Coronavirus, Autism and Fintech

The Coronavirus crisis has led to the largest move to remote working that anyone has ever seen, with many companies switching to homeworking almost overnight. I have witnessed some surprising lessons on the power of neurodiversity in a crisis like this.

Autism and the fintech opportunity

When we founded auticon in 2011 we believed that diversity is a strength that enhances problem-solving ability. Neurodiverse people often excel at business intelligence, quality-assurance, test automation and complex software development projects. They have unique cognitive strengths: attention to detail, a systematic way of working, logical analysis, pattern recognition, error detection and sustainable concentration for routine activities.

Autistic individuals are equally capable of excelling in STEM subjects and many achieve degrees or advanced qualifications. However, in a recent survey of more than 3,000 technology leaders, IT outsourcer Harvey Nash and auditing firm KPMG found that 67% reported that a skills shortage was preventing their organisation from keeping up with the pace of change. Autistic people are often overlooked or not considered as a source of talent, with some studies showing that up to 90% are either unemployed or underemployed.

The fintech sector is one that could benefit massively from onboarding neurodiverse people with STEM related skills and above average attention to details.

Autism and homeworking

Prior to the coronavirus crisis, most consultants at auticon worked from client sites or from our offices.  That seemed to be the best way to make sure everyone performed at their best. Autistic workers like consistency in their office environment and routines. We employ Job Coaches to work closely with our consultants.  They suggest adaptations to work environment, smooth out any bumps and ensure that our consultants are set up for success.  They are also on hand to support our clients.

We had to change all of this when the coronavirus struck and on 23^rd March^, we matched our clients and transitioned all of our team to homeworking. Fortunately, everyone already had laptops and mobile devices, so we didn’t have to worry about the technology part of the equation. Our main concern was whether we could maintain productivity.

Overall, this has gone better than we hoped. Traditional managers at many organisations may worry that team members who work from home may not put in the same level of focus or be able to meet deadlines. We never have to worry about this.  Autistic people tend to be very direct and honest. If you ask them if they are being productive working from home, they will tell you the truth. (If they were watching Netflix, they will tell you that, too.)

auticon consultant, Kyle Walker says he actually prefers working remotely as for him, the most stressful part of his day was the bus journey to his client’s office.  With that out of the equation, Kyle is very happy and probably a little more productive on his client’s project.

The tech tools we used for remote communication, such as Slack, Zoom and Microsoft Teams, also work very well for us. Autistic people often prefer to interface via a precise text or email. Verbal or face-to-face conversations, which involve body language and emotional expression, can be more subjective and challenging. Some of our consultants who aren’t comfortable making eye contact in person found that they were able to do so on Zoom calls, giving them a new way to connect.

The Coronavirus challenge and opportunities

We have seen additional business opportunity during the coronavirus crisis. Going virtual has meant our global operation is working together more closely, leveraging a much deeper resource pool with specific technical capabilities in near real time. We are working across multiple time zones to assist clients with rapid deployment in a very cost-effective way. This global virtualisation may have taken us months or years to realise prior to the crisis.

Having a team capable of working very effectively from home is powerful. Beyond the current coronavirus lockdown, many organisations will rely much more on remote working and need to have a workforce that’s capable of doing this effectively. In auticon’s experience, hiring more autistic people is an answer. Not only does it bring more diverse thinking to a team but it is also an ideal way to make sure that you are staffed up with people who naturally excel at remote work.

Written by Emma Walker, Regional Manager ”“ auticon Scotland

Auticon provides a neurodiverse and agile workforce to improve clients information technology projects predominantly in areas such as Data Science, Quality Assurance and Cyber Security.

www.auticon.co.uk

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Scotland’s recruiters working with fintechs

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Scotland’s fintech scene is getting more and more exciting. The local fintech startups have been growing and multiplying at a fast pace, increasing the number of fintech businesses by 60% in numbers. Scotland is becoming a leader in the fintech industry, based not only on the number of fintech startups but their success rate and demand from the public for more fintech services. There is still a lot that can be done to help boost the industry across the nation and it seems like Scotland fintech scene’s big break is just around the corner.

The U. K’s fintech scene has been developing at the fastest across Europe, and now there are many prominent examples of highly successful fintech startups that are operating from the U.K. Just to cite an example, recently InsideTrade.co reported that Revolut has become the most valued fintech out there.

