There is a tremendous difference between the type of candidates you see today and the type that remained under the shade of traditional recruitment. Keeping that in mind, let’s delve into the recruiting complexities of the BFSI industry. In today’s Banking, Financial, and Insurance sectors, we’re observing drastic transformations brought about by advanced technology like AI and automation, redefining the very core of the recruitment style we’re once accustomed to. Currently, the industry is experiencing a sudden spike in hiring trends, majorly due to financial companies adopting new technologies to cope with the demands of the digital trends. Even in the middle of the latest technology, the industry is having a hard time recruiting good candidates and building an equipped workforce for the future.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the job roles in finance and business will be growing at a pace of 5% in the coming years until 2029, indicating a growth faster than the average of other occupations. Even entry-level jobs have witnessed a 24% increase in 2024, creating a substantial number of open positions. But why is it getting hard to fill these positions? The short answer would be that candidates have changed; their perception of employment has changed. So, it is integral that the recruitment approach to attract and retain these talents in the financial sector should also transform.
First, let’s focus on candidates for a minute!
As mentioned earlier, everything about the candidature in this financial services industry has been reshaped by the advent of emerging technologies. Despite the industries, the focus of recruitment has shifted from good salary packages (which does not mean the packages have become irrelevant, they do matter) to value or development opportunities promised by an organization. While good packages remain a solid, uncompromisable criterion, candidates nowadays expect earning or giving value to the organization they work with and want the organizational values or policies to mirror theirs. The crux is that your recruitment strategy and overall hiring experience should be orchestrated in such a way that the candidates feel valued, convinced of career-building opportunities they could get, and undoubtedly an incredible candidate experience that encourages them to stay within the company and spread the good word about you.
A quick look into the primary challenges that baffle the BFSI sector
The recruitment landscape is getting more and more candidate-centric. It should come as no surprise having the challenges also revolve around them.
1.Peaking Talent Shortage
Like many other industries, the finance industry is also not immune to the talent shortage. A recent Korn Ferry report has revealed the possibility of having 85 million open positions remaining unfilled by 2030 due to talent shortage. In addition, considering the industry-specific factors, one can easily see that the primary employee set of financial institutions consists of older workforces. Young individuals are relatively less interested in exploring opportunities in the field because of the critical nature of finance job roles. This indicates fewer options for recruiters to explore on top of rising competition for talent.
2.Skills Gap Issues
Recruiters belonging to the financial arena are facing pressing skills gap challenges due to the rise in advanced technologies including AI and automation coinciding with a lack of talent who possesses financial and technical expertise. Along with this, a surge in emerging roles such as Data Scientists and AI engineers, makes it even more complicated for recruiters to find candidates with the combination of the aforementioned skills. Amidst thriving technological transformations, financial employees can’t survive with solely financial skills. Technical skills have become an inevitable aspect of successful talent acquisition in the financial sector. However, as per Deloitte’s report, the tech talent is also scaring, holding back organizations from driving innovative initiatives. According to Deloitte, this soaring industry-wide skill gap could be 2.4 million positions empty by 2028.
3. DEI Expectations
Modern talent is all about diversity, equity, and inclusion, just like how the whole world is aligning itself to the same concepts. When it comes to recruitment, the candidates vehemently expect the organizations they would like to work for to cherish such DEI values, in order to be even worthy of their consideration for application. On PWC’s annual global CEO survey, they found 60% of FS CEOs admitting that the top talent prefers organizations with social values that align with their own, while 75% of CEOs agree to this in the Insurance arena. Long story short, the candidate wants the recruiters to craft a hiring journey that embraces DEI policies by implementing bias-free assessments and inclusive recruitment processes.
4. Candidate Experience
Finally, a recruiting challenge that is simpler and familiar in words yet incredibly difficult in terms of execution. While there is a prominent shortage of potential talents growing, driving away fewer candidates with poor candidate experience should be the last thing a recruiter should allow at this point. The consequences of a poor candidate experience are not only limited to the loss of ideal candidates but also pave the way for the tarnishing of the brand reputation. According to Deloitte (Shortlister statistics), 80% of candidates who met with unsatisfactory recruitment revealed they would pass on the bad news openly. Disappointed candidates are less likely to make further purchases from that employer. This clearly points out the importance of candidate experience because, with a bad one, you are not only losing a candidate but a valuable customer too.
Strategies to Surpass the BFSI Recruiting Challenges
#1 Catch up with the tech-innovations
Candidates of this generation have technical agility and knowledge flowing in their veins. Getting their attention would take the organizations to represent themselves as a tech-friendly entity. Embrace the AI and automation recruiting tools to streamline your recruitment journey and make it appealing to the talent pool of Gen Z and millennial candidates.
#2 Prioritize candidate engagement
From the analysis of potential challenges, we’ve seen how skills gaps and talent shortages take a toll on a recruiter’s ability to find and attract top talents. Let effective candidate engagement be the ideal way to gain their attention, keep their fire lit with engaging interactions, and make them develop certain sentiments toward your company, solidifying their loyalty.
#3 Build a captivating employer brand
Don’t give candidates a chance to ill-repute your brand. Instead, infuse incredible brand storytelling elements in your recruitment approach that will make it impossible for them not to be swept off their feet and share the good experience with their folks. Remember, a good brand perception in the market will drive the top talents directly to you, freeing you from the tedious talent hunt.
#4 Deliver a positive candidate experience
Better candidate experience results from a combination of modifications in the recruitment journey. Automate recruitment to cut down the lengthy process. Craft compelling job descriptions that clearly communicate the position requirements. Implement consistent interactions characterized by regular updates, support, feedback, and reminders. Give a little something (SMS, Emails, WhatsApp messages, or push content) to candidates every now and then to keep them engaged in the process, encouraging their stay. Leverage data insights to accurately predict the trends revolving around talent markets, candidate preferences, and more to improve conversions and quality of hire.
Conclusion
The financial industry is unique in its own way which is why the challenges involved in it embrace a unique nature and seek unique solutions. But to state the obvious, technology promises effective solutions as much as it evokes new challenges. At Hyreo, we aim to help recruiters overcome recruitment challenges and achieve seamless recruitment by assisting their efforts with advanced automation, data analytics, and AI-driven functionalities, making their ordinary recruitment approach extraordinary. Connect with our experts to learn more about what we do.
