5 people-oriented factors to look for when investing

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Fast approaching the big 50 this fall, I have come to realize that time is my most valuable commodity, and so I have become very careful where and how I allocate it.

I’m not alone in this realization, especially since coming out of the COVID-19 lockdowns. I think this is why so many have been pushing back on returning full time to the office after getting a taste of the flexibility that comes with working from home. More so, why would someone want to return to an environment where they are not respected and every aspect of their day is controlled?

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If organizations take a more collaborative approach and focus on building long-term relationships with their employees by treating them as partners and actual clients instead of as transactions, then perhaps they wouldn’t be facing this kind of negative response. This includes the public service, which currently employs one in four Canadians.

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The heart of a successful company is its people. That’s why the single-most important factor I look at when investing in a company is its management team. Part of this means trying to get insight on how they treat their people, from senior staff all the way down to those on the frontlines.

More specifically, here are five key factors that determine a company’s morale, branding, profitability and ultimate success.

There are no employees; only partners and clients.

If a company treats its clients like employees, it will lose clients. If it treats its partners like employees, it will lose partners. Some of the best-run companies I know treat employees as partners and clients.

In some cases, such as in my business, investment advisers and portfolio managers who worked hard and built their own practice are the actual clients of the investment firm, not the other way around. If they become treated like an employee, there is the risk of them leaving and taking their practice and business elsewhere.

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Relationships not transactions

Clients will leave when they are treated as transactions, so why do the same with employees? A company that values and respects its staff will empower them to make smart decisions, which is then carried forward into how they in turn treat the end client.

Relationships are a long-term profitable investment, while transactions are a short-term trade that can go in either direction.

A pathway to yes

Management needs to do more than just listen; they need to demonstrate they understand by their actions by making their staff and clients’ problem(s) their problem(s).

This means putting themselves in the other person’s shoes and starting to work together to find a pathway to resolve the problem. This creates validation and loyalty, both of which are imperative to building a long-term mutually beneficial relationship.

Feeling valued and important

Smaller clients need to be treated exactly the same as larger ones, not only because they may one day become one, but because it is simply the right thing to do and will be reflected in a company’s brand.

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This is exactly why we have an investment minimum: to ensure every client experience is similar. This is impossible to do when taking on too many clients since there is the risk that some may get ignored.

The same applies to a company and how management treats employees. For example, are those at different levels given more respect and attention than those on the frontlines servicing their clients? If those on the frontlines don’t feel valued, how will they come to value the company’s clients?

Effective communication

It’s important to pick up the phone or see a subordinate or partner in person when informing them of something important but likely to be disappointing. Never do email. It’s lazy and sends the wrong message.

The issue is that this becomes the standard go-to in larger organizations. I recently watched an interview with Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, who said the first 30 minutes of their in-person management meetings were dedicated to reading a memo (never PowerPoints) and then discussing it among the team immediately thereafter.

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Everyone can say the right thing, but it only counts when followed up by how one acts. This creates an authentic culture with inner accountability, with teams all working together to provide a solution to a need. That’s something definitely worth investing in.

Martin Pelletier, CFA, is a senior portfolio manager at Wellington-Altus Private Counsel Inc., operating as TriVest Wealth Counsel, a private client and institutional investment firm specializing in discretionary risk-managed portfolios, investment audit/oversight and advanced tax, estate and wealth planning. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Wellington-Altus.

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