Core-Asset Consulting is now looking to expand its fintech offering, and it plans to do so by joining forces with the tech recruiters across the nation. Core-Asset Consulting is a firm that operates in Scotland’s finance, accountancy, asset management, and legal industries and has an impressive portfolio of clients. Over the last year, the company has become more proactive towards its approach to the fintech scene and has set out a goal to incorporate the industry as much as possible into its day-to-day activities. 

Exploring the potential of fintech for Scotland

This is an important move for all fintech startups and those thinking of getting into this industry because this means that the well-established companies are now seeing the potential that the fintech industry holds and want to become a part of it as soon as possible. It will not only help to create more opportunities for the new startups but it will also help with establishing the industry as a legit source of growth and income that holds real potential for the future of finance. 

Every major company in Scotland is either building a team of tech professionals or already has one up and going. Hundreds of new jobs might be appearing across Scotland, as the nation aims to become a tech hub. 

Core-Asset’s move was no coincidence either. When speaking with the media, founder and managing director of the company, Betsy William pointed out that the recent changes to contracting law made the company a great fit for smaller recruiters. The changes will directly affect the areas where small specialist tech recruiters do the most work. Because of this update, the demand for companies like Core-Asset will be increasing, hence the requirement to take advantage of the opportunity to make the collaboration between Core-Asset and fintech much easier. 

Another important development that made this decision easier for Core-Assets was the recently signed partnership between FinTech Alliance and Fintech Scotland, which will make making connections between different fintech across countries and within the U.K much easier. 

It looks like Scotland is creating an environment where fintech can develop at a much faster pace and well-established companies are trying to help out newer ones along the way.

There is a lot of potential in this industry and it could become one of the main sources of income from Scotland.

Designing your Employee Experience

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Blog written by Puneet Sachdev, Human Capital Expert from Singularity Labs

These days everything needs to have an X’ in it, isn’t it, especially in the tech world! Not too long ago, you would have struggled to find too many words starting with the letter X’.Today, we see X pinned to any number of products and expressions as a sign of some undefined cachet!

EX in one word – Empathy 

EX in one sentence – It is wider than employee engagement, it covers a wide range of activities that influence your employee’s perceptions of your company”“good or bad.

Airbnb

As the ex-Head of Employee Experience for Airbnb, it is Mark Levy who defined the expression ’employee experience’ and gave currency to the way we tend to emulate it today. He questioned “If Airbnb had a Customer Experience Group, why not create an Employee Experience Group?” And the rest is history! Mark has a background in Service Design that posits empathy and experimentation to arrive at innovative solutions. This was one of the key lenses that drove the employee experience philosophy. The internal experience of the employee will have a direct knock-on effect on the customer experience. 

The context today

The Millennial mindset is permeating the entire workforce. As this latest generation has established itself in the workforce, its expectations for workforce flexibility, use of mobile tools and enhanced performance feedback have spread to other generations. 

Employees are approaching the workplace as consumers. Individuals want the same experiences in the workplace that they have as consumers, such as having the use of simple, intuitive technology, the ability to rate and share opinions about products and services, and direct access to decision makers.

Today, the research has found that a number of factors shape employee experience, including: the formation and development of work-based connections and relationships, the design and ongoing use of employees’ physical work environments, and the tools and social platforms employees use to accomplish work-related activities

The components of an employee’s experience

1. Physical – the interaction employees have with their physical environment. The workspace they find themselves in and how inspiring that is. The design of the workplace can impact mental states.
2. Emotional – the interaction that employees have in the workplace setting and social settings with their colleagues, their line managers and the leadership. Feeling a sense of belonging within a community, being taken care of and respected are all important factors. 
3. Mental – the quality of work, the mental stimulation, the flexibility to create and the caliber of peers makes up the mental component. 

Eventually it will all have an emotional impact, we are talking about an experience’ after all. The actions you as an organization will take (or not take) will vote for one or the other – we value and respect you or we do not. 

The aspects to consider in developing the employee experience 

Employer Value Proposition (EVP) – Let’s start from the very beginning, a very good place to start, when you sing you begin with Do Re Mi and when you EX you begin with EVP!

