Start a learning process
To keep Merrill Lynch able to adapt and serve its clients in Michigan,
Kreutzer first has to put everyone on the same page with regard to
goals and the company mission. That’s accomplished through frequent
communication, performed in person as often as possible.
“It happens in a variety of ways,” Kreutzer says. “We do hold training events, we have different types of partner meetings where we help
people understand what the initiatives will be for the upcoming period.
“We also communicate electronically and via newsletter. We really
try to use all means because people learn differently and people react
differently to different kinds of mediums. But my preference is face to
face and in more of a dialogue setting than simply giving a speech.”
During face-to-face dialogue with groups of Merrill Lynch employees,
Kreutzer and his senior leaders attempt to drill down to what truly
motivates people to serve clients. Some financial advisers want to
focus on a specific aspect of financial planning, such as retirement
planning or asset management. Once specific areas of interest have
been identified, the senior leaders segment the work force to best
leverage advisers’ skills and interests.
“We will segment them via their level of business experience and
bring them together for recognition as well as training events and really allow them to have dialogue with us and with each other,” he says.
“Because we are a large organization, it has really been a benefit to
bring people from Lansing to work with people from Dearborn in the
same workshop.”
The workshop approach has been extremely useful for Kreutzer as
he has attempted to ready Merrill Lynch to respond to a heightened
need for retirement services, as more baby boomers approach retirement age in the coming years.
Recently, the retirement services specialists in Michigan were divided into 21 teams. Each team was assigned to an educational workshop where it worked with a peer who had more experience in providing retirement services.
“That (peer) gave the teams the ability to ask specific questions on
how to do something,” Kreutzer says. “When we’re trying to transfer
skill sets, we’ll use small groups and peer-to-peer training as well as
our national resources, which will come in from New York and also
train them on some of the capabilities of the firm.”
While it’s cost-effective to bring many employees to a central location for meetings and training, it’s not always practical. Kreutzer says
that when you are trying to relay a message to employees spread
across a wide geographical area, it is sometimes better if you can simply take your act on the road, communicating it on your employees’
turf and on their terms.
“We’ll also do meetings in every office so those who couldn’t travel
get the same message, albeit in a different way,” he says. “We try to
communicate where they sit as opposed to making them travel. It’s
better to communicate in their environment, where they might be
more comfortable to share some of their thoughts and experiences.”
