Go on the B of the Bang!

Firstly, an apology, I’ve been lapse in writing my newsletter and so much seems to have happened since I wrote the last one. An election, dreadful riots and, on a happier note, the Olympics. We’ve also been much busier of late. Actually, I’m really proud of the team at Fram. It’s been a difficult environment to be a recruiter for some time and we’ve worked really hard and it seems to be paying off. If anybody follows my posts on Linkedin, one of the biggest things I think firms are trying to get their heads around is that volumes for many are down, but their teams are more exhausted than ever. I think it’s a real issue and so I don’t think I can beat the drum enough about how important it is understand that tough markets can be more draining, and of course stressful, than being extremely busy.

However, now we are seeing firms hiring again, one aspect of the recruitment process I want to focus on is the importance of successful onboarding and integration. Firms spend a lot of time on attracting high quality people and in far too many instances new hires are left to find their own feet. Onboarding goes far beyond showing someone where they can make a cup of tea, and should really start before your new colleague joins. The faster you make new hires feel comfortable, the quicker they will hit high levels of performance. Therefore, meeting for a coffee or the odd lunch during the appointee’s notice period is a good way to build rapport.

There are far too many instances of people arriving to a new job, only to have to wait a week for their IT to be set-up. It’s frustrating and un-stabling, and in short a waste of time and money. More worryingly research has shown that a poor induction process can lead to higher levels of staff “churn”. So get the basics right and then we recommend putting some metrics in place. If you have “hard” targets, then hopefully this will have been covered in the interview process so everyone’s expectations are aligned. However, if you take the approach of all hires will be with you for a considerable period time, and targets seem too full on during the first few months, put some metrics to help the new hire focus their efforts. Also include opportunities for feedback through scheduled catchups. If this process is done right and you’ve made an experienced hire, it is often amazing what insights a fresh set of eyes can bring.

New hires can also unsettle existing team members. It may not always be obvious to the wider team “why” you’re hiring. In financial services, where bonuses are always important, colleagues often worry that a bad hire will affect their bonus. Therefore, strong communication around the aims of the hire is important. I’d urge everyone to take onboarding just as seriously as they do the interview process.

In other market news, whilst hiring is coming back, processes are slow and won’t be helped by summer holidays. Processes need to be appropriate to the level of hire, or you disadvantage yourself. If your firm has a four-stage interview process over say six weeks, you will find yourself constantly on a first-round interview treadmill, as more nimble firms snap up top talent. Of course, more senior processes do take longer, but we’d recommend benchmarking what is appropriate for the role. By all means ensure the meetings are thorough, but perhaps be sensitive to time constraints on candidates.

Finally, please do visit the Knowledge section of our website . Recent articles include:

“Talent Recruitment and Development in Wealth Management” - authored by James Fleming, ex-Arbuthnot Latham CEO.

“The UK is THE place for VC investment”

“How can financial services leaders build a more resilient workforce”

I hope you find all of our articles interesting, but if we can assist with anything more specific, then please don’t hesitate to contact me or one of the team.

About Fram Search

Established in 2010, Fram Search is a specialist financial services recruitment consultancy . We focus on mid-to-senior hires in the UK and internationally.

We provide high quality contingent and retained recruitment services to boutiques and global brands. We have long established relationships, outstanding market knowledge, and access to deep talent pools. Fram takes a highly consultative approach, combining outstanding tech with a human approach. We are proud that our contingent fill rate is nearly three times the industry average and we augment our retained search methodology with rigorous psychometric testing. We take ESG seriously, we are champions of diversity and all staff have undertaken unconscious bias training. We also carbon offset.

Please contact us on 01525 864 372 / [email protected] to learn more.