The first expressions of employee experience begin when you define your Culture DNA – the vision / purpose, mission and values, values in particular as they set the tone for internal interactions. The employer value proposition is your people’ promise, and this shapes the employee experience your organization will deliver to your people. It is a key reason why you will attract the right people into your organization in the first place and will be the standard by which your employees and prospects will evaluate you as a leadership team and as an organization. You can read articles I have written about EVP here

On-Boarding – On-boarding is a high leverage opportunity to culturally integrate employees and set the standard for the employee experience new joiners will have. Making the new hires feel welcome and prepared for their jobs will create a lasting impression in their hearts and minds and setting them and the organization up for success. Organization’s with a robust onboarding process experience 62% greater new hire productivity, along with 50% greater new hire retention. 

Nature and Quality of Work  – a major component of employee experience is the extent to which individuals feel they can influence their work, build mastery and understand their work’s overall purpose. The sense of self-determination and autonomy. Employees want to know how the work they do fits into the team goals and how they contribute to the organization’s larger mission.  

Possession of relevant knowledge or expertise, access to additional information or experts as needed, and availability of timely feedback ”“ either from managers or automated systems””can significantly shape the employee experience. Role specifications, performance management, career development, feedback loops, leadership communication all become key processes here. 

Tools and Social Platforms – the design of the physical equipment that houses the software is key. Is it easy to access and use under daily work conditions? Software design can also have a lasting impact on satisfaction and productivity. Is there single sign-on? How may clicks does it take to get to the right screen? Employees expect intuitive and easy to use systems be it for booking leave or collaborating on a project. 

Increasingly, companies are using social platforms internally to support organizational innovation, expertise location and knowledge sharing, and to help employees connect to others across in different time zones. These social platforms provide a common environment where employees can find relevant insights and identify hidden pockets of expertise or emerging employee issues. E.g. Slack, Jira etc.

The Environment – experts assert that configuration and design of individual and team workspaces are a critical component of employee experience. Physical workspace design can also impact employee wellness, as properly designed ergonomics can reduce employee stress and limit physical injury. 

Social Impact – this is almost becoming a must have’ driven by the Millennial generation, and is a growing factor in considering and continuing work with employers. Not one to be overlooked. Installing ethical business practices and projects to impact the community organizations are a part and providing opportunities for employees to make a contribution impact this aspect. It enhances their sense of purpose and contribution adding to the employee experience they have. 

Business Strategy and Culture – an organization must consider each of these facets of employee experience in light of overall business goals and culture. The business goals and objectives of a start-up may be quite different from a multi-national, from a hotel chain. For a hospitality company, the need to provide high-quality guest services may serve as a guiding principle in the design of employee experience; for an oil company, the emphasis may be on occupational safety. Clearly defining these underlying tenets is necessary to designing experiences that not only match the needs of the individual, but are aligned with organizational priorities. 

Here is the thing, if you want to deliver world class to your customers, have your employees experience world class internally so they know what it feels like. Then delivering world-class will be the standard. 

Your Purpose Partners’ in the delivery of Employee Experience in your organizations

The HR team of course. In addition, enter Line Managers or the people managers as they are being called in many of the growing tech companies we consult with. They have the keys to the organization i.e. manage the workforce, budgets and various other organizational resources. Three key things to bear in mind here: 

1) Managers in your organization have an understanding of your employer value proposition, your employee experience philosophy and are empowered for it’s fulfilment. 

2) Managers have complete clarity on their role and the expectations and especially in their responsibilities towards their team members. For example how do they best on-board new team members, how do they performance manage, how do they recognize their team etc. 

3) Being educated and up-skilled on the different kinds of conversations they will be expected to have with their team and peers e.g. day one conversation, week one conversation, performance conversations etc. Manager conversations and behaviours are a critical factor that creates the experience of the rest of the workforce. 

How can you design your Employee Experience:

Use Analytics – tune into the voice of customer’. The customers being your employees. You can turn to traditional HR surveys or any other semi-structured processes you have in place to gather and analyze data. 

Create employee personas and map the journey – an employee persona is essentially a semi-fictional representation of a group of employees with similar traits, experiences and behaviors. They’re based on the data and insights you have into the individuals that make up your workforce and brings them to life by building a narrative around them.

