The Openwork Partnership is overhauling its partnership development model, with significant changes to the recruitment and onboarding of new advisers.
The new model follows an extensive review of the relationship management model and reflects partner feedback, the firm explained.
While the existing relationship framework was meeting current needs, the leadership team recognised the need to evolve and to enhance the support provided to better serve partners and advisers and meet growing partner engagement ambitions.
The changes are designed to provide additional support to partners and enhance the recruitment and the onboarding experience for new joiners.
Speaking to FTAdviser, Stuart Dodson, managing director of The Openwork Partnership, said this comes on the back of listening to partners themselves, where they wanted more face to face contact and for Openwork to be able to work alongside them within their businesses.
“With the new model, we'll be able to engage all four corners of our partnership, and that will be regardless of size or discipline, whether they are wealth, mortgage or combined businesses, and the aim is to really develop deeper relationships with those firms,” he said.
The enhanced model creates 35 new roles, including 26 partnership development managers based in seven regions across the whole UK.
They will provide an increased level of face-to-face interaction which will better facilitate collaboration with partners.
Dodson said: “The current model had a team of about 14 but only half of that was actually face to face infield support. This was supported by a telephone team but partners told us they wanted to have more face to face support so we're moving away from having a team of about 14 to a team of 35 with a much greater infield presence. We've got a number of initiatives that we really want to drive forward but we need to have boots on the ground to be able to do that.”
One of those is the growth initiative, which Dodson said Openwork piloted last year.
“That was just with a handful of firms, highly bespoke handheld interventions that review business structure, operations and device activity to identify efficiencies and growth opportunities,” he said.
“So my new team will enable us to industrialise that process."
The new partnership development model includes changes to Openwork’s recruitment and onboarding teams.
The enhanced recruitment team will provide partners with recruitment support to attract new advisers and help them to grow their businesses.
Meanwhile, the onboarding team will work with partner firms over a structured six-month period to ensure new advisers have a smooth entry into the partnership with a focus on good client outcomes.
Dodson added: “The new model supports The Openwork Partnership’s vision to deliver real relationship value for highly engaged firms and advisers, supporting our strategic growth ambitions and transition to a family lifetime financial planning approach.”
sonia.rach@ft.com
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