Armstrong Craven have stated that finding and recruiting the best digital talent is the single biggest issue facing businesses in the financial services industry. The global talent acquisition specialist says many of its projects in the last 12 months have revolved around helping clients to attract the best digital candidates, particularly for senior and scarce roles. The trend identified by Armstrong Craven backs up research by Gartner claiming that 30 per cent of tech jobs may go unfilled by 2020.
“Digital talent is so highly in demand that large, traditional companies must reinvent themselves, or consider new locations, to attract enough of the talent they need,” says Jon Stephansen, Armstrong Craven’s practice director – financial services. “There is a clear trend to look for talent where it is available. As a result, companies are setting up and continuing to grow technology centres in locations such as Romania, Poland and India.”
Armstrong Craven recently partnered with a major financial services organisation to overcome the issue of over saturation of the London digital market. It looked at the less developed market of Sri Lanka, where the client was keen to establish a regional base, mapping over 4,000 candidates with the right digital skills. The recruitment company then carried out a pipelining exercise, actively engaging with the strongest 200, while insight work helped the client to understand perception of its brand as well as expectations around salary, bonuses and other benefits.
Jon said: “Talent pools will change more rapidly in the coming years than they have in the past and that is especially the case for digital talent. Corporations need to adjust requirements and organisational changes to fit the landscape. Only then can they plan for the right skills and capabilities required.
“Talent availability, talent migration, changes to and advances in technology, as well as socio-economic and political shifts are important external factors to consider,” he added. “It will also be important to identify which skillsets and capabilities can be nurtured within the existing employee base, as digital talent must also come from the development of digital skills in existing roles.”
Jon contined: “To future-proof and position your organisation for successful growth over the coming years, you must formulate a clear digital talent strategy.
“You must, first and foremost, understand where talent will be available and diversify your recruitment approach to ensure that you will be able to attract the required talent.”