Invest in key touch points where employee experience has the greatest impact – you have now created the personas and mapped the journey. Identify the moments that matter most to them through their lifecycle which will cover pre-joining, on-boarding, working as a part of a team, performance, career development, exit. Making changes to employee experience often requires investment. Use the data you have generated to prioritize and guide your decisions. Ask your employees, they will tell you. 

Here is a good article by Qualtrics that covers employee personas and journey mapping.  

Cross functional EX group – some organizations we have consulted for have used cross-functional employee groups very effectively to stay engaged with employees, to continue to generate insights via face to face conversations and other processes. 

The employee experience is holistic. It covers a wide range of activities that influence your employee’s perceptions of your company”“good or bad. Mapping the experience of employees is a challenging task and requires a lot of effort. But the prize is too tempting for you not to care.

Ready or not? Questions worth asking yourself:  

1. How does your current employee experience affect the attraction and retention of critical job roles within your organization? 
2. How could improving your employee experience increase productivity within your organization? 
3. To what extent does your employee experience influence your customer experience?
4. Who has primary responsibility for designing employee experience within your organization? How does a person or team bring others together to address employee experience issues? 
5. What types of analytics are you using to evaluate the effectiveness of your employee experience?

This article has been an output based on my own experience, conversations and online research. IBM, Qualtrics and Deloitte have been very useful sources.   

Me and my colleagues at Singularity Labs specialise in designing interventions that solve People and Culture challenges and help creating engaging and High Performing Environments. We have worked across multiple industries and geographies and more recently with growing tech companies such as Nucleus Financial (Fintech) and Craneware (Healthcare Tech).

Resources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2016/02/01/global-head-employee-experience-airbnb-rid-of-human-resources/#118986f77c4e – Mark Levy, Airbnb employee personas and journey mapping.  – employee personas and journey mapping, Qualtrics  

Diversity in Recruitment ”“ FinTech can make it Happen

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I recently handed in my notice to my current employer and I now face not only the challenge of finding a new job but of also whether to declare my disability or not in the application process.   

My current employer, Meraki Talent, is a disability confident and a member of ENEI (Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion), so they are fully supportive of me, as they understand I need a new challenge and even offered to help me in my search, as I look to take my career in a new direction.

Despite my own disability, having dwarfism, I have successfully worked in recruitment for over 9 years but even I am fallible to unconscious bias (Unconscious biases are learned stereotypes that are automatic, unintentional, deeply ingrained, universal, and able to influence behaviour) when identifying suitable candidates, so I do understand the recruiters need to fill jobs.  That is how they build relationships and make commission.

The unconscious bias is sometimes referred to as the Halo Effect. The Halo Effect is a type of cognitive bias in which our overall impression of a person influences how we feel and think about his or her character. With these biases will my disability stop me even getting through the door?

Having also been on the candidate side in the past, I have declared my disability, as part of the application process a number of times. In doing so this is claimed to guarantee you an interview, if you meet the essential criteria. However, I am yet to receive an interview through these means in my working career. Despite being proud of who I am, I have had a lot more success when I don’t mention that I am disabled. Am I bypassing the biases? This then means the interviewers are put in a difficult position when it reaches interview! They have to judge me on my abilities, rather than my disability.

It does make you question why it is so difficult to recruit people from these groups.  Could it be that that people with disabilities or from diverse backgrounds won’t fit in or would need more time or resources?

If an effort was made, to create jobs for people from these groups, perhaps people like myself would be more encouraged to apply?

So, if we truly want to be more inclusive, have greater variety in gender, age, ethnicity, social background, sexual orientation, education, religion, and disability then we must change our mindset and resist the temptation to stereotype.  Also, if there is a desire to recruit people from these groups, the expectations of what is essential has to be counter balanced with the benefits it would bring. 

Not only does it look great for brand, it means there is a greater variety of perspectives, increased creativity, productivity and people feel more included. Recently, I have been to Diversity & Inclusion events and I am keen for these great ideas to be a reality rather than a PR exercise and feel FinTech companies have a massive opportunity to do so.

FinTech companies are already admired with their culture – agile, flexible working, unlimited holidays, day off on your birthday, social events etc. FinTech organisations have a massive opportunity to take the lead in making their workforce a truer and fairer reflection of society.

