Pakistan’s Hussaini Suspension Bridge is a 635-foot-long suspension bridge that crosses the country’s Hunza River to connect Hussaini and Zarabad, two small villages that together boast a collective population of little over 600 residents. Despite its remote location and the fact that it is reachable only through a small path, the bridge attracts thousands of tourists each year, with the number continuously rising. That’s because the wobbly bridge, constructed of wooden planks with massive gaps between them, has been dubbed one of the world’s most dangerous bridges to cross.
On social media, the thrill comes from choosing to cross a visibly dangerous bridge just to capture the moment. In banking, the danger is quieter but just as real: many community financial institutions (CFIs) are effectively walking their own wobbly bridge, grappling with a persistent shortage of qualified talent just as competition from nontraditional providers accelerates. Instead of chasing adrenaline, CFIs need reliable, repeatable ways to bridge the gap between their limited internal resources and the growing demands of a modern banking business.
What’s Driving the Gap
Financial institutions are finding it increasingly difficult to attract qualified candidates – from compliance and risk specialists to branch managers and technology experts. People’s desire for flexible work arrangements, coupled with smaller CFIs' inability to compete with more attractive compensation packages offered by fintechs and other non-traditional banks, and even the perception among younger people that career prospects at banks are dull with less growth potential, has made it difficult for CFIs to attract and retain talent.
As more senior employees with key institutional knowledge begin to retire, many organizations are discovering they have inadequate succession plans in place and are struggling with talent drains. Financial institutions are also discovering that traditional talent sources, such as college graduates, are no longer enough to plug talent gaps, as younger people gravitate to seemingly more attractive employment options with fintechs where there is a greater likelihood of rising through the ranks more quickly and the prospect of owning a share of these organizations. According to EY, 93% of financial services hiring managers find it difficult to recruit skilled candidates.
Nowhere is the talent shortage more evident than on the technology front. As CFIs strive to update core systems, enhance cybersecurity and implement artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives, competition for qualified candidates is fierce as industries compete for the same expertise. Fintechs also offer more autonomy without the need to navigate multiple layers of compliance, making them even more attractive as an alternative to banks. Though 78% of executives at financial institutions view advance analytics expertise as a key element of their strategies, only 23% of banks have adequate in-house expertise to execute their plans. And with flexible work arrangements particularly valued among IT specialists (67% of IT specialists work largely from home), the more traditional in-office offerings of many financial institutions make them an even tougher sell.
Building a Bridge
As CFIs seek to close the divide between their needs and staff competencies, there are multiple things they should be thinking about. CFIs should consider a different approach to marketing employment opportunities, including the way that they structure jobs. They could also focus on things to make job openings more appealing, such as ensuring competitive pay, working in hybrid employment arrangements where possible, incorporating sign-on bonuses and factoring long-term training — particularly technology, such as AI and data analytics — into all roles.
In a world where tech capabilities are key to upward movement, candidates want to know that the organizations they are joining are focused on offering current technologies and continuing education opportunities that will enable them to keep developing their skills and help them remain employable for the long-term.
Outlining trajectories for career paths and incorporating mentorship opportunities is also important, where possible. According to research from EY, roughly one third of employees feel that they have insufficient technology skills to remain competitive. Regardless of the position, CFIs should focus on the things that will appeal to younger applicants when posting job openings, highlighting the ways that their organizations are forward thinking and embracing technology and avenues for long-term career growth. Failing to do so will make it extremely difficult to lure qualified candidates away from more cutting-edge organizations.
Some CFIs have already begun putting such tactics to work for themselves. One midwestern CFI doubled the number of applications it received for a compliance officer position by emphasizing hybrid work flexibility and a path for career growth. While another CFI in Texas successfully recruited two data specialists by emphasizing the organization’s impact on its local community and its culture and having recruiters actively target fintech employees looking for greater stability.
Virginia-based TowneBank highlighted its Lead Program and the organization’s commitment to its local community as a way to recruit data analytics specialists. The three-year management development program for new hires trains young professionals for future management roles –an approach that also helped the organization to be named one of America’s best workplaces.
Another bank that has altered its recruitment approach is Georgia-based Queensborough National Bank & Trust, which has actively incorporated remote work into both full-time and part-time roles. “We have offices and major parts of the bank in the Augusta and Savannah markets, and we feel very comfortable with remote work,” said Bill Easterlin, the bank’s president and CEO. Additionally, the bank has partnered with Augusta University’s cybersecurity program by offering summer internships for students to begin recruiting skilled people early on.
Connecting Talent and Opportunity
As CFIs look to plug talent gaps the best thing they can do is structure and promote positions that match what people are looking for: roles with flexibility, ongoing training and development opportunities and deep ties to communities where they are helping to make a difference. Attracting young people requires both having an emphasis on community purpose, as well as a long-term trajectory for employees – the very same things that can help organizations maintain qualified personnel.
