Q. What’s in the news every day and the first topic of discussion whenever I sit down with clients or candidates?
A. The Hayne Royal Commission and, to a much lesser extent, the recent Productivity Commission report into Superannuation.
Where the draft Productivity Commission report identified areas for improvement within superannuation, namely multiple accounts and insurance premiums eroding those accounts, the Hayne Royal Commission has given us a sorry list of poor systems, poor compliance and behaviors that could be described anywhere from lazy, greedy or criminal.
I don’t need to be more specific, we all read the news and know what and who I’m referring to.
Sadly, in these client and candidate discussions, no-one is surprised. The constant stories from candidates from within these organisations clearly tells me that sales, profits and bonuses are priorities number 1, 2 & 3, and anything else is a long way behind. As a result, the culture of these organisations are often toxic, and that’s why I’m seeing more candidates from those organisations than from anywhere else.
For political reasons the Industry Superannuation sector was added to the Royal Commission. I wonder if the Minister regrets that now. Not only did the Productivity Commission highlight the superior overall performance generally of the Industry Superannuation Funds as compared to the Retail Superannuation Funds, but so far the Royal Commission has further highlighted the difference in culture from the top down. The $67 million in fees begrudgingly refunded and fees to dead people versus a few million dollars on an advertising campaign (A fox in the henhouse? – I doubt they even knew just how right they were) or $240,000 in client entertainment expenses for a $35 billion fund.
Compare the pair indeed!
Why mention all this as a recruiter? Right now, employee sentiment is strongly in favour of ethical and moral corporate behaviour. Candidates want to work for organisations that genuinely make a difference, and demonstrate their strong cultures in their corporate behaviours. Good candidates want to work for strong organisations that are profitable and dynamic, but who also care about their staff and their customers, not just their profit or share price or bonuses.
Without doubt, one part of the financial services sector is winning ‘the war for talent’ based on values, ethics and behaviour.
What have you seen in your world @work that has shaken your values?
Stephen is a Superannuation & Funds Management specialist with over 20 years experience recruiting for superannuation funds, fund managers, banks, wealth managers and other industry aligned businesses. Stephen has built extensive industry networks and has acquired deep knowledge of industry trends and the latest developments in the ongoing ‘war for talent’. This enables him to identify and engage passive talent and successfully complete a long list of search assignments for the organisations he partners with.