In order to attract these candidates, we have to change the level of acceptability and I would encourage FinTech’s to take the lead, work with recruiters and create jobs for these minority groups.

How to create a meaningful Employer Value Proposition

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Blog written by Puneet Sachdev, Human Capital Expert from Singularity Labs

Note: This is he continuation of the EVP conversation we started here

1. Understand your EVP preferences

Try a top-down and a bottom-up approach. Top-down as in the person responsible for people and culture’ i.e. your people leader and the leadership of the organisation discussing and debating the EVP. Ideally the people leader creates a baseline document / template, circulates it in advance and the leadership gets together to have a conversation around it. And bottom-up as in a listening exercise with your employees. Ask them what they find great about working for your organisation and what can be done to make further improvements. 

2. Design your EVP

Gather data from important sources and competitors to inform your EVP design. Use the internal and the external data you have gathered, design your bespoke EVP. Use the five core elements of a robust EVP to structure your proposition. (link to previous article on the core elements of the EVP). 

3. Segment the communication

You have the sound bites by now. Here you will think about how this will be communicated to the different types of talent you want to attract into the organisation (engineers, customer service advisors) as different language will appeal to these different mindsets. Think about how you want to communicate this internally. You can consider a video message by the Head of People and some existing employees. And consider using a good copywriter. 

4. Create your employer brand

A strong employer brand needs a clear value proposition, which by now you have created. Now is the packaging and positioning. You can use your internal branding team to create this or use the same people you used to help create your organisation’s brand. You can also consider creating a boilerplate’ i.e. your EVP in a tweet and text, in a sentence – strapline, in a paragraph and in a page. Some organisations create well crafted infographics for exhibitions, conferences and other events to promote their brand. Also consider some guiding principles like what L’Oreal has done.

Here is L’Oreal’s: Strapline – “Lead the future of Beauty. When you love your work and the people you work with, amazing things can happen.”

Their employer value proposition is broken down into three pillars:

A thrilling experience ”“ a truly global business with a clear purpose and vision will ensure that candidates can see how they would fit this into their own trajectory

An environment that will inspire you ”“ with the amount of science, corporate social responsibility and sustainable business practices, there will be something to inspire most employees

A school of excellence ”“ world leading brands and products would attract the best people and skills, as a candidate you could be attracted to that environment for your career growth.

This is what Hubspot has – “We’re building a company people love. A company that will stand the test of time, so we invest in our people and optimize for your long-term happiness.” 

Suggested channels of communication

• On your careers page 
• Intranet website 
• Glassdoor
• LinkedIn page 
• Social channels used 
• Welcome packs 

The investment – and if you are thinking about the cost of doing all this work, which you probably are, consider the opportunity cost of not getting all this accurately aligned to the impact it can potentially have on the acquisition of key talent at the different levels in your organisation. If you want to attract A’ players and top on-demand talent, then you want to create an A’ grade EVP. Like attracts like. Here is an article by SAGE People on the impact on Employer Brand on talent acquisition. 

Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions or clarifications. 

Me and my colleagues at Singularity Labs specialise in designing interventions that solve People and Culture challenges and help creating engaging and High Performing Environments. We have worked across multiple industries and geographies and more recently with growing tech companies such as Nucleus Financial (Fintech) and Craneware (Healthcare Tech). Get in touch with for a no-obligation consultation about your people and culture aspirations.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/puneetsachdevpro/

Employer Value Proposition: your ticket to attracting and retaining top talent

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Blog by Puneet Sachdev, Human Capital Expert from Singularity Labs

The Context

The number of innovative fintech SMEs based in Scotland has grown by over 60% from 72 to 119 over the last twelve months. Add to this the explosion of Fintech in London and the ease of workforce mobility, you have a people’ challenge at hand. And this is not withstanding the number of tech companies that are continuing to grow in verticals like digital healthcare, retail etc. 

What was inside is now outside. Now, Glassdoor lets any employee publicly rate their CEO, LinkedIn allows your competitors to pillage your top talent, and news outlets regularly publish stories exposing the internal workings of companies. In such a context, the culture of the organisation becomes one of the key sources of competitive advantage. 

