Plenary Wealth / Walker Lane Private Wealth

Tell us about your role in the business and how you started.

So I am the operations manager for Walker Lane Private Wealth. We are a traditional advisory setup. We now have a good few advisers, together. There are 3 companies that have actually merged together, and we work under the dealer group Walker Lane. So our dealer group offers a paraplanning and a back office service, which is, kind of my main area. And along with that comes kind of a lot of responsibility of growing the team. So right now, I think we've got about 5 VA platinum team members, and, I think we've got quite a few more planned for next year too.

How did you hear about VA Platinum?

A bit of online research, and then I work really closely with our CRM provider, Worksorted. And when I called the guys down there, I was like, guys, have you got any recommendations, or who do your other companies use? And VA Platinum was the first one that they came up with. So I reached out and had a couple of meetings with my business development manager, Shirley. And, I don't know. It just clicked. It felt right. I, of course, did a bit of looking around in the market as well, but I don't know. It just, I don't know. It just feels like it was a good fit for us. So, yeah, here we are.

How has your experience been so far?

No. It hasn't. It's been a great experience from the start. What I really liked is that you guys were so on the ball. You know, Shirley, you really identified that I was run off my feet. I was very time poor, and, you really took the hard work out of finding someone for us. I didn't have to go through questions and questions and questions about what jobs they'll be doing or what type of person. I pretty much gave you a detailed talk about what we need.And, over talking, you guys just picked up exactly what we were looking for. What was really good was that you actually recommended some of the graduates from the Academy, and our first VA Platinum girl was from the Academy. And she's fantastic. She's a natural. She's absolutely awesome, and I wouldn't have thought about using the grads from the Academy if you hadn't have mentioned it.So, yeah, that was where we started. We have another couple of grads. We've got, a Client Service Officer as well, and that's worked out good. The entire process for each person is great. So I can't complain. You know, we had one that didn't work out, but that was due to external factors. And the quick turnaround time and support that you guys gave us to replace that, that person was incredible. Within 2 weeks, we had another person ready to roll and they're fantastic. They've absolutely just impressed us nonstop.So going back to the question, yes, it's been a great experience from start up until now. And, so long as we keep this, kind of high touch relationship, I think it's gonna keep being a great a great partnership.

Why did you decide to work with VA Platinum?

I was burning out big time. I was working very long hours just to get through the week and get the most important things done. I was also having to go back into implementation and support with the team. It was just, it was hard. So the fact that all of us were working at more than a 100% capacity for over a year, and then also kind of me working too long and it, you know, it was just it needed to happen.And perhaps we were, you know, 6 months too late in getting support, but, you know, it was I think timing has also made the relationship where we are now. I think that's what's also helped us get to where we are, and have this kind of great team dynamic between not just our VA platinum guys, but also your team as well. Like, I speak with, Jonah, our coach, almost every other day.So, yeah, having you guys manage over there helps me reduce my hours, and we're reducing everyone's capacity. So it's definitely overcome that initial need of, oh god. We're overworked. We have too much. It's piling up. We need to attack it. It solved that from us and, now all I'm doing is the training. I've got more time. It's good. It's really good. So we definitely solved that problem. Obviously, we solved one problem and another 10 pop up, but-

What set VA Platinum apart from other outsourcing service providers?

It is purely down to relationships. I have a background in sales, and my most successful sales have always been from good relationships. And again, you know, working with you, Shirley, has just made my life a lot easier. It feels natural. You know, I feel like we could meet for a coffee now and it'd be kind of like we've known each other for years, and you've really delivered on what you've said. So, you know, there's a lot of people out there who can promise the world and you don't get that.

How was the onboarding process and ongoing support?

