In 2021, Wealthbridge doubled its rate of client acquisition. Last year, new client acquisition clocked in at a 21% rate.

How can it keep up?

By centering work around staff, not staff around work, said chief operating officer David Lehman.

The forced shift to remote work in spring 2020 was a shock to the Wealthbridge system. First, people scrambled to prove that they were, in fact productive, though out of sight. Second, with productivity no longer in question, they scrambled for a sustainable work-life balance.

That’s when Lehman and other firm leaders realized that if they established high-level client satisfaction and retention goals, employees could be trusted to execute against those goals in their own ways. Instead of defining “flexibility” as a departure from the 9-to-5 norm, the firm now asks employees to design their workflow around client experience and organizes tasks and schedules accordingly. The goal is to ensure that client touchpoints claim the best of each employee’s day, with routine work prioritized accordingly.

“It really comes down to mutual respect for the value that your team is providing,” Lehman said. “Unless you’re focusing on how to make the team’s life better, they’re not going to deliver the client experience you want.”

— Joanne Cleaver