The Employer Value Proposition

One of the first steps is to get clear on who you are as an employer and your value proposition to potential and existing employees. In HR jargon, you create an Employer Value Proposition (EVP). It is the dating profile’ of your company to attract the right people and then keep the talent you have agonised to acquire. Easier said than done and easily side stepped as soft’ and fuzzy’. Not only does this soft’ and fuzzy’ have a quantified impact on performance but it is powering the growth of organisations. Here is a slightly dated (2016) Deloitte human trends report on culture but the tenants still hold true. 

The EVP is the complete experience of working in your organisation. It’s the summarisation of the culture and values you embody, what employees can expect from you – such as learning, career opportunities, benefits, recognition etc. It is the why’ you are creating to attract and retain talent at every level of the organisation. It is the core of your employer brand that defines your positioning, what you stand for as an and the source code for the work environment that you will build internally. Your dating profile! 

Gartner says: When you invest in developing and delivering a strong EVP, you can attract significant talent and boost employee engagement. For example, your organisation can reduce the compensation premium by 50% and reach 50% deeper into the labor market when candidates view an EVP as attractive. Organisations that effectively deliver on their EVP can decrease annual employee turnover by just under 70% and increase new hire commitment by nearly 30%’

Here are five main areas to consider as part of developing your employer value proposition. There can be more, but here is what I believe are core: 

1.The culture – how things get done in your company. In this guide, you articulate various things about your company for e.g. who you are as an organisation i.e. your vision and mission, your exponential purpose, the journey so far, the team, values, your development philosophy, testimonials from employees, and so much more. You can start with your elevator pitch of why your company matters, and why they should be excited to be a part of it. 

Think about this as your illustrated storybook that an employee can read and get a good sense of a) what it’s like to work at your company b) how to integrate themselves into the company in their early days c) behavioural do’s and don’ts guidelines i.e. the code of conduct / values d) what does success look like e) rituals and practices. This should instill pride and inspiration into the hearts of those who read it for the first time or the 100th time. 

2. Development Opportunities – a major driver for keeping the workforce motivated, especially the top talent. Here you can include the a) your development philosophy b) skills development opportunities employees have be it access to online learning, events etc. c) career development opportunities i.e. future career options that employees may have with you as you continue to grow e.g. movement from product development to customer success etc. 

3. Rewards and Recognition – this will cover the financial and non-financial compensation / benefits as well as the practices you have in place for recognising employees for the great work they do. Here you can think of including a) the competitiveness of your compensation package, health benefits, vacation b) other benefits such as onsite yoga, vouchers for different services etc. c) recognition such as best team performance’, extra miler’, display of organisational values’ etc. d) employee referral scheme if you have one.

4.The Quality of Work – here you define elements that are intrinsically baked into the nature of the work at your organisation, such as a) the ability to innovate on the job b) getting to work on interesting projects c) balancing work with non-work priorities and flexible working / remote working d) whether the work environment is collaborative and team orientated e) the quality and approachability of the company’s management f) the quality of the other employees within the company.

5.Social Impact – the current workforce is getting more and more concerned about the ethical profile of companies they consider working for or are working for. They are concerned about sustainability and employment practices. Social impact or CSR (corporate social responsibility) as it is also known, is now an important aspect of the employer brand. This is worth considering. 

At the simplest level companies tend to have VTO’s i.e volunteer time off, create an internal CSR group driven by employees who choose a cause to get behind for the year and then find ways to support the cause. You get as creative with this as you want to. The 2019 Deloitte Human Trends review makes a clear case for the social enterprise 

Suggested: what is not often spoken about, but if done right, I believe add to the competitive advantage in attracting the right talent – the explicit communication of Employee Data protection policies and practices. As companies embrace people analytics and AI based applications, a lot more employee data will be generated. And with GDPR growing in its veracity and statutory impact, employees will have greater awareness of data and the mishandling impact. It is worth considering your approach to employee data. 

Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions or clarifications. 

