At Edward Jones, keeping everybody “in the loop” helps the 9,000 branches function as one, plus a little more.
“It’s like working for a big corporation, but also like working for a small business,” said Ashley Wilcox, a branch office administrator at the Westerly office. Wilcox said she gets to go home every day for lunch and if she wants to run an errand, she can.
Associates at Edward Jones are all kept “in the loop” through 20-minute weekly video broadcasts, in addition to daily news updates on the intranet homepage, the internal magazine UpTick, and monthly newsletters. The video broadcast, UpTick Live, which Wilcox has appeared on, shares sales ideas, investment updates, firm news and features about the company.
Wilcox is a limited partner, which is unique, she said, for a person in her position to own part of the company. Associates are offered partnerships based on tenure and volunteer work, she said.
Everyone who has met certain criteria has the opportunity to become a partner, said Charlie Paolino, regional leader for Rhode Island and Connecticut. “When you own a part of the company, you care more about what it does, and more about the service.”
At Edward Jones, associates feel encouraged to find a good balance between work and life. Many associates work from home, accessing data remotely from their computer or PDA. Or they have compressed schedules, allowing them to look after their children or attend to other needs.
“The hours are flexible,” said Paolino. “If someone has a family situation, or something that necessitates coming in a little later, then they work around that.”
Edward Jones also keeps its associates happy with its self-funded health care program.
“Those who use it seem to love it,” said Paolino. “It’s equivalently the same cost out-of-pocket, but if in a given year you don’t use a lot of medical expenses, you can save it up for the following year,” he said.
Many associates, including the 15 people on Paolino’s leadership team, volunteer their time to mentor other workers in all stages of their careers.
And through the firm’s GoodKnight program, experienced financial advisers give away a portion of their accounts to help newcomers get their own business started.
“It’s a way of life over here,” Paolino said, whose son has received some of his accounts through the program. “That’s just what we do.”
Employees at Edward Jones not only volunteer their time to help out their fellow associates, but they also volunteer their time for the community.
Several years ago, Wilcox organized a suit drive at an annual regional meeting to benefit “Dress for Success,” a program that collects business attire for the unemployed, and has carried on the tradition every year since.
“We make our living from the people who live in the community,” said Paolino. “We find it our duty to give back to the communities.” •
