As the leasing industry
emerges from recession, the job market has changed. Recruiters
explain which skills are in demand and why. Claire Hack
writes.
Go deeper with GlobalData
“For those looking for challenges,
there are a reduced number of opportunities,” says John Walker,
director of MJM Resourcing.
UK lessors are hiring less, and job
roles are changing, particularly among the bank-owned lessors.
“It’s about the nature of the
business which has become quite commoditised. With tax out of the
equation, leasing has become effectively sales, but candidates need
to have more about them, in order to sell, than simply a hard-nosed
sales patter,” Walker says.
As leasing companies began hiring
again at the end of 2010, the focus shifted to collections,
recovery, asset management, and risk functions.
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By GlobalDataColin Manning, UK recruitment
director at Manning Solutions, says: “The focus was a lot more on
credit analysis, looking at the existing book and anticipating
problems, rather than writing new business.”
Companies’ attitudes to risk have
changed, and this also affects the skills they want to hire into
the business.
Walker says: “Does the candidate
have an understanding about general finance? They need a better
general understanding of risk, to judge which deals can be done and
which cannot. You can no longer just do a deal and walk away.”
Training
focus
Organisations have also become
better at moving people internally and training them in new
skills.
“Rather than make people redundant
on one side of the business and recruit on another, there is a
preference to move people with transferable or re-trainable skills.
There is greater emphasis on recruiting into the credit and risk
side and less on the sales side,” Tracey Gates, asset finance
consultant at Commercial Finance People says.
In-house training has become more
of a focus across the industry.
“Some employers are looking to do
more training. They recognise the need to improve it – there has
been a significant lack of training over the past 15 years,” says
Walker.
“As the industry has become more
focused on the bank or finance house’s existing client base, there
is a necessity to communicate with corporate bankers who don’t like
product guys getting hold of their clients. The quality of people
needs to be raised to handle these relationships,” Walker adds.
In terms of investing in young
talent, the focus remains on bringing new leaders forward through
training schemes and graduate programmes.
“At the graduate end, there’s a
real challenge in the way the market is structured, and employers
see the necessity to carry out more training themselves,” Walker
says. “Graduate programmes tend to be at the sexier end of banking.
Take Royal Bank of Scotland – it’s such a big organisation, if you
have the opportunity to get into the investment banking side you’ll
do it, rather than enter Lombard.”
The captive market has a strong
culture of developing young talent.
“They tend to take people on at a
young age and develop them from role to role,” says Walker.
Encouraging signs have started to
appear in the job market for 2011.
Gates says: “Compared to this time
last year there are some really positive signs. Business is picking
up generally and that means increased demand for finance which in
turn leads to increased staff requirements in the finance
sector.”
Salary
outlook
Those who lost their jobs as a
result of the economic downturn are returning to the market, while
others who put off career progression over the past two years are
looking for opportunities again.
“Some are even just seeking a fresh
challenge, they are feeling a bit stale where they are at the
moment and even a sideways move in a new organisation or culture
seems attractive,” she says.
Expectations in terms of
remuneration have also changed.
“At the moment, there are
experienced candidates willing to be flexible on remuneration in
order to get back on the ladder, and some may see this profile as
preferable to those just graduating,” Gates adds.
Confidence levels are nevertheless
rising, and companies may look to ramp up recruitment, although the
focus will not necessarily return to sales.
Manning says: “Companies are not
suddenly coming to us and saying they definitely need six sales
people in the next six months, but they are saying that they’re in
good shape.”
In terms of clinching the next
role, it is ultimately character that counts.
“We look at education – school and university achievement, and
whether a candidate has an MBA. Then at the organisations they’ve
worked in and what they’ve achieved. But the bottom line is, if
they have the right kind of character and can justify what they’ve
done, that’s what counts.”
See also:
What makes a good lessor stand out
today?
Best practice: investing in young
talent
