How can fintech companies meet its growing talent demands?

SFA and Accenture Singapore suggest five ways to bridge the talent gap.

Talent demand for the fintech industry has been outpacing local supply, a report by Singapore FinTech Association (SFA) and Accenture Singapore showed.

Based on the 2021 FinTech Talent Report, the gap between talent demand and supply are driven by higher pay (69%), difficulty in obtaining work permits (64%), candidates lacking entrepreneurial spirit (60%), lack of relevant skill sets (58%), and preference to work for incumbents (58%).

Meanwhile, 73% of companies are expecting double-digit growth in their workforce in the next one to two years. The expected average growth of companies was 37.7% or about 3,700 to 3,800 jobs.

From the four talent profiles required in the industry, Technology Wizards and Commercial Evangelists have (48%, 31%) and will continue to have (46%, 30%) the most demand.

Meanwhile, the current demand for “Operations Champions” and “Corporate Drivers” is at 15% and 6%, respectively.

To achieve these workforce goals, SFA and Accenture Singapore suggested that companies use the 5’C’ Framework which defines “strategies to attract, develop, and retain talent” in the industry.

Clarity of purpose

The report suggested that companies articulate and reinforce their purpose, and build a differentiated culture in order to attract more employees.

“An organisation’s purpose brings a sense of ‘brand belonging’ and is as important for employees as it is for customers,” the report said.

Culture, which the report defines as “a sum of how people assume, believe, and act in an organisation,” also plays a role in enabling a company’s talent agenda.

“Culture helps organisations win over the top 20% of talent, whilst organisations with a positive work culture have 59% less turnover,” the report stated.

Compelling value proposition

A strong employee value proposition (EVP) is needed to attract new hires and encourage current employees to stay in the company, according to the report.

To achieve a strong EVP,  companies must provide opportunities for career growth to their employees, must hold a good reputation in the market, must have quality senior leadership, workers, and must provide monetary and non-monetary rewards to employees.

The components of a strong EVP are also the top reasons cited by employees for joining a FinTech company, with opportunities for career development and enhancement ranking first (50%).

This was followed by quality of senior leadership, direct supervisors (20%); nature and quality of work (17%); organisation culture and prestige in the market (12%); and monetary and non-monetary rewards.

Capability for advancement

The report said companies need to answer four questions to identify the capabilities they need today, and in the future to be able to close the talent gap.

These questions are a) For which capabilities might we upskill, develop, and empower existing talent? b) For which capabilities might we recruit new talent into the team? c) For which capabilities might we leverage external partners or vendors to provide services based on need? d) For which capabilities may we leverage digital tools to improve the experience and free up time?

Apart from building skills, companies also need to change their approach to learning and development.

“[The] new learning paradigm needs to be performance-based, agile, on-demand and with the learner at the centre,” the report stated.

Captivating employee experience

The report suggested that companies should develop practices and initiatives based on the needs of their employees to create memorable experiences for them like training and skill-building opportunities.

Increased training and development for existing employees were also suggested by 56% of respondents to address the talent gap.

From the companies surveyed, 69% spend less than $1000 in a year per employee on learning and development. 

Connecting with the ecosystem 

The report said companies should go beyond traditional boundaries of sourcing and developing talent like targeting freelance communities, developing talent locally, and building partnerships with Institutes of Higher Learnings.

They also should leverage grants and support given by the government to the industry like the MAS Digital Acceleration Grant, which 61% of surveyed companies did not take advantage of.

Meanwhile, 84% of those who did use the grant recognised its positive impact on promoting growth in the FinTech sector and encouraging local talent.