When team members are hidden behind a business leader or sales team, it’s a missed opportunity to showcase the depth of talent within your firm.
This is especially true in the digital age, where team visibility can significantly enhance credibility. We encourage practices to feature most (if not all) of their team on their website.
Here’s how to do it effectively.
Who should be visible on a website
We recommend including:
- All business leaders: Key figures within the organisation should always be highlighted.
- Client-facing employees: Anyone who interacts directly with clients, even occasionally.
- Other full-time employees: For small teams (four or fewer), include all staff; larger teams can focus on management or specialised roles.
Those who may not need to be featured:
- Contract or temporary staff: Limit to permanent team members for consistency.
- Referral partners: These individuals can be acknowledged but shouldn’t appear as part of the team.
- Probationary staff: Adding new hires still on probation can be decided on a case-by-case basis. Either way, decide on a consistent policy.
What information to display
To keep team profiles consistent and professional, include:
- Name and job title
- Authorised representative number (if applicable)
- Professional photo: Ideally taken in a client-facing area, at the workstation, or with a clean background. Consistency is key.
- Short bio: A brief summary of their role, experience, and approach to their work.
- Qualifications and memberships: Include all bachelor-level degrees or higher, and relevant certifications.
- LinkedIn profile link: If they’re on LinkedIn, a link adds credibility.
Photo tips: If a professional shoot isn’t feasible, take photos in natural, even lighting (no shadows) and send them for touch-ups and background removal on Fiverr’s “Standard” tier.
How to write a team profile
To keep bios aligned and effective, we recommend a consistent structure:
- Role introduction: Explain their role and why it matters to the client.
- Experience summary: A concise background overview.
- Favourite work aspect: A personal insight into what they enjoy about their job.
- Personal detail: Something fun or unique about them outside of work (optional).
- Qualifications and memberships: If not listed elsewhere, add these here.
Length: Aim for 150-300 words. Client-facing staff may have longer bios, while non-client roles can be shorter.
Tone and voice: Decide on a consistent tone – serious, playful, or professional – and stick to it. Also, choose between first or third person; third person is more formal, while first person allows for individual personality.
Example bios
Adviser example
“My role is to advise and partner with clients to help them achieve more of what they enjoy. I specialise in retirement planning, tax, social security, and estate planning, spending my days understanding clients’ needs and providing tailored solutions.
After a brief career in teaching (I love kids), I found my calling in finance. Since 2005, I’ve advised high-net-worth clients at firms like Bank of Amazeballs. The best part? Helping clients reach goals they didn’t think possible. Outside work, I love golf and spending time with my wife and two children.
I hold a Bachelor of Financial Planning and a Bachelor of Education, and am an Associate member of The Association.”
Paraplanner example
“I handle the research and analysis behind our advice, working closely with our advisers to explore every detail and optimise client outcomes. I’ve been in financial planning since 2016 and enjoy any task that involves spreadsheets.
When I’m not working, you’ll find me go-karting or doing anything that goes fast. I’m currently studying for a Bachelor of Financial Planning.”
Support staff example
“As part of our team’s ‘engine room,’ I keep everything running smoothly, ensuring advisers have what they need to meet clients’ needs. Since 2000, I’ve worked in finance across administration, paraplanning, and advisory support.
I’m a list person – the satisfaction of checking off tasks and keeping everyone on track is the best part of my day. Outside work, I unwind by planning my next European adventure!”
LinkedIn tips
Encourage team members to maintain a LinkedIn presence to increase professional visibility. Suggest the following steps:
- Update profile: Ensure their profile photo, job title, and qualifications are current.
- Audience perspective: Remind them that LinkedIn is client-facing – profiles should be geared toward prospective or current clients, not just as an online resume.
- Company affiliation: Confirm they are correctly listed as employed by your company so the logo appears on their profile.
- Company page follow: Have team members follow your company page and update their background image, ideally with one provided by management.
- Colleague connections: Encourage internal networking on LinkedIn.
At Simply Advice Websites, we make it easy to add or remove team members with just a few clicks, ensuring your site remains current and connected. To learn more, schedule a consultation with us today.
Team profiles FAQs
An authorised representative (AR) number is a unique identifier issued by ASIC to individuals who are authorised to provide financial advice on behalf of an AFS licensee. When a prospective client sees an AR number on a team profile, they can verify it independently by searching the ASIC Financial Advisers Register at moneysmart.gov.au/financial-advice/financial-advisers-register.This search confirms that the adviser is legitimately licensed, shows their current and previous authorisations, any disciplinary history, and the qualifications they hold.
Publishing AR numbers on your website is not just a transparency gesture; it signals that your firm has nothing to hide and invites the kind of due diligence that builds trust before a first meeting. If an AR number is missing or out of date on your profile, update it promptly, as an inconsistency between your website and the ASIC register can raise doubt in a prospective client’s mind.
Publishing an employee’s name, photo, qualifications, and personal details on a publicly accessible website constitutes a disclosure of personal information under the Privacy Act 1988. In most cases, implied consent is not sufficient. Firms should obtain explicit written consent from each team member before their profile goes live, and that consent should specify what information will be published, where it will appear, and how long it will remain online.
This is particularly relevant when a staff member leaves the firm. Retaining their profile and photo after departure, without their consent, may constitute an ongoing privacy breach. Establish a clear internal policy for removing or archiving profiles promptly when team members exit. The OAIC provides guidance on employer obligations under the Privacy Act at oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-for-organisations. Seek your own legal or compliance advice on your specific obligations.
An advice firm’s website is a public-facing representation of its services and personnel. Under the Corporations Act 2001 and ASIC’s guidance on advertising financial services, information that is materially inaccurate or misleading may constitute a breach of the misleading and deceptive conduct provisions, regardless of whether the inaccuracy was intentional. A profile showing qualifications an adviser no longer holds, or an authorisation under a licensee relationship that has since changed, could be read as a misrepresentation to prospective clients.
ASIC also expects that information on the Financial Advisers Register and a firm’s own website are broadly consistent. Designate a specific person in your firm to own the task of reviewing team profiles after any personnel change, licensee transition, or qualification update, and set a minimum annual review date in your compliance calendar. Review ASIC Regulatory Guide 234 for guidance. Seek your own legal or compliance advice on your circumstances.
Publicly available professional photos can be misused, including in social engineering scams where fraudsters impersonate your team members to deceive clients. This is not a reason to avoid publishing photos, but it is a reason to be deliberate about what you publish and how. Use photos taken in neutral, professional settings rather than images that reveal home locations or personal contexts.
Avoid geotagged photos where metadata has not been stripped. Brief your team on the risk so they can recognise if a client contacts them to report an impersonation attempt. It is also worth including a note somewhere on your website, such as in your contact page or footer, advising clients that your firm will never request payments or personal information via social media or unsolicited messages, and directing clients to call your office directly if they are unsure whether a communication is legitimate.
Professional indemnity (PI) insurance covers claims arising from errors or omissions in your professional services. It does not cover cyber incidents, and this gap extends to breaches involving employee personal information, not just client data. If your website or internal systems are compromised and staff personal information, including photos, contact details, or banking details stored in HR systems, is exposed, you may have obligations both under the Privacy Act 1988 and under workplace law to notify and support affected employees.
The Notifiable Data Breaches scheme applies equally to employee personal information held by an employer. Cyber liability insurance is the appropriate product to address breach response costs across both client and staff data scenarios. Ask your broker specifically: “Does my cyber liability policy cover breach notification costs for employee data, not just client data?” This is general information only and not insurance or legal advice.
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