In a rapidly scaling fintech, at the scrappy startup stage, when there’s a huge amount at stake and an even bigger amount of other startups in the sector competing for VC funding, the most talented staff as well as customers, it can be really easy to kick some things down the road. Like onboarding a HR department, for example.

But getting this piece of the business puzzle can actually be crucial to a young company’s success. Outside of a good salary package and desire to do a great job, much of talent acquisition lies in that elusive “culture fit” where the best people are attracted to work at companies with great cultures – and this elusive special sauce is something that talented HR professionals can define, and action.

For four key ways HR can be of specific service to fintech firms, read on. And if you are looking for a new role in the fintech or HR areas right now, you can browse our Job Board.

1. Nurture and engage talent

In a booming sector, it can be easy to focus solely on hiring the right people. In 2021, the increase in advertised jobs in fintech firms was up 176% globally, and drilling down, there was a 154% increase in the UK and Europe. When the focus is on acquisition, nurturing and retaining talent can be lost in the speed of hiring.

Because UK-based employees in the sector tend to only stay in their roles for around 1.4 years, it’s even more important to make this a priority – the high costs and time involved with employee turnover can be a huge drain on resources. It is incumbent on fintech companies to look at retention strategies that will help to keep top performing talent in place.

Beyond pay and benefits incentives, HR teams could look at professional development as well as other learning and development opportunities. And because fintechs are by their very nature young, HR professionals need to be thinking about the long term, setting employees up for future success by building mentoring programs between managers and employees. This will help to foster an environment that shows progression is possible.

2. Promote an excellent culture

Managing culture is a natural extension of people management and retention strategies for fintechs. HR leaders can work in partnership with other key members of the leadership team to bake the desired culture into the overall company strategy. The great benefit here is that fintechs can essentially decide what that they think culture looks like by selecting best practices and styles from both the financial services and technology sectors to create a best-in-class result.

Deloitte’s 2020 report, Human Capital Challenges of a Fast-growing Sector, notes, “As fintech grows, a ‘plan as-you-hire’ or ‘quick-fix’ approach does not support the growing organisation. Over time, ‘on-the-go’ decisions begin to result in discrepancies and disparities in pay-levels, growth opportunities and all internal policies that are meant to ensure fairness and equality.”

The report also suggests that fintechs should design an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) programme to help to align business goals with culture. HR involvement should drive a performance culture and fully engage employees to get their buy-in. All employee offerings should be integrated across the employee lifecycle, which should be capable of being personalised to the individual.

But why does this matter? Because great company culture attracts top talent as well as customers.

3. Make benefits and wellbeing a priority

As well as salary, HR leaders can create tailored benefits packages to attract and retain talent. Benefits pillars can include development and training, work-life balance, health and insurance and equity. Across these it is possible to build a package that works for every employee across elements such as parental leave, long term incentives (LTI), health and income protection insurance and personal development and training.

A specific focus on wellbeing is important. People working at technology companies are at higher risk of stress and burnout, according to Yerbo’s 2022 Burnout Report. Two in five of the survey respondents are at high risk of burnout and 42% of IT professionals with a high level of burnout risk said they’d consider quitting in the next six months. 62% feel emotionally and physically drained.

4. Be as savvy as the people

It’s easy to forget that in tech in general and fintechs in particular, your workforce will be highly adept, highly technical and highly skilled.

Any HR approach should be as innovative as the product the company is making, and the management of processes and their people should be technology-forward. That means implementing a modern people-management platform which can be used by HR and employees. It should be secure and centralised, and capable of saving critical data in the cloud. Additionally it should manage all your functions such as culture, engagement, core HR processes, compensation and performance management.

Additionally, enable your people to do their best work by equipping them with the right technology and tools. fintechs are often decentralised – developers may be in one country and administration and leadership in another. Make it as easy as possible for them to speak to each other in the ways that work best for them.

Are you interested in exploring a new career opportunity in the HR or Fintech spaces? The Finextra Job Board is a perfect place to start, with thousands of open roles to discover