As a Market Research Intern at talentorder, one of my first tasks was to write up a report on FinTech influencers opinions of recruitment in FinTech. I approached this task by interviewing various CEOs, COOs and other leaders in the industry and using their responses to delve deep into the current state of the FinTech labour market and the role recruitment services play in it. I concluded by providing suggestions for the improvement of recruitment services operating in FinTech.

1. Written by
Evgeni Georgiev
talentorder.com
27 FINSBURY CIRCUS, LONDON, EC2M 7EE
Insight into FinTech
industry leaders views
of the market.
Recommendations for
growth of recruitment
businesses operating in
FinTech.
Analysis of responses
and data collected.
2019
FinTech Staffing
Trends Report

2. PRELUDE AND DISCLAIMER ………………………..…………………...........................................................……………….3
ITEM 1. Analysis of Survey Results
State of the FinTech Labour Market and its Outlook ….................................………………...….………….…..…4
Main Issues Faced by Recruiters in FinTech ……...............................………...................................……………...…….5
FinTech Companies View of Recruitment Businesses ………………………………………………………….....….....6
General Issues that FinTech Companies will have to Face …................…….……...………...….....…...........7
ITEM 2. Avenues to Explore for Improving Recruiter Services in FinTech
Expanding Expertise into Technology and Senior Recruitment ……..……………...….…....…..…….....….8
Putting Emphasis of Clientele Relationships …………………………………….......…..…..…………….……..…...…….…..…8
Consider Targeting FinTech Companies outside London ……...…...………………..……….....………...……..…8
Explore Ways to Cut Costs and Lower Commission …………..…....….…...........................................................8
FINAL NOTE AND CONCLUSION ……………………………………………….………………………………………...…..………..…..…...9
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

3. This report explores questions posed to senior figures and influencers in the FinTech industry,
including but not limited to, CEOs, COOs, Founders and Co-founders of exciting start-ups and
established FinTech companies within the industry. The survey received 27 responses and as such
this report should be read with that in mind, however, there certainly have emerged certain
patterns worthy of attention.
The survey consisted of the following questions:
What is your view of staffing/recruiting options in the FinTech market?
How would you describe recruiting businesses operating in the FinTech market
When you think about hiring FinTech staff, do you consider working with recruitment or staffing
businesses? (Please expand on your answer)
How would you rate the value for money using recruiting or staffing businesses?
If you were presented with an A-player candidate available today, how likely would you be to
consider them as a current or future option?
In your own words, what are the things that present the greatest challenge to recruiting or
staffing across the FinTech market?
In your own words, what do you think will challenge the FinTech market across 2019-2020?
What is the hardest type of talent to secure?
Do you have openness to secure international talent?
Do you expect staffing needs in FinTech to increase or decrease?
This report is split into two main parts, ITEM 1 and ITEM 2. ITEM 1 explores the results of the survey
in detail offering an analysis of responses aiming to represent and interpret the views of the
respondents in the context of the whole FinTech industry. While sincere effort has been made to
not contaminate the results of the survey, this report is an inference of the responses and hence
subject to bias. No claim is made to the extent to which the report represents the true opinions of
the participants of the survey. Interpret and use the contents of this report at your own risk. ITEM 2
is concerned with exploring ways in which recruiters operating in FinTech can succeed. It explores
some avenues for potential future growth, suggested by the author. Emphasis is put on the fact
that this report represents the opinions of the individual author and not that of talentorder. It does
not necessarily represent any business plan or strategy that the firm is taking or will take.
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PRELUDE AND DISCLAIMER

