Financial services industry faces increased staffing and recruiting needs

The financial industry is facing a change revolving around staffing. According to a Robert Half Global Survey, finding and keeping strong employees has proven difficult for companies in the industry.

“While some areas within financial services institutions have seen cutbacks, other more profitable product lines are receiving further investment which has resulted in additional hiring,” said Neil Owen, global practice director of financial services recruitment for Robert Half. “This is creating challenges in finding the requisite staff to capitalize on emerging opportunities. Competition for the industry’s top talent continues to intensify for middle-office and support roles, particularly accounting and finance, as well as operations positions.”

As a staffing professional, you have a clear understanding of what employees are looking for from their employer. If the finance industry is undergoing such a rapid change in employment satisfaction, you could find yourself with more clients looking to fill empty positions. Employers in the financial industry may not only be looking for more employees than usual, but the quality of potential candidates must meet their criteria.

According to the survey, a talent shortage is impacting the industry. The need for finance professionals is on the rise, but less-and-less high-quality employees are available, which is creating increased market demand.

“Institutions around the world need staff who can manage fundamental business needs, drive profitability and ensure compliance mandates are met. Building a team with these skills has become increasingly difficult as firms face situations in which the demand for skilled professionals often outweighs the supply,” said Owen. “A combination of factors, including heightened demand for skilled specialists in financial services, the growing need for regulatory expertise and operational changes taking place in the sector, may exacerbate current retention challenges. Employers will need to focus on competitive compensation, progressive perks and rewarding career paths to keep their best people.”

As a staffing professional, it’s important to deliver clients the right potential job candidates who can provide a wide array of skills and the ability to learn individual system processes that are unique to the organization. Recruiting software can help you locate and track the potential job candidates who can wow executives and hiring managers. The diverse array of social tools made available to you, and the ability to harness this resource and manage job candidates for every position allows you to fit the needs of the financial services industry.

Regardless of whether a company is small or large, selecting the right candidates from the very beginning will provide a recipe for success in the competitive marketplace of financial services. Your skills in recruiting and the various tools that you have mastered will allow you to locate and expertly prepare a potential job candidate for a client interview. With staffing software, you will be better able to not only track this person as they work their way through the interview process, but also gauge how well the candidate is prepared for other positions that customers are trying to fill if they do not get the first position he or she interviews for.

In the financial industry, there are a lot of details and certifications to check for before you’re able to decidedly choose one job candidate over another. Use cloud-accessible software to help you make the best hiring decisions.

Are you seeing an uptick in the number of finance clients you’re handling?