Financial planning recruitment not impacted by FOFA
The Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) reforms have not dramatically impacted recruitment within financial services, with some businesses reporting that it would require them to maintain or increase staff numbers.
The figures are part of the inaugural SLICE financial planning survey conducted in conjunction by The Dawson Partnership and Balance at Work and found that less than 10 per cent of survey respondents thought that FOFA had negatively impacted their business growth in terms of staffing.
A further 25 per cent stated that while there would be more costs associated with FOFA, they did not believe the legislation would change staffing numbers while 13 per cent of respondents expected to add extra staff to their business to deal with FOFA.
The survey stated that those businesses which did not believe FOFA would impact staffing numbers "had put in place measures to meet the requirements of the legislation well in advance of its enactment".
According to the survey, one-third of financial planning businesses increased their staff numbers in 2013, with nearly 30 per cent of jobs filled being new positions as a direct result of business growth. These positions included financial planning roles, marketers, business coaches, accountants and lawyers. Some employers were looking to bring back inhouse work that had been outsourced during the Global Financial Crisis.
The survey also found that 70 per cent of planning business use their own recruitment methods and draw on industry contacts and networks to find suitable candidates in businesses similar to their own.
Only 13 per cent of businesses used specialist recruiters, with others claiming their costs were too prohibitive, while a further 13 per cent draw on internal human resources or licensees for recruitment support.
Nearly 80 per cent of financial planning respondents to the survey stated they always conducted reference checks, including working through prepared questions and speaking to previous employers and managers of the candidate. Social media was also used by about 20 per cent of respondents to check out candidates under consideration.
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