It may be a bit of a cliché, but people are the most important asset in our business (and any business) – and developing them is right up there on our list of priorities.
When our team grows, our clients benefit. Better-trained advisors ask better questions, spot more opportunities and give sharper advice. That’s good for everyone.
But development goes beyond technical skills. We invest in our people because we want them to build careers here, not just jobs. When people feel supported, challenged and valued, how they show up changes. And that culture of growth flows directly into the quality of work we do for our clients.
That’s the thinking behind our internal development roadmap: RISE.
See also: Client success stories
RISE: Reflect, Improve, Shine, Excel
We like to call RISE a career development roadmap, rather than a program. That’s because a program has a start and an end, whereas a roadmap is something you keep following.
RISE stands for Reflect, Improve, Shine and Excel – who doesn’t like a nice, neat acronym? Each word captures something deliberate about the way we approach growth – starting with self-awareness, building through skill development, and culminating in real contribution and achievement.
The framework is structured enough to give people clarity and direction, but flexible enough to meet each person where they are.
At its core, RISE is about ownership: giving our team the tools, resources and support to take charge of their own development, rather than waiting for career growth to happen to them. That’s our Step Up brand value in action.
We don’t promote it as optional. Working through RISE is an expectation of working with us. This means it can’t just be ignored or viewed as an unnecessary HR task.
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The rise…of RISE (our career development program)
RISE was a deliberate investment. And we’re always keen for a good investment! It was our way of building a consistent and scalable approach to development across the firm.
As we’ve grown, a few things have become increasingly important to us:
- Keeping skills development consistent across teams
- Making sure our people are equipped to meet evolving client needs
- Building capability that goes beyond the technical – into leadership, innovation and adaptability
The roadmap also reflects something we genuinely believe: the commercial environment never stops changing, technical skills alone don’t cut it, and strong leaders need to be grown from within.
That’s what led us to create a framework that formalises development, while giving every person the freedom to own their own journey.
See also: Mastering the art of resource planning
What our RISE roadmap looks like
RISE covers every role across the firm – from admin assistant through to senior manager – and is built around three core areas:
- Technical skills – Tasks, processes and software relevant to each role. Everyone rates themselves on a self-assessment 1–5 scale, from introductory understanding through to recognised authority, so there’s always a clear starting point.
- Professional skills – Six key professional skill areas that go beyond the technical for each role – things like relationship building, communication, commercial awareness and leadership – with practical ideas to build them, such as books to read, podcasts to listen to, and courses to attend.
- Role-based progression – Clear expectations at every level, so people can see what growth looks like, what’s expected of them now, and what they need to develop to get to the next level.
These are baked up by PDR sessions, one-on-ones, mentor sessions, Lunch and Learns (always a good one) and a wide range of learning options.
From RISE to Elevate for leadership development
Building RISE helped us realise that leadership skills need just as much focus as technical ones – and as we’ve grown, strong people leadership at every level has become essential.
That’s why, over the past nine months, we’ve introduced Elevate in partnership with the team at Seed People Consulting.
Elevate is a targeted leadership development program for our people managers -practical, real-world and aligned with our RISE framework, but more focused. Delivered consistently over time, not as a one-off training day.
Seed brought the external expertise and structure we needed for leadership training, while taking the time to understand our culture. And it’s working – we’re already seeing a more consistent standard of leadership across the firm.
See also: Maxim news: Dan, Chris and Tyler step up as principals
Skilled people; better service
Both RISE and Elevate continue to evolve as our business grows – and as we learn more about what works. What we do know is that it’s an investment that keeps paying back. Our people are more engaged, more capable and more confident in their roles.
And that – whether it comes from a competency framework, a leadership program or a good Lunch and Learn – flows directly into the experience our clients have with us every day.
And finally…feedback from our team
Here’s what some of our team have been saying about RISE and Elevate professional development plans:
“The RISE program gave me clear focus at a critical point in my career and supported my progression into management. I now use it to continue refining my leadership skills” —Tim Wade-McDonald
“Participating in Elevate as one of our leaders has been a genuinely valuable experience – it’s strengthened my own leadership approach while giving me practical tools I can apply every day. I’m already seeing the impact in more consistent, confident leadership across our teams.” – Erin Marney
See also: Ready for a career move? Work at Maxim Advisors Newcastle!
