April 6, 2009
Do you have trouble finding employees who know the software you use?
When there are so many software choices for financial planning, for portfolio
management, for CRM, etc., how can you expect to find employees who
know all of your specific choices in software systems — even if they’ve
worked in the financial services industry in the past?
Now there’s a way. Just as Dell will build you a computer to your specifications,
Texas Tech will do the same thing with your next employee.
Readers may have heard about all the technology training Texas Tech financial
planning students receive. “We have about 30
software vendors that want to work with us,” says
Deena Katz, high-profile advisor and Associate Professor
at Texas Tech in Lubbock, TX. “Only a handful
of those vendors currently have programs with Texas
Tech, but if a job offer is on the line, the school will
give that student specialized training in any software
system the employer wants that student to know. The
student literally starts working for the employer knowing
how to use the primary software tools in his or her
office.”
What kind of training do these students get? “They
spend 10-15 hours on each software product after
which they take an exam the software vendor has constructed.
When they pass the exam, they are
‘certified’ as to their knowledge of the software,” says Katz.
Some vendors take the training further. Says Katz, “Warren Mackensen
with ProTracker wrote a wonderful training manual just for our students, and
their working through the manual is part of their certification.” Another vendor
that is actively involved with Texas Tech is Money Tree with its “Silver”
level financial planning program. Katz says the school is also close to closing
a deal with Schwab (PortfolioCenter) and Morningstar (Workstation).
Other vendors she’s looking at for the not-too-distant future are iRebal, Redtail,
MoneyGuidePro and more.