Press Coverage

David Blain in InvestmentNews: Hiring the Right Staff

June 20, 2011:  In this article by InvestmentNews reporter, Darla Mercado, David discusses the importance of hiring the right people and highlights some of the challenges he’s faced putting together a winning team.

After five years in business, David decided it was time to begin assembling a team. “I don’t know if I can pinpoint the day, but the big impetus was the immense responsibility and commitment I had made to my clients,” said Mr. Blain. “My clients became very reliant on me and it got to the point where I realized that in order to fulfill that obligation, I needed to make the firm sustainable beyond myself.”

He first hired an administrative assistant in 2006, followed by a marketing and public relations professional the next year. Both are still with the firm. He hit his first road bump when he hired a second advisor who was with the firm for only a year. “He wasn’t a good fit for the firm,” said Blain. “He came from the brokerage world.” David has since hired two new advisors.

The key to putting together his current team was changing his hiring procedures. He now uses personality tests for all hires, and requires new advisors to submit some of their previous work in Excel format. David also added more robust health insurance and retirement plans. In addition, he closes the office at noon on Friday. “I thought about the things I would want if I were an employee,” he said. “They work hard the other 36 hours each week and can take off Friday afternoons.”