So what happened was that we had a couple of meetings. I explained what I was looking for, then, we decided on getting a graduate from the VA Platinum Academy. And so we had a couple of interviews from the latest batch of graduates, and we met 2 wonderful young ladies, and one was just a winner. I don't know every, like, from the first moment of talking to her, it was like, yep. This is her. You just you just had a good feeling. And, you know, 6 months later, she is an absolute superstar.And, sure, we've put a lot of time and effort into training her, but also VA Platinum, like, you guys have found us someone who, like, is enthusiastic to learn, and all of them are enthusiastic to learn, which like, my dad's always said to me, you can't buy enthusiasm, and you really can't. These guys are just they're just really great to work with.So, it's all about, you know, if they've got a thirst to learn as well, then we want to support that. And so, you know, they're all thinking for themselves now. They, none of them follow steps. They all understand their processes, and so we couldn't have done that without VA Platinum finding the right type of fit for us.And we also couldn't have done that without the fortnightly coaching calls where we all check-in together, and we bring up any issues or highlights of the last fortnight. And, you know, having that platform to speak openly and honestly and have VA Platinum to support us as well as support our team member is a really healthy blend where no one feels uncomfortable, and we can bring up topics that might usually be a bit awkward for me to deal with on my own with our overseas team members.So, yeah, just being a bit more hands on is really helpful. I it like, don't get me wrong. I would love to be in the office over there with the team. They wouldn't get any work done at all because I'd be chatting away to them, but I'm not there. You know, if you are in office, you still need that closeness, that support of a manager. And our manager over there, our coach, Jona, is fantastic. She's really supporting our team and it takes that pressure off me.And I see that, like, they sent me a picture of themselves for Halloween, all dressed up as Harry Potters. And it, like, it's fantastic. So, you know, being a part of, like, VA Platinum's fun times with, with our team members as well as VA Platinum supporting us with some of the trickier conversations has really made it quite easy for me, and it has exceeded my expectation.

What advice would you give to a business considering outsourcing for the first time?

And I think a lot of people mess up this step, and it is understanding how you want to manage that person. So first and foremost, if somebody wants to hire an overseas resource, I say go for it. We've had much better experience with an overseas resource than Australian resources. So be brave and try it.But definitely check out, kind of your own management style. Are you expecting this person to think for themselves and just know what to do? Are you expecting them to be micromanaged? Like, how do you manage people? I'm someone who's very hands off, and I like to train my team up to knowing what they need to do.So, don't get me wrong. I always know what's going on across the team. I know what work's happening, but I train them to be able to do a process from start to finish. They're trained on how to communicate properly with clients in our style. So we aren't super, super formal. We're quite informal, more of an approachable friendly style, and I like them to have that as well.But it's you know, I was never gonna be someone who could manage someone who just follows steps and then is done. I will always gonna need a team where, okay, I train them up. They know what they're doing. They know how to report. They know how to prioritise their day. You know, they know how to put certain fires out, and they know when to ask for help when they need it.So we're all self starters, and our team environment works really well because we're all very much so the same. I don't have anyone sat around waiting for me to give them the next step. They're really, really kind of like, okay, what else is in the list? Let's go do it.And even let's say if they've done all their jobs, supported the, like, advisers as much as possible, then they get on with writing or updating, streamlining our, our what do you call them? System documents? Yeah. System documents. Yeah.So yeah, they're really, really good. But again, if you're someone who likes to kind of just have someone follow steps and tick off boxes, then that's what you need to say. There's I need someone who can come to work and they can just get their list of to dos. They know the exact steps of these processes, and that's what they do.That's what I would say is probably the biggest tip. Because otherwise, you know, it's not helpful for me to have someone who can only do tick boxes and following steps.So, yeah, I'd really recommend looking at your own management style. And the other tip would be, you know, obviously, once everyone's onboarded, but it's to make things fun. Get to know your team or your person. We do motivation Mondays where the guys need to share a highlight of last week or give a motivational quote or share a song of the day. Plus a quick 15, 20 minute check-in on a Monday. And then we do power Tuesdays where, you know, I'm encouraging independent working. So everyone has a certain number of jobs, they got to focus in. And, yeah, if everyone achieves it, then they get off work a bit early on Friday. None of us have achieved our goals yet. We're all very ambitious. And then Fridays, we have game Fridays. And, you know, we're across all different ages, but we all get involved, and it's just become a very nice community. So my team is they're all funny. They're so like, we are nonstop laughing. And so my second tip would be definitely get to know them, make it fun, make it enjoyable, and, yeah, enjoy time. I mean, we have to work, and we have to pay bills. So why not make it fun?

Would you consider hiring additional VAs?

We need more. So we definitely already have 1 in the pipeline. We certainly need paraplanning support. So, hopefully, by the end of January, we're gonna have somebody sorted out. But, you know, Walker Lane's plans as the dealer group is to obviously get more advisers on board. And as Walker Lane grows as the dealer group, our back office and paraplanning services are gonna be offered as well. So having people ready to roll, trained up to support advisers is where we're gonna be. Yeah. So we're definitely growing. We're definitely gonna have, I'm probably guessing, about 10 by next year, at least. So it's gonna be a wild ride. It's gonna be good. I can't wait to have more people to, do Friday games with.

Would you recommend VA Platinum?

I already have. Like, I, I, yeah, I know. I've chat a lot and speak to a lot of different practice managers. I also speak with our technology providers quite a bit, and I've already mentioned you guys several times. So, yeah, I sing your praises. It's been a great experience. And, yeah, go go. I think you guys are great.