4. 2019 FinTech Staffing Trends Report
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ITEM 1 - ANALYSIS OF SURVEY RESULTS
State of the FinTech Labour Market and its Outlook
Optimism surrounding the quality of the FinTech labour market is content. As seen in the first
figure, responses skew towards positivity with very few negative views of the market. The fact that
‘Very positive’ and ‘Positive’ results make up for 52% of responses should indicate that in general
there is good talent out there for those who have the time and capacity to look for it. However, it
cannot be ignored that ‘Neutral’, ‘Somewhat negative’ and ‘Very negative’ results make up for 48%
of the replies. Analysis of written comments
seems to indicate that this is not necessarily
due to the lack of quality but rather an issue
of the identification and allocation of talent.
Responses such as ‘Finding professionals in
my area [is difficult]’ and ‘[inability] to get
people from markets like London to this
region’ were not uncommon and indicate that
skills seem to be very concentrated in FinTech
hubs such as London and Singapore. This makes
it difficult for FinTech companies that are not in such regions to attract the expertise they need,
regardless of the strength of their business model and level of innovation they bring to the table.
Another common issue was that even when the talent is available, ‘role clarity’ is often difficult to
achieve. As one respondent put it, ‘FinTech is a mix of skills and it’s often difficult to identify if the
person has the right skills for the job’. This is perhaps natural for such a diverse and exciting labour
market, however, such issues could definitely inhibit the industries ability to grow.
The fact the sample size is small, begs for attention to be drawn to the 15% of respondents with
negative views of the labour market. Whilst easy to dismiss, valid issues were raised, such as
[talents inability] to adapt and insecurity’, both of which could pose
massive risks to the labour force. Also, many
candidates have a banking background that may
‘not fit well within the FinTech [companies] due to the
rigid nature of positions within traditional banks and the
lack of creativity and innovation’ in such institutions.
Whilst banking professionals are very qualified individuals,
there is concern that the inability of bankers to transition
from corporate environments could dampen the quality
of talent available to FinTech firms in the future. Even if
technical skills can be taught relatively fast, it may take
longer for the hierarchical culture familiar to past
employees of big banks to diminish when transitioning.
Given that 58% of respondents are already eager to hire given the right candidate and an 85%
majority of respondents expect staffing needs to increase, means that as long as the labour
market surpass skill allocation issues, there remains huge potential for the labour forces quality to
grow.
Very
negative
Som
ew
hatnegative
N
eutral
Positive
Very
positive
15
10
5
0
Very likely
34.6%
Somewhat likely
26.9%
Extremely likely
23.1%
Not at all likely
11.5%
Not so likely
3.8%
What is your view on staffing/recruiting options in
the FinTech market?
If you were presented with
an A-player candidate
available today, how likely
would you be to consider
them as a current or future
option?

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Main Issues Faced by Recruiters in FinTech
The first two points have already been
discussed in some depth (see pg. 4)
and as such the report will only expand
on the third point here.
While, as discussed, the overall view of
labour is generally positive, diving into
issues faced by recruiters sheds light
on why some FinTech firms may have
negative views on the talent available
in the job market. As seen in the graph
below, most issues in recruitment lie
within scarcity of Executives/C-suite
and Technology roles . Given that the
five responses to ‘Other’ include
mentions such as ‘tech staff’ and ‘UX
skills’, which can also broadly fit into
these categories too, there seems to
be a real shortage of talent in such
senior and technology roles. With this in mind, a hypothesis to explain why such roles are difficult
to recruit for can be established. Many of the senior figures in FinTech come from the banking
industry and the issue could partly be the culture problem already discussed. Similarly, issues that
come with technology recruitment could be attributed to the distribution concerns already
discussed, i.e. the inability to appropriately allocate skill sets to relevant roles.
Other reasons could include:
‘[weak] salary and compensation’. Many senior figures quite simply demand compensation
packages that most FinTech start-ups cannot afford.
‘High competition for quality staff’ - FinTech is clearly a highly competitive industry with
thousands of firms each demanding the brightest talent.
Please note, it is also crucial not to dismiss demand for other expertise such as sales, finance,
operations etc. since cumulatively they still account for over 25% of the issues raised.
Executives
/C
-suite
M
anagem
ent
Technology
O
perations
Finance
Sales
M
arketing
H
R
/R
ecruitm
ent
G
overnance/R
elations
O
ther
20
15
10
5
0
What type of talent is hardest to secure?

6. 2019 FinTech Staffing Trends Report
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FinTech Companies View of Recruitment Businesses
Firstly, many industry leaders believe that recruitment agencies lack the expertise and
experience to efficiently deal with the FinTech industry. As one respondent put it, ‘Yes, I would
consider working with a recruiting agency but I’m afraid I would end up doing their job as they
don’t have qualified staff for this kind of industry yet. Most of the headhunters don’t understand
what FinTech is, what the right process is and what are the right questions etc’.
Secondly, many FinTechs simply exploit their own personal network and expertise first.
Responses such as, ‘I have a very strong personal network’ or ‘[I have] a broad network of
contacts, I always exploit that’, were common.
High pricing. As seen in the figure below, 81% of responses to the survey questioning senior
figures opinions of headhunters commission charges were ‘OK’, ‘Poor’ or ‘Very Poor’.
0 5 10 15
Very high quality
High quality
Neither high nor low
Low quality
Very low quality
Clearly, FinTech firms could benefit greatly from
a specialist able to identify and direct talent in
appropriate roles. Theoretically, recruitment
companies should fit this criteria. However, what
the survey reveals is that industry leaders
opinions of the services offered by such
businesses is not the highest, due to a number of
reasons to be discussed. The survey question to
the left hints at some quality client and recruiter
business interaction, with ‘High quality’ making
up for 37% of responses. However, much more
prominent is the complete absence of ‘Very high quality’ responses and the domination of ‘Very
low quality’, ‘Low quality’ and ‘Neither high nor low quality’ answers making up for 63% of polls.
What this seems to imply is while there is interaction between recruitment agencies and FinTech
companies, it is unlikely that headhunters are sufficiently making up for skill gaps and allocation
issues in firms, resulting in fairly moderate reviews of their services. Furthermore, when
approached with the option of working with recruitment agencies, FinTech firms yield fairly
unenthusiastic responses such as, ‘Never’, ‘Rarely’ and ‘Sometimes’, 81% of the time. The answer ‘All
the time’ yields no responses. Three main reasons for this do appear most likely following analysis
of the respondents explanations for their answers.
Poor
44.7%
OK
39.5%
Excellent or Good
13.2%
Very poor
2.6% In reality, it is likely a combination of the three factors
that means FinTech influencers opinions of
recruitment firms is low. They have no superior
expertise, rarely have better established networks and
don’t even offer a particular bargain.
Most of the time they are to cooperate with recruiters
seems to be when they have no other option. ‘They are
not very effective, but no real alternative’ and ‘only
when I can’t find a particular speciality’, being fairly
common responses to the query of when and why
companies would use a recruitment agency.
How would you rate the
value for money using
recruiting or staffing
businesses?
How would you
describe recruitment
businesses operating in
FinTech?

