Attracting life and pensions candidates in Ireland can undoubtedly be a challenging process.
With a “war for talent” underway across the financial services industry, employers operating within the life and pensions sector have many hurdles to overcome. From continuous regulatory changes and emerging technologies, not to mention a shortage of skilled professionals, it has never been more difficult to find, hire and retain top-tier talent in this realm.
To remain competitive and project a desirable employer brand, it’s vital for hiring companies to take a strategic approach to attracting qualified candidates to available roles.
Let’s examine the most successful strategies that often go beyond traditional recruitment processes, to help you achieve this.
1. Boost your employee value proposition by refining your employer brand
Over the past number of years, a shift in employee expectations has forced hiring companies to change tactics. Nowadays, recruitment is a two-way street that not only requires candidates to impress those in the hiring seat but also demands that employers showcase an attractive employee value proposition (EVP).
The latter is made up of both short-term and long-term components, each with its own merits, but only successful if adopted in a holistic way.
To carve out a winning EVP, it’s vital as a hiring company to first refine your own employer brand, as this will largely inform what employees can expect.
Attracting life and pensions candidates in Ireland through your employer brand
- Positive company culture: Lean on case studies and employee testimonials to highlight what it’s like working as part of your life and pensions team, and to show examples of growth, impact and ethos.
- Attractive benefits: Many pension roles already offer competitive compensation, but complementing this with additional financial benefits, wellness initiatives, and work-from-home options can increase candidates’ interest in your company.
- Opportunity for professional development: Showcase a clear commitment to professional development through support for QFA or pensions qualifications, along with opportunities for career progression, which will help you to position your organisation as an advantageous choice for aspiring professionals.
2. Broaden your search of the talent pool
To find highly skilled candidates, it’s vital to diversify your search. This involves exploring various avenues to broaden your scope:
- Alongside general job postings, use industry-specific publications, pension forums and professional networks to reach relevant candidates.
- Utilise an executive search service to seek out experienced professionals for highly specialist roles, as these individuals may not actively be searching for a new position.
- Encourage existing staff, who are already familiar with your company’s culture and ethos, to recommend people they believe will fit well within the dynamic of your organisation.
Pursuing each of these options will open access to both active and passive talent, ensuring you reach highly skilled professionals who may not currently be job hunting, but who likely possess the specialist expertise the sector demands.
3. Speed up the hiring process
There are many benefits to speeding up the hiring process, both for employers and employees alike. However, it’s important not to let a faster pace translate to sloppy decision-making.
Speed in recruitment, when actioned carefully, can yield stellar results. These include:
- Less risk of losing top-tier talent to competitors; the early bird catches the worm!
- A more effective candidate experience, thanks to timely feedback between recruitment stages.
- Boosted revenue as a result of filling vital roles quickly.
Streamlining your process of recruiting life and pensions candidates in Ireland
To speed up and streamline the recruitment process within life and pensions, there are several effective strategies to keep in mind:
- Integrate technological practices, such as Applicant Tracking Systems, virtual interviewing, video introductions, or digital assessment tools, all of which can improve candidate experience and prove useful for remote or hybrid hiring.
- Keep the interview process concise by limiting the number of rounds and using panel interviews where possible.
- Carry out early professional and compliance screening tests to assess areas like Minimum Competency Code, past employment and reference verification, fitness and probity checks, and more, to avoid unwelcome surprises further into the process.
- Discuss competitive packages in advance, so that offers can be made promptly once you have identified a preferred candidate.
Perhaps the most fundamental strategy for a hiring company to adopt is to set and adhere to clear timelines for interview dates, feedback turnaround, and decision deadlines with all stakeholders from the outset, thereby promoting accountability from within.
4. Focus on staff retention and promoting internally
Attracting skilled life and pensions candidates is just the first phase of a successful recruitment drive; retaining these talented individuals is the second challenge.
Research carried out in 2024 revealed that a staggering 70% of employers have experienced employees leaving within their first year with the company. This is largely due to them being a poor match for the organisation.
Such drastic turnover can be avoided by implementing effective retention strategies, such as:
- Building a strong internal culture by providing and welcoming regular feedback, hosting employee-led forums, and coordinating wellbeing programmes.
- Offering ongoing education and mentorship by supporting professional qualifications like the QFA or APA, providing access to regular CPD training, and pairing employees with experienced mentors to guide career development.
- Providing clear pathways towards internal promotions to senior and management roles.
Each of these steps serves to reduce turnover costs, strengthen employee loyalty and ensure valuable expertise stays within your organisation.
5. Find a specialist recruiter of talented life and pensions candidates in Ireland
Working with a specialist recruitment agency that understands the life and pensions space can bring many advantages. With over 15 years of experience providing extensive recruitment services to our clients, our team can attest to this.
Discover top life and pensions candidates in Ireland with the help of 360 Search
At 360 Search, we share our deep market knowledge of salary benchmarks, regulatory requirements and soft skill demands.
We also provide access to passive candidates, empowering you to broaden your search.
Our ability to help you refine the role brief and advise on employer branding will immediately set you apart from the competition during your recruitment efforts.
Additionally, our services include permanent recruitment, executive search, advertised selection, interim/contract solutions, and, very importantly, on-site services, facilitating a customised approach depending on your recruitment needs.
If you’re ready to meet excellent candidates with exceptional levels of service and expertise, it’s time to contact us. We’d love to hear from you!
