External Talent
While there is a strong focus on internal talent development, this is combined with external searches and appointments. A large majority of the HR leaders told us there was an ongoing war for talent, with external appointments becoming more common and challenging.
Increasing competition from the broader financial services ecosystem is seeing a talent drain from traditional financial services organisations. An existing shortage of talent is only exacerbating the problem, particularly for technical leadership roles where there is strong competition outside the sector. “We use search partners more and more,” one People and Talent Officer told us. “Half our executive appointments are now external,” another said.
Part of this is the need for a broader set of skills, particularly at board level. New technology and data leadership skills are not always available within incumbent financial services organisations, so need to be brought in from the external market.
Others hired external talent at the middle management level, then developed them themselves, while others included external talent in the succession process in order to benchmark internal talent and “get a view of the market.” The latter gives organisations a broader view of the talent available to them and therefore stronger options. They can map and follow the market on a continuous basis, enabling them to make higher quality succession appointments.
Very few said they did not hire any external talent whatsoever. Those that relied mostly on internal succession said they had a strong culture of personal development and mobility – for these organisations, this was very much embedded in their values.