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General Issues that FinTech Companies will have to Face
We have already delved deep into the issues FinTech companies encounter when faced with
recruitment. Now we will look at some of the broader issues that industry leaders believe will hit
firms operating in the market over the coming years.
Undoubtedly, these are but a few of the issues that FinTech companies will have to overcome in
order to survive. However, we now have some context as to the issues faced by the industry,
something that recruitment agencies will have to be on top of if they want to capitalise on the
growth potential of FinTech.

8. ITEM 2 - Avenues to Explore for
Improving Recruiter Services in FinTech
To recap on the prelude, this section of the report explores potential ways in which recruiters can
improve their services and business models to foster both their own and FinTech companies
growth. These recommendations are the authors inference of the information made available by
the survey.
Expanding Expertise into Technology and Senior Recruitment
Technology specialists are in enormous demand. They make up 27% of all recruitment worries for
FinTech companies, the highest out of all specialities. It’s such a lucrative sector of the labour
market, with so much potential, that recruiters should consider developing their expertise to
understand it better. If recruitment agencies lack knowledge in this field and there is no urgent
need for other specialist hires, it could be worth looking into hiring an individual with an
understanding of the FinTech industry. This individual could provide valuable analysis and in-depth
research of the market and really get to grips with the struggles and needs of FinTech firms,
enabling headhunters to better allocate the skills of their candidates to their clients. This kind of
knowledge may not necessarily be very expensive either. Plenty of university societies host FinTech
events where young and knowledgeable students, that understand the FinTech space surprisingly
well, are eager to get work experience. Part-time hire of such students could be of great value.
Similar arguments and methods could be implemented for C-Suite/Executive and Management
positions that are next highest in demand, according to the survey.
Putting Emphasis of Clientele Relationships
Establishing strong relationships with clients and building yourself into their networks can be very
powerful. As discussed in the report, most companies try to utilise what is at their disposal first
rather than seeking out external sources of recruitment. Put focus on providing a very good service
not just in terms of finding the right candidate but also making it a pleasant and swift process for a
client to go through. Great rewards could come from establishing connections with firms following
successful placements.
Consider Targeting FinTech Companies outside London
Clearly, a lot of focus goes into recruitment in FinTech hubs such as London. However, setting
some time aside and collecting data on FinTech companies in less urban areas could offer a
unique client relationship opportunity. This report hints at the fact that firms situated further away
from such locations struggle to get in the expertise needed and so there could be huge potential in
these circumstances for recruitment agencies to capitalise on.
Explore Ways to Cut Costs and Lower Commission
May not be feasible, but if ever possible, firms should consider exploring their expense sheet and
cutting back on any unnecessary costs. Clearly, doing this would feed into profits, but crucially it
could help enable the firm to offer affordable pricing to FinTech companies, making the services
provided more attractive and increasing the potential that comes with establishing positive client
relationships. A strict cut in pricing may not be possible, however, premium offers could be set up
to entice clientele relationships, i.e. every Nth candidate placed comes at an X% discount from the
commission usually charged on candidates. Such options should be explored.
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9. FINAL NOTE AND CONCLUSION
The aim of this report was to give insight into how top figures in FinTech interpret recruitment and
recruitment services within the market and offer ways in which recruitment agencies can capitalise
on the growth of the industry.
The analysis is by no means exhaustive and neither is the list of solutions, and clearly every firm
faces its own challenges that must be tackled from a unique angle. However, hopefully this report
enlightened readers on the basic issues facing FinTech and sparked interest and desire in
recruitment agencies to work in-line with and better understand the needs of its FinTech orientated
clientele.
This report was written by Evgeni Georgiev who is currently pursuing a BSc in
Mathematics and Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science,
whilst interning at talentorder as a Market Researcher.
Please send all inquiries to evgenig.georgiev@gmail.com or
owen.jobling@talentorder.com, the CEO of talentorder, depending on the nature of your
request
END OF REPORT
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