Attracting, hiring and retaining the market’s top talent is difficult for hiring managers across all industries, and financial services is no exception. The war for talent is ongoing, with UK unemployment levels at a 44-year low, which means it’s harder than ever for businesses to secure the best people. And while factors such as a candidate-led market can contribute to hiring challenges, clients don’t always help themselves out with regard to writing job advertisements and specifications. This comes down to a lack of detail provided both to recruiters and candidates – something which is essential for attracting the right applicants.
Providing detail when recruiting for financial planners
Clients recruiting for financial advisors and planners tend to be extremely busy, therefore the briefs and job specifications they provide can often be lightweight. Unfortunately, however, the market for qualified, quality financial planners is tight, and many of the best candidates are passive – which means it takes a lot to lure them away from their current roles and competitors to join your business. Skills shortages are a major concern for many in financial services, with two-fifths of firms saying they found it more difficult to recruit and retain workers in 2017-2018. This is only anticipated to intensify in the next five years as one in five financial advisors exit the industry due to retirement.
With that in mind, employers should look at new ways to appeal to candidates, including providing more detail during the early stages of recruitment. Think of your recruitment campaign as another element of your business marketing plan. The banking, finance and insurance industries spend an average of 8% of their total budgets on marketing, which for many clients can run into the millions. Why invest so much in marketing only to hand over a lifeless, uninspiring job specification? In order to deliver in line with your brand and business agenda, you need to align your recruitment activities with your overall employer brand and marketing strategy – which includes providing detail.
A good financial planner can be invaluable to your business, but only if employers dedicate the time and effort to recruit the right one. It can be a life-changing decision for finance professionals to move jobs, and those clients who acknowledge this and approach the recruitment process accordingly are more likely to secure the best talent. Put the effort into crafting your job ad and be prepared to not only define the role – including whether it’s speculative or an immediate vacancy – but also to thoroughly brief your recruitment partner on these details.
What details do financial planners look for?
Granular detail is key in order to make your role stand out in this competitive market space. Clients naturally want to know as much about the candidate as possible, from the connections they have to the funds they’ve managed. But the competitive marketplace for talent means this needs to go both ways for candidates to be convinced to make a move.
Financial planners are looking for things such as flexible working, a breakdown of fees and an overview of company benefits and pension contributions. The bonus and commission structure should be clearly defined in order to sell the opportunity, as should the potential for career development and progression, and the ability to work from home. These are the things our candidates are asking us when we approach them with new opportunities, so clients should get on the front foot and promote these first. Additional details include the office culture and team dynamic, level of back office support available and seemingly-simple things like the look and feel of the working environment. Any of these elements can be a deal maker – or breaker – when positioning yourself to financial planners and wealth managers.
Find your next financial services professional with IDEX
At IDEX, we have a deep understanding of the impact that the right financial planner can have on your business. That’s why we use decades of industry specific insight to craft a bespoke talent attraction strategy for our clients…all resulting in a significantly improved chance of securing the best individual in the market, not just on the market! If you’ve got a financial services vacancy that needs filling, we’d love to help. Contact us to start a conversation.
