Building your finance team this year will be critical to your success. The complex economic landscape, changing financial regulations, and digital transformation create new challenges for companies hiring financial talent are increasing.
Around 90% of employers said they could not fill the gaps in their team during 2023. As we move into 2024, business leaders will continue to rely on skilled professionals to help them overcome economic downturns and facilitate growth.
However, as the hiring landscape evolves, organisations must implement new strategies to ensure they can access the right talent. Here’s your guide to expanding your finance team in 2024.
The Challenge of a Skill-Short Market
To survive in a complex economic landscape, business leaders need access to professionals who can analyse data, preserve cash flow, and contribute to organisational resiliency.
Unfortunately, skill shortages are growing in the finance industry, with around 9 in 10 executives saying they found it challenging to find the right talent.
Additionally, the priorities of financial professionals are changing. In exchange for their skills, today’s candidates demand more than just excellent remuneration. They’re also looking for employers with robust diversity and inclusion initiatives, a commitment to team development, and a focus on preserving staff wellbeing.
To attract and retain the right professionals, business leaders need a comprehensive plan covering everything from diverse recruitment strategies to employee engagement.
Accessing the Passive Candidate Landscape
Ongoing talent shortages in the financial sector require business leaders to look beyond the “active” candidates currently searching for roles.
Around 70% of candidates are “passive”. This means they may already be employed elsewhere but could be willing to change their role if the right opportunity presents itself. Accessing the passive candidate pool allows companies to fill their talent pipeline with a more diverse range of potential employees.
However, connecting with these candidates can be complex. Business leaders need to think about strategies like:
- Building a strong employer and employee brand: An effective employer brand can attract the attention of professionals even when they’re not actively seeking new roles. Promoting your wellbeing and development initiatives and your EVP will help you to connect with more candidates.
- Accessing the hidden workforce: The “hidden” or “forgotten” workforce, which includes recent graduates, retirees looking to continue working, and even neurodiverse individuals, makes up a significant portion of the talent pool. Business leaders must appeal to these overlooked candidates to expand their talent pools.
- Working with recruitment partners: Most passive candidates are invisible to employers but have strong relationships with specialist recruiters. These companies can give your business access to candidates you may otherwise overlook.
The Crucial Role of Recruiting Partners
As mentioned above, specialist recruitment partners with experience in the financial sector are crucial to attracting the attention of both passive and hidden candidates. However, they can also be extremely valuable to your recruitment strategy in other ways.
Financial recruitment experts understand the financial sector’s complex nuances and your potential candidates’ needs and priorities. They know how to position your employer brand effectively in front of people with the right skills and attributes for your organisation.
These partners work with clients to understand their company culture, the benefits they offer employees, and their skill gaps. They can help you create comprehensive plans to fill your talent pipeline and outshine the competition.
With the right recruitment partner, financial companies can build pipelines of talent that ensure they always have access to skilled professionals, even in a skills-short landscape.
Developing a Compelling Employee Value Proposition
A strong employee value proposition will be essential to attracting and retaining candidates in today’s financial landscape. Unfortunately, many companies still struggle to develop a compelling EVP. For instance, around 82% of leaders believe staff leave their roles to seek better pay, but only 12% of employees agree with this assumption.
Developing a robust EVP in 2024 will require business leaders to evaluate their ideal candidates’ priorities carefully. Your EVP should cover not just the compensation and benefits you offer to your employees but also factors like:
- Career development opportunities: Financial professionals must see evidence they can grow with your business. This is particularly true now that the financial sector is changing due to new technologies and digital transformation.
- Company culture: The best candidates want to know if you’re committed to creating an attractive company culture. Focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion and building an environment where every staff member feels valued will be crucial.
- Employee experience: An exceptional employee experience helps to boost retention rates and employee engagement. Developing a strong strategy for employee recognition, offering flexibility to employees, and promoting work-life balance will make your business more attractive to new candidates.
Leveraging Technology for Recruitment
Business leaders have invested in technology for recruitment for several years, leveraging everything from video interviewing techniques to applicant tracking systems. However, technology is now playing a more significant role in the hiring landscape.
Financial companies are leveraging generative AI tools to help create job descriptions and adverts. They’re using chatbots to communicate with candidates throughout the hiring process, improving the candidate experience.
Business leaders are also investing in AI to help them evaluate and filter through candidate applications. While all these tools can help streamline the recruitment process, it’s worth remembering technology can only accomplish so much.
If you’re investing in recruitment tech in 2024, ensure you know the challenges you’ll need to navigate, such as AI bias. Ensure you keep human beings, like recruitment teams, in the experience to ensure you don’t miss out on valuable talent.
Easy Win Strategies for Building Your Finance Team
To succeed in today’s complex financial recruitment world, business leaders must take a comprehensive and holistic approach to sourcing and retaining candidates. Some of the key things you’ll need to consider in 2024 include:
- Upgrading job descriptions: The right job descriptions are still crucial to attracting the right talent in today’s world. You’ll need to ensure your descriptions are clear, concise, and capable of highlighting your EVP. It’s crucial to use inclusive language and avoid any terms that may demonstrate unconscious bias.
- The candidate experience: A strong candidate experience will ensure the right talent accepts your job offers. Make sure you’re communicating with candidates clearly throughout the application process. Embrace the right interview strategies, and be open to using video and remote interviewing techniques.
- Diversity and inclusion: Diversity and inclusion initiatives will continue to be essential in 2024. Make sure every staff member in your organisation feels respected and valued. Train managers on inclusion initiatives and give employees the same compensation, development, and training opportunities.
Expanding your Finance Team in 2024
The skills-short financial market will continue to present challenges to employers in 2024. You’ll need a strategic approach to grow and retain your team in the years ahead.
Recognising the challenges you’ll face in today’s hiring landscape, understanding how to expand your talent pool, and developing the right EVP will improve your chances of success. Additionally, working with the right recruitment partner will give you a crucial edge in a difficult market.
Use the ideas above to ensure you’re prepared to access and maintain the best talent in 2024 and beyond.
Thanks,
Rachel
About Rebus Financial Recruitment
Rebus Financial Recruitment provides a specialist and focused recruitment service to its customers, ranging from various organisations, including SMEs, to large PLCs.
We strive to offer both the client and candidate a seamless recruitment experience. Using our expertise, we get to the heart of employer and employee needs, and, in doing so, we match the two perfectly.
To learn more, contact one of our team members today or call us at 01282 930930.
