BOOK REVIEW

By REgIna jOhnsOn

The market rewards organizations that are responsive to change, connected to their communities, and embrace learning.

We are looking at the Great Resignation all wrong. The Great Resignation is about change and migrating towards new opportunities. It is not a time of people quitting their jobs because they are lazy or feel entitled, and it’s not because nobody wants to work.

FLEX: A Leader’s Guide to Staying Nimble and Mastering Transformative Change in the American Workplace, written by Rick Grimaldi, is a reminder that the Great Resignation should be seen as a gift, for employees and businesses, according to Grimaldi.

“I think it’s less of a great resignation and more of a great migration, a great reset, and a great reshuffle,” Grimaldi told Advisors Magazine. “People aren’t resigning much as looking around and seeing that there are other opportunities.”

Grimaldi, a Philadelphia-based attorney, and partner at Fisher Phillips LLP can write passionately about labor and the workplace because he has spent 30 years as a labor lawyer. His time working with employees and employers has given him a perspective on what changes should be made and how to go about them. Grimaldi was also chief counsel for the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.

“I started to see changes at my law firm, especially with people younger than me, and I thought, I must evolve, or I’m going to become irrelevant. And that’s what prompted me to think through these issues and say, you know what, that’s true on a bigger scale,” said

Grimaldi.

According to Grimaldi, there’s a willingness to move around that was spurred on by the COVID-19 pandemic. People began to think it might be time to start that business or try a new career. Some began to think this company no longer fits the value proposition they hoped it would, but this company over here does. However, this willingness to change has created challenges for employers, and they must overcome those challenges if they are going to recruit and retain talent.

The 228-page book is part a history lesson on how society and businesses met the labor challenges of the past, and part guidance on what needs to be done to meet today’s labor challenges. Grimaldi excels at reminding us that we have been here before as he discusses how the Great Depression ushered in the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps aimed to get people back to work, while the Social Security Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the National Labor Relations Act made sure workers were treated fairly and established minimum wages.

Yet, Grimaldi points out in his book that while we are also experiencing labor and wage issues, they are different from previous years. Today’s challenges include remote vs. full-time or hybrid environments. While face-to-face interaction will always be required, employees want to be able to meet family or personal obligations at the same time.

We’re grappling with how to rework education to focus on skill and not just academic history. Grimaldi suggests the United States change its educational system to help people acquire skills so that jobs don’t go unfilled. One way is through an apprenticeship and partnerships between businesses and community colleges.

According to Grimaldi, employers would be wise to create a work culture where everyone belongs.

“Companies need to ramp up ways to meet the needs of boomers even as they redesign the workplace to accommodate the preferences of millennials, Gen X, and eventually Gen Z,” he wrote.

For instance, the book reminds the reader that an estimated two million women left the workforce during COVID, which was due, in part, to childcare and healthcare issues. Unfortunately, many of those women haven’t returned to work. Part of this is driven by our inability culturally to recognize that we need to improve childcare and family leave. If companies want those women back, they must consider changes to their healthcare and wellness programs.

The pandemic has taught us one important lesson, according to Grimaldi. You must be flexible and willing to change, which requires looking forward and thinking about what’s next as businesses will continually face new challenges. There is a business case for not ignoring climate change, social justice issues, or changes needed in education.

“The market rewards organizations that are responsive to change, connected to their communities, and embrace learning,” Grimaldi writes. The key is to be flexible and to remain flexible. We must have the ability to evolve and change in business and personal our lives.”

Grimaldi seems to throw down a challenge to companies to be a disrupter and not to be brought down by the disruptions.

by chris hobart

3 Questions to help find a financial advisor you can trust

When it comes to financial planning, most Americans take a do-it-yourself approach.

In fact, various surveys and studies over the years have shown that anywhere from 60 to 70 percent or more don’t have a financial advisor.

But does that mean the remaining minority who do hire someone are more confident about what the future holds for them financially?

Maybe. But maybe not. Most of those people say they don’t completely trust that their advisor is always acting in their best interests, according to a poll by the American

Association of Individual Investors.

That distrust could even be part of the reason some people decide to forgo using an advisor at all.

“People see headlines about shady practices that exist in the financial word, and as a result they become leery of working with any financial advisor because they no longer know who to trust,” says financial Chris Hobart, a financial professional and financial commentator.

It was the shady practices of one such advisor that put Hobart on the path to a career in financial services. His grandmother placed her trust in an advisor who “advised her right out of her life savings,” he says.

“I think it’s important for those of us in the industry to demand more of ourselves, because investors deserve more from us,” he says. “We must call out questionable practices when we see them.”

But what can the average person do to improve the odds that they are working with an advisor they can trust? Hobart suggests a few questions to ask yourself about the person you rely on to handle your finances:

Is your advisor honest when discussing how they are paid? Financial professionals are paid in a number of ways, but the financial industry hasn’t always been forthcoming about compensation, Hobart says. Some are paid on commission. Some charge fees. Some work based on a combination of commissions and fees. It’s important to know just what you are paying for the services. “Clients often are hesitant to ask how their advisors make money,” he says. “Don’t be. A trustworthy advisor will have an honest, open conversation with you about this.”

Does your advisor encourage questions? “Any good relationship is built on open, two-way communication,” Hobart says. “It’s your money.

You deserve to know exactly how it’s being invested and why.” But a good advisor will do more than answer your questions, he says. They will also proactively provide information to your about your accounts, whether you ask or not.

Does your advisor know you? Everyone is different, with their own goals and dreams about the future. “The right financial plan for you isn’t the right plan for anyone else,” Hobart says. “Your advisor should offer personalized financial planning that fits your life, not cookie cutter advice that’s the same for everyone.”

“Now, more than ever, investors are demanding honesty from not only individual advisors but also larger financial institutions,” Hobart says. “There is no longer space within the industry for financial professionals who are motivated only by their own financial gains.”

Chris Hobart (www.hobartfinancialgroup.com) is CEO and founder of Hobart Financial Group. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Hobart is a nationally-recognized financial commentator, an Investment Advisor Representative (IAR), and a licensed insurance agent. Senior Market Advisor Magazine named Hobart one of the nation’s top independent financial advisors. He’s been a featured guest on CNBC and Fox Business and a regular guest on WCNC’s “Charlotte Today.” Hobart has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, The Associated Press, MSN Money, The Charlotte Observer, Men’s Health, Kiplinger, Market Watch, The Street, The New York Times, USA Today and Forbes.