Banks take on tech firms in battle for digital talent

Banks are becoming ever more reliant on their technology teams as data increasingly underpins their decision making and more of their customers embrace digital transactions during the pandemic. Of all job functions within finance, technology has the highest number of vacancies on eFinancialCareers, with 35% of roles posted being classified as within the technology sector.

Annual tech headcount targets for global banks typically number in the thousands. Within these hiring drives, though, niche skills such as AI, cyber security and data analytics are in demand.

Unfortunately for banks, finding people with in-demand tech skills isn’t easy. As banks intensify their focus on technology, they face increasing competition from other employers targeting people with the same expertise. These include big tech companies like Google, Amazon and Alibaba, which offer cutting-edge jobs and products that are rapidly encroaching into financial services. Fintech companies, from unicorns to small startups, are expanding in the US, Europe and Asia. They’re luring technologists from large banks with the promise of flat hierarchies, laid-back working environments, and sometimes equity stakes.

If you’re responsible for recruiting experienced tech professionals in the banking sector, what steps can you take during the hiring process to give yourself the best chance of attracting great candidates? We’ve spoken with several financial technology experts in the UK, US and Asia to uncover 13 ways that banks can attract top tech talent. To read about these solutions to the tech talent crunch, download our new report, Hiring Technologists in the Banking Sector: How banks can win the war for digital talent.

Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash