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As we start entering the ‘new norm’ of a post-covid world we started to think about how the rest of 2020 and beyond will change the financial services sector.
Firstly let’s take away the implications of Covid-19 as they are really still an unknown quantity and we really would be making ‘best guesses’.
International Payment Transactions – Smaller and Faster
During the start of 2020 we have seen an acceleration in real-time low-value payments across borders at a reduced cost, driven by customer requirements for on-demand payments. This has resulted in a gaining of transaction and scaling up for suppliers of interledger and distributed ledger technologies.
Watch out for a raft of pioneering Cloud-hosted banking technology providers
Many banks are already using banking-as-a-service tech platforms to evolve their cost-to-serve and cost-to-charge offerings. However technology costs with the operation and development of these services continues to climb we fully expect the finance sector to turn to cloud providers to reduce these costs.
Cloud-hosted banking tech providers have already developed new platforms with the latest technology, and are best placed to economically plug into the emerging blockchain networks employed and other areas if FINTECH. We wonder how longer it will be until we reach the tipping point from face-to-face premise banking to agile, cheaper cloud hosted banking.
Creating a Ripple in Mobile App Payments
Again we are seeing consumer purchase payment choices changing as many embrace mobile app as their preferred payment choice. Linking with blockchain technology, mobile apps driven by technology like Ripple are key to achieving this especially in the tourist industry (when it kicks back in) as a UK Tourist visiting the far east could trigger instant cross-border payment from their Sterling Account to a merchants local currency account.
The use of Ripple will also enable SMEs to invoice and receive international payments immediately, in small amounts. This reduces cash flow issues for the more agile SMEs as well as reducing cost-of-business, alongside opening up the potential of new markets.
The Consumers Micro Wallet
The use of micropayments has traditionally been limited to pure payment messenging apps, however as the larger tech companies introduce their own payment services, we can expect many developers rushing to create solutions for in-app, real-time on-demand payment processing.
Will the future be built on Blockchain?
With about 80% of the total of digital asset trading coming from Asia there has always been an appetite for payment innovation. Blockchain,with its ability to make micro-transactions such as loans, payments, remittances – much more efficient and transparent, has been a key factor in this innovation.
There is still an opportunity for continued advances for both consumer and enterprise remittances, there are opportunities for the use of blockchain technology to primarily address issues of liquidity, speed of implementation, and the cost of readily available capital.
So what about the implications of COVID?
The UK’s focus during the COVID-19 outbreak has been in the preservation of jobs and supporting the self-employed. Measures have been implemented to help businesses of all sizes manage the immediate cash flow problems which came with the pandemic.
Many have spoke about a repeat of the 2008 Financial crisis, however this time the banking industry is being seen as an integral part of the solution not the problem. UK regulators have acted quickly to provide easier capital and credit conditions for banks.
The final impact of COVID-19 might not be known for months or years, it will however effect the whole of the UK to differing extents. Oxford Economics estimates that cities such as Cambridge and Bristol may be more resilient due to their larger professional services and digital industries; Only time will tell.
 
Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment work across the United Kingdom sourcing the highest equality talent in the banking and financial services industries.
As an all-female company, and proud members of the Women in Finance Charter, the whole team at Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment are keen to see the closing of the gender diversity gap. We are not an all-female team by design, in simple terms when we needed to, we employed the best candidates available, regardless of gender, which is surely the best move for any business.
The gender pay gap has been an ongoing topic for some decades, and much work has been done to address this since the radical political change of the Equal Pay Act of 1970. Unfortunately, 50 years on, gender inequality is still evident across all industry sectors in the United Kingdom; there are advances being made but it appears to be a long journey until we see parity.

Where does the finance and banking sector stand when it comes to gender equality?
Amazingly the mean gender pay gap across all industries in the UK is still some 10 percent, however in the banking and finance sectors this pay divide is in excess of 20 percent. More disturbing is the spread and inequality at executive and board level; only 15% of all board members in finance and banking are female, with a pay gap for individuals taking home in excess of £1 million per year of over 90 percent. Many will claim this is as a result of men being more proficient in finance, however statistics show that companies with a greater number of females in senior management are more successful.
There are obviously some companies who have made concerted efforts to address this inequality. For far too long equality and addressing the challenges associated with it have been seen as a female issue and thus theirs to resolve. We believe it is vital that male leaders in banking and finance feel comfortable in discussing gender equality and resolve bias and issues arising with all their employees.

Jobs for the boys?
Finance and the banking sectors have long been associated with a culture for the Alpha-Male. Women were and sometimes are still dissuaded from entering a career in finance and banking out of fear of fitting in, often alongside an employers’ subconscious bias towards employing the male stereotype of their perfect employee.  Company culture building and team events have historically been built around the male domain. We believe it is vital that employers are careful at time of hire that the language and image they portray is not seen to encourage or discourage female applications; where possible the hiring panel should always include a female, a reassurance that there is a place in the company for females.
At Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment we have always worked with a large percentage of women looking to return to the workplace after time away; often having taken a break to bring up children or for maternity. There are many challenges for a woman looking to return to work, least not childcare. A Woman in Finance Treasury Committee report highlighted that flexible working is seen as a ‘female way of working and can shunt career growth’ – with the recent COVID-19 pandemic we believe that this viewpoint will change. We know that from the working mothers we have placed, that they have the ability to generate the same quality of work remotely around their childcare requirements.
“I leave the office at 5.30pm every day. I don’t apologise for it, but I get a lot of looks when I go. Oddly no one is looking when I go back online after the kids go to bed and I go back to work.” Anonymous
How does having staff more qualified benefit you?
So how does having more female managers and executives benefit the company?
It is believed that having a gender gap in leadership makes a difference when it comes to a banks’ stability; those with a higher share of (female) board members retained capital buffers, a lower proportion of nonperforming loans and greater resistance to stress.
There are four possible reasons for this:

  • Having more women on boards contributes to a diversity of thoughts and thus better decisions;
  • Women may be better at addressing risk factors;
  • Despite an inequality of gender hiring practices this does result in the fact that those women who make it to the top are far better qualified and experienced that their male counterparts;
  • Those institutions who do have a higher proportion of women in top positions may be better managed from the top down.

The finance and banking sector must accept that the problem of gender equality and gender pay gaps goes well beyond ‘C-Suite’ level. We believe we need to see a major change in the sectors; fostering industries that welcomes, supports and values a woman’s expertise, encouraging their promotion.
Campbell & Fletcher Recruitments founder Tracy Fletcher commented;
“I had 2 female mentors in my time working for HSBC. They taught me to be true to myself and not be apologetic for having ambition and wanting what was and still is to a certain extent a ‘boys’ job.
I believe it’s OK to be a woman, it’s OK to approach problems with a woman’s perspective – the whole point of having a diverse workplace is to have different views. I firmly believe in encouraging those women around me to fulfil their potential. I still have a mentor and I am honoured to be able to mentor for someone else”
As a sector we must reach out to women and look to invest in their potential. Part of Campbell & Fletchers commitment to the Women in Finance Charter is that we understand there is a huge diversity within the sector and companies have different starting points in addressing gender inequality. We work with companies to set targets and find the right talent recruitment strategy to meet these every day.

Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment work across the United Kingdom sourcing the highest equality talent in the banking and financial services industries.
We are pleased to announce that as of 1st June 2020 Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment are moving to new offices in the heart of the vibrant Spinningfields district of Manchester City Centre. With an award-winning architectural cityscape, Spinningfield sits at the heart of the city’s financial and commercial centre and is home to many of Manchesters most popular cultural and dining experiences.

Our new address is:
Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment, 10th Floor, 3 Hardeman Street, Manchester. M3 3HF
If any of our customers require any existing signed terms to be updated with our new address details then please let us know; there is however no legal obligation as it is a business as usual change.
We look forward to welcoming you to our new offices once some form of ’normality returns’.
Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment work across the United Kingdom sourcing the highest equality talent in the banking and financial services industries.
We have always known that successful remote workers go about their day very differently than those who work in office settings. Over the last 3 weeks the majority of us are having this enforced on us because of the current challenges the world is facing and it has brought its own difficulties both for employees and management teams. We have realised a vastly different managerial style is needed. Now it has been confirmed that we are facing further weeks of lockdown we thought it would be useful to share our thoughts and recommendations on how best to make it work.
Clear Communication
Firstly, it is important for all managers to have clear well-structured communication strategy, especially at the current time. Keep communicating – even if you have very little to say. Your staff will be looking for reassurance, part of our job is to remain positive and try to keep a sense of perspective on what this means to us now and in the future – try to remove any negative discussion albeit don’t gloss over genuine concerns. For some staff you might need to do this more often than with others. Don’t just use email, keep it personal, use SMS, WhatsApp, make a call or organise a video chat.

We recommend that you share goals and expectations. It is good for your team to see the bigger picture and understand the role they play in it at present and most importantly in the future.
There are many Virtual Meeting tools around and we suggest you make use of these. Do not ask each and every person for a minute by minute breakdown of their day. Try to make sure these are interactive, try to capture the spirit of the office, and most importantly keep it positive, proactive and limit the time. Use leading questions to get engagement such as “Are there opportunities for us being created by this situation?” – you might be surprised with the input from your team who have lots of thinking time on their hands.
We love our “Daily Morning Shout Out”, our ten minute virtual meeting held at the same time every morning, where every team member briefly answers four questions:
“What did I achieve yesterday?”
“What will I do today?”
“What is stopping me achieving this?”
And most importantly…   “How am I feeling?”
Avoid Micromanagement
Overcoming an urge to micromanage can be hard for a manager at the best of times. You have to trust your employees – even if you can’t see what they are doing doesn’t mean they are not actually doing it.
Be clear in what you are expecting from them whilst they are forced to work from home. Set clear and well understood objectives and ideal outcomes and deadline and then most importantly let your staff do their jobs. It is your job as a manager to set the expectations, then it your staff’s choice about how best to accomplish their tasks.
It’s Home Working not 24/7
Do not expect your staff to be available 24/7. Avoid sending them emails, texts or messages outside of the standard office hours in doing so you communicate a message that you expect them to reply immediately – respect their private life. The likelihood is that your team will already spend far more productive time working than they manage in the office, there are simply less distractions.

Our Top Five Tips to help your staff and your management of them:

  1. Use the right technology – Often remote teams end up in shambles because there is no clear overview of tasks. Continually asking your staff to update you disrupts their tasks. Using project management apps (examples: Trello or Asana) that allow team members to see exactly where projects stand and what tasks need to be done can also be an invaluable tool for remote team management. Ensure you and your team have the right software and hardware to do their job.
  2. Get the right working environment – Avoid working from the sofa. Where possible create a workspace area for which you can shut the door on at the end of the day. Treat your working day like a ‘working day’, no Pyjamas; get ready for work like any ‘normal’ day.
  3. Celebrate the wins – no matter how small. Share with them all the progress the team are making in these challenging times, remind them that our competitors are in the same boat – celebrate every success and avoid dropping into survival mode.
  4. Put down that phone – Encourage your staff and yourself to have digital detox at the weekends; when you and your staff are rested and refreshed you are all more productive.
  5. Share A Smile – Remote working can bring its own challenges with isolation. It is important that as a manager you ensure that your staff maintain a sense of purpose in being a valuable part of the company. We have organised Virtual Happy Hour Drinks every Friday since lockdown with all our team; it brings a bit of banter and lots of laughs.

As a leader, managing a remote team might be an entirely new experience, but it need not be a painful one. Keep track of your staff and check they have the tools to do their jobs and then trust them to do it. You will have doubts, especially with the uncertainty at the moment – this is a sign you care that you a doing a good job and you care about your team. It shows you are mindful of the adjustments you are having to make to your own leadership style as well as to how you manage your team in the forthcoming weeks and months.
Being a leader is never easy but remember we are #InItTogether.

Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment work across the United Kingdom sourcing the highest equality talent in the banking and financial services industries.
We are pleased to present our 2020 Financial Services Industry recruitment report.
The last 12 months have been unprecedented, with Brexit, the not completely expected General Election and currently unprecedented challenge that is the Coronavirus.
In a challenging world it is more important than ever to attract the very best calibre of people; those who are aligned to your values and vice versa.
Hopefully our survey will give you the same food for thought as it has team at Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment.
To access the report simply click the image below – we look forward to your feedback

Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment work across the United Kingdom sourcing the highest equality talent in the banking and financial services industries.
We have pulled the following list of tips which might help minimise disruption for your business. With an every changing situation, although currently it’s very unlikely that businesses will need to close their workplace, but we believe you should have a plan ready in case you need to action this.
Have you got a Business Continuity plan – and if yes have you tested it.

  • Create a team to devise and oversee the plan; with the situation changing almost daily they need to be empowered to make some tough decisions.
  • Assess the risks across the business, especially to your revenue streams.
  • Prepare and plan for different scenarios.
  • Check your business insurance and supplier contracts. Can you claim for losses incurred by business interruption? Or can you reduce your direct supplier costs?
  • Update your employee’s emergency contact details.
  • Review your key suppliers and have an alternative ready.
  • Think about your key customers, make sure they know you have a business continuity plan.

Keep everyone Informed and show them you care

  • Each member of your staff is different, with different responsibilities away from work, show them you care and consult with them. Be clear that you don’t expect your employees to come into work if they are ill or need to self-isolate.
  • Have a clear and transparent sick pay policy, and listen to any staff concerns.
  • Check which employees have children or elderly caring responsibilities. Can they work from home, or can you cover their roles? You need to maintain your business operations after all.
  • Promote regular hand washing for employees and visitors, with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Encourage social distancing i.e. stop shaking hands; check working space distances.
  • Put all your staff into different categories. i.e.
    • Staff who perform business critical time sensitive functions which must be undertaken on site
    • Staff who perform business critical time sensitive functions which can be done from home etc…

Plan to work short and/or home working

  • Get your Senior Managers to look at how they can carry on with a limited workforce, focus on the business-critical tasks, and use this period to cross train employees just in case.
  • Identify which roles can be performed from home; consider what you need to arm your staff with to help them prepare for this (laptops/printers).
  • Can home workers access the company systems, and are the IT security issues?
  • Run a test. Can everyone communicate easily? Is additional training needed to use new technology/systems?
The situation is obviously changing daily and some of the information covered above may change. It might be worth checking on the links below which may also help.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
https://www.acas.org.uk/coronavirus
Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment work across the United Kingdom sourcing the highest equality talent in the banking and financial services industries.
In today’s cluttered and fast paced world, companies are under increased scrutiny to prove their worth to candidates, so the importance of brand and branding has become acute. Good reputation is a currency upon which all recruiters are measured.
We all know that with a simple Google search, we can have hundreds of thousands of results at their fingertips in less than a second. From a candidate perspective they want to know the basics, like a company history, its size and where it operates; but they also want to find out what the culture is like, the opportunities for development, the employee incentives.

Employer brands are scrutinised on social media platforms and through search queries; who hasn’t checked out the LinkedIn profile of the person you are meeting. The job seeking process is now transparent; and is driven by connections, by culture and by reputation. A strong brand reputation on a website such as Glassdoor, which takes anonymous feedback from employees and job seekers on your company and its culture, can encourage prospective employees to work for you. However negative experiences especially from candidates, be it the companies failure to provide feedback on CV’s and the interview, the withdrawing of roles or simply filling roles internally can damage the brands reputation to future prospective employees.

Did you know that 84% of people asked would consider another role by a business with an excellent reputation?

When recruiting it’s important to know what your existing and former employees say about what it is like to work for you. Internal research will give you an insight on what is both good and bad, and by using online tools such as Glassdoor, or even a simple Google search on your own business, will enable you to see what is being said about you. Once you have a clear idea about your current reputation you are able to strategically plan on how to implement into your talent acquisition process.
 
What happens when you get your brand and reputation right?
People are the core of any business, having an effective employer brand and reputation can lead to:

  • Reduced turnover of staff
  • Attraction of the best quality talent
  • Assist in retaining key staff
  • Reduced costs in recruitment
  • Fully engaged employees

Our bespoke banking and financial services recruitment company enjoy a good bit of humour during an interview.
Create a Employee Value Proposition
Similar to a Value Proposition in marketing, an Employee Value Proposition is a promise, a mission statement; create one and then stick to it. Let it create for the employee a sense of passion and pride for working for your business; The Employee Value Proposition can also contain details of your corporate social responsibility.
When you get your brand and reputation right, talented people will want to work for your company and hiring time reduces – you become the employer of choice, and your employees become your best advocates of your brand.
As part of our recruitment and talent acquisition process, the team at Campbell & Fletcher operate as an extension of your brand to provide a clear, consistent and positive experience for both candidates and employers alike; we work with you to make you the employer of choice pairing you with the right candidates who then become further advocates for your business.

Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment work across the United Kingdom sourcing the highest equality talent in the banking and financial services industries. We would be pleased to speak to both prospective clients and candidates alike then please contact us on 0161 214 7980 or email us here.
 
For many people Talent Acquisition is just a new on-trend word for Recruitment, however companies who understand the bigger picture know there are important differences.
Recruitment has always been thought of about filling immediate positions due to staff transition or business growth. At Campbell & Fletcher we realise that by improving our relationships with our clients, we can better understand the role that ‘talent acquisition’ can help to achieve the clients end vision.
When you hire, you invest in people, but all too often it can be seen as just another costly expense. This can encourage employers to cut corners and see recruitment as a mechanical process that never changes. Talent acquisition is about being aware of current staffing trends, the state of the workforce, and using that insight to attract vital talent.
 
Write your CV with the aid of our bespoke financial recruitment company.
Recruit or Acquire?
A recruitment strategy can be compared to a short-term quick fix where there is need for a company to meet immediate tactical needs. Recruitment tends to be reactive, clients already know quite clearly what the need and are looking for, and as result often leads to an increased time-to-hire and cost-to-hire due to specific nature of your search.
Talent acquisition is a more strategic strategy, about finding specialists for positions that require very specific skillsets, or for its business leaders for the future. This provides a far more challenging proposition when looking at niche sectors; especially with the rapid advances in technology with the Banking and Financial services sector. With talent acquisition you are seeking a key factor in a larger strategy to increase your growth, it become an ongoing cycle taking more time-up initially but delivers the best results for your company.
There is a general believe that all businesses should focus on talent acquisition rather than recruitment, as talent acquisition will build a stronger company – it becomes a proactive continuous process, enabling you to acquire the best and brightest employees.
At Campbell & Fletcher we approach both strategies from a different perspective. For recruitment, the industry experience and skillset play a crucial role in our candidate delivery programme. With talent acquisition we look at the aforementioned experience and skillset, but we also look beyond the CV and look at the talent and potential that the candidates possess.
 

 
Our talent acquisition strategy also works to identify, anticipate and understand the reasons employees might be tempted to leave your company, and addressing those issues so that the recruitment team isn’t hiring due to a lack of awareness in foresight in your organization. In most cases we have a short list of potential candidates, we refer to it as our ‘subs bench’, ready for when the client is looking to recruit because our team work hard to understand our clients’ recruitment strategy but just as important, the clients’ culture. This only happens when there is a strong relationship in place.
Talent acquisition is not only about a recruitment process to ensure the candidates are right for your business, it’s also about convincing potential talent that you are the right company to meet their career needs. We believe talent acquisition to be a real skill; at Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment it allows us to tap into our expertise of recognising the potential not just the experience.
If you would like further information or to meet to discuss how Campbell & Fletcher can support your company with its talent acquisition program then please contact us on 0161 214 7980 or email us here. 
 
Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment work across the United Kingdom sourcing the highest equality talent in the banking and financial services industries.