Davis Talent Fintech Recruiters
June 22, 2023
We all know the frontrunners of fintech created a strong industry that took off in the 90s with the rise of credit card payments. Today fintech has become a broad term that includes merchant payments, merchant acquiring, ACH, Cross-border payments, ISOs, PayFacs, ISVs, gaming, investments, crypto, NFTs, Web3, and many others. This incredible diversified industry has opened up a world of limitless possibilities. Take a look at Web3, a new front runner, driven by decentralization, blockchain technology, and cryptocurrencies is transforming the industry yet again. Demand for top talent with specialized skills in risk, compliance, mergers & acquisitions, Web3 development, blockchain engineering, and decentralized applications has reached unprecedented heights. In this blog, we’ll discuss effective ways to attract and retain top talent for your fintech niche.
Have a Specific Market Niche
What’s your market niche? What makes your company different from any other fintech company? Is your niche clear for the common reader to understand when they visit your website? Or do they come away more confused? Fintech is an incredibly competitive market, especially within the payments space. Some might say it’s become saturated. To stand out from the crowd, you must develop compelling company branding. Top talent candidates want to work for companies with a clear market.
Embrace New and Existing Technologies
To attract top talent, it is essential to immerse yourself in the existing and upcoming technologies. This can be anything from big data, AI developments, mobile banking/payments, SaaS, insurtech, crypto, wallets, Web3, etc. Stay up to date with the latest trends. Engage with the community by attending in person conferences, attending or participating in online events and forums, contributing to open-source projects in Web3 (GitHub), etc.
Have a Compelling Company Culture
Is your company culture fast paced, all hands-on deck, high risk means high rewards? Or is it more casual, flexible, and easy going? Does your company put family first? Or is it a “do what needs to be done to win” kind of culture? No company culture is wrong but be ready to showcase it. Do you focus on innovative and emerging technologies? Do you follow all regulations and compliance rules to do what’s right? Do you encourage experimentation, knowledge sharing, and professional development? Do you offer mentorship programs, company paid participation in industry conferences, and/or provide resources for online courses and certifications? Aim to have a company mission that aligns with the values and aspirations of top talent. Clearly communicate career growth opportunities, autonomy, and/or flexibility that your company offers employees. Make it clear when someone applies for a role what the culture is like. In short, why would they want to work for you? If you are clear enough about your company’s culture (the good and the bad) from the beginning, candidates that won’t mesh well culturally will weed themselves out of the process. Remember, people are often hired because of skill and experience, but are fired or quit because of culture or personality differences.
Remote and Hybrid Options
Like it or not, the post Covid workforce has come to expect remote work options. The pandemic scare has forced people to examine what’s important to them. Offering flexibility is key and so important to candidates in this post pandemic world. The companies that have been successful with being able to hire and retain the candidates they want, offer multiple work setting options such as fully remote, a flexible hybrid onsite/home schedule, and office accommodations (not cubicles) for employees that prefer to be onsite. The keys here are options and flexibility. Make it clear to candidates what the options are. If your company offers remote work or hybrid options, clearly state it on job posts and your website. If you require onsite work, clearly state it on job posts. Just be clear from the beginning, so a candidate doesn’t get to the 3rd interview and then find out they have to be onsite 100% of the time.
Non-Competes or NDAs
With the FTC considering a nationwide ban on non-competes in the coming months, many companies are scrapping them all together. Many non-competes have been determined to be “not enforceable.” Candidates that have been in fintech the majority of their career aren’t considering roles with non-competes. Companies that have concerns about their proprietary information have been moving to Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs). Companies that use non-compete clauses are viewed as restricting employees from pursuing better employment. The FTC views it as a tool used by employers to keep wages low and limit market competition. The FTC is proposing a rule that will prevent employers from entering into non-compete clauses with workers and requiring employers to rescind existing non-compete clauses. Here’s a link to the summary of the Proposed Rule. Non-Compete Clause Rulemaking | Federal Trade Commission (ftc.gov)
Interview Process
With fintech talent competition being so fierce, it is critical to have a simplified interview process to avoid losing candidates to other opportunities.
- Use various technologies or hire a recruiting firm to automate screening processes.
- Be sure to conduct assessments to gauge a candidates’ skills. If there are forms or assessments to complete, have candidates complete those at the beginning of the application process. This will help to separate the “tire kickers” from the motivated candidates.
- Once interviewing starts, limit the interviews to 2-3 zoom interviews. If you need more than 3 people to “sign off” on a candidate, try to consolidate some of those to a panel interview. The reason for this is that top candidates are interviewing for multiple roles and getting multiple offers. Don’t lose out on candidates by making the process last more than 2-3 weeks.
- Use HR or your recruiting firm to find out what other roles the candidate is considering and if they’ve gotten other offers.
- Efficiency and transparency are very important to candidates. Remember, candidates that are employed will have to take time off from work to complete these interviews. So ensure your process considers and respects the candidates’ time and effort.
- When you are ready to make an offer. Hopefully your HR or recruiter knows about other offers your candidate has and how your offer is likely to compare to those. Be prepared to come in with a strong offer from the beginning. Starting with a low offer (that you plan to raise later) doesn’t make you look good if you suddenly go up after finding out another offer was higher. The candidate will feel that you didn’t really value them, their time, and will feel you are dishonest. Understand the market rates of industry professionals and ensure your offers are in alignment. Other incentives can make an offer look better especially if the base salary is lower than the market, such as bonuses, stock options, equity, 401(k) matching, acquisition exit payments, token grants, work setting options, flexible schedule, comprehensive healthcare plans, flex PTO, and professional development budgets can also enhance the attractiveness of your packages.
Davis Talent Fintech Recruiters are ready to guide you through this exciting journey of hiring top fintech talent! Feel free to reach out for help or collaboration.
Financial Services Recruiting 