coming up the from the diverse workforce
- field or sales force is wired to the same consistent diversity initiatives as the Home and Regional offices. The studies in the science of philosophy tell us that the entity is a sum of its parts. This applies to companies. Financial Services Companies and Firms are the sum of its people. Diversity strengthens the sum. Combine the workforce in the photos above and the sum will be greater than the two parts i.e. a company with shared values and shared leadership.
- have measurement tools to measure diversity initiatives on an ongoing basis
- have clearly defined consequences for non-conformance or non-performance for the management chain of command
Ask Questions…Make Informed Decision
You job in your interview is to ask the right questions. Include the above questions in your interview with the recruiter and the hiring manager. Kindly let them know that you are asking these questions so you can make an informed decision. Please approach all prospective employers with the idea that diversity in action is diversity in progress. Make a informed decison.
Views: 360
:: Comments: 0
:: Rating: 
Categories: Career
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment. You can login here
Currently, there are no comments. Be the first to post one!