Me and my colleagues at Singularity Labs specialise in designing interventions that solve People and Culture challenges and help creating engaging and High Performing Environments. We have worked across multiple industries and geographies and more recently with growing tech companies such as Nucleus Financial (Fintech) and Craneware (Healthcare Tech). Get in touch with for a no-obligation consultation about your people and culture aspirations. https://www.linkedin.com/in/puneetsachdevpro/

Financial wellbeing and the impact in the workplace

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Financial wellbeing ”“ the theme of Talk Money Talk Pensions Week 2019 ”“ is about feeling secure and in control of your money as well as being able to manage day-to-day while working towards a healthy financial future. We think it’s important to not only consider how individuals can build their own financial resilience wellbeing but also how employers can support their staff in developing lasting financial capability strategies. 

A recent report from Natwest (https://www.moneyadvicescotland.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=f4148ec3-ec0e-468b-ae07-7f615fc34548) recommends that employers should, at a minimum, include financial capability training and support as a standard part of their employee induction process, and a growing body of evidence shows that there are clear benefits of investing in this for all employees at all stages of their career. The importance of financial education at work and the benefits it has for both employees and employers is why we developed Money Works ”“ a programme that exists to promote financial wellbeing in the workplace and provide vital financial inclusion skills for employees and apprentices across Scotland. 

Research has found that levels of financial capability and wellbeing very greatly from person to person. An individual’s salary, age, or employment history does not necessarily correlate to their confidence or ability to manage their earnings or their state of financial wellbeing. It therefore makes sense to offer financial wellbeing support to all employees. 

The arguments for providing financial wellbeing support in the workplace are strong; firstly, the impact of poor financial wellbeing on productivity is significant.  Anxiety about finances leads to worse mental, physical, and social wellbeing which can affect attendance and performance at work. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that money worries were the biggest source of stress for UK employees. 

According to research from Barclays:

-Almost half of employees worry about their finances 

-1 in 5 lose sleep worrying about their finances 

-1 in 5 said that worrying about their finances affects their work 

-Almost 80% of employees are not satisfied with the efforts of their employer when it comes to managing their finances 

This evidence shows how great an impact an individual’s financial wellbeing has on their overall wellbeing, and how intrinsically linked money worries and work are. Both employers and employees agree that if employees had access to help and guidance, they would have better control over their money and feel better prepared for future planning. If this support is available in the workplace, employers can help ensure their staff are better prepared to respond to financial unpredictability, in turn alleviating some of the pressure points that lead to absence and stress. 

One of the aims of Money Works is to provide a reliable, flexible source of financial guidance. Participation in our financial wellbeing in the workplace sessions benefits both employees and employers. Employees gain vital financial resilience skills and get access to resources that research shows is needed and wanted. Employers benefit from a more motivated and productive workforce, as well as highlighting them as an employer that is committed to investing in employees’ overall wellbeing. 

Our Financial Capability team designs custom workshops and works with employers to meet the needs of their staff, and workshops are delivered in the workplace. 

Possible topics include:

-Planning for retirement 

-Day-to-day financial management 

-In-work benefits

-Savings (including emergency funds, ISAs, saving for a deposit)

-Insurance (including life insurance)

-Managing credit card debt 

-Understanding taxes and payslips 

These topics are based on research of what employees would benefit from knowing more about. For example, 22 million working-age adults don’t feel that they know enough about pensions to make decisions about saving for retirement, so we offer sessions on this. 

If you’d like to learn more about Money Works, contact financialcapability@moneyadvicescotland.org.uk or complete this form https://www.moneyadvicescotland.org.uk/forms/money-works-enquiry

Can diversity lead to better recruitment and retention?

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The challenges for growing Fintech’s in recruiting and retaining top talent in the face of larger firms with greater resources is well documented.  This is particularly true in the main Scottish tech hubs of Glasgow and Edinburgh and with more large firms investing in new and expanded bases in the area this trend is likely to continue, so smaller, less well known firms with lower budgets really need to leave no stone unturned when it comes to seeking talent. 

The main advantage smaller firms have is being nimble ”“ the ability to adapt hiring processes and to respond to market and candidate needs more quickly than their larger competitors.  In this blog I provide some thoughts on diversity in the workplace and practical steps that can be taken.

I have attended numerous events and read countless articles on the benefits of improved diversity within workplaces.  I hear the same things over and over as if employers still need to be convinced of the fact that more a more diverse workforce leads to greater creativity, innovation, staff retention and ultimately improved profitability. 

It is my belief that employers do understand this.  We need to move the dialogue on to the next step ”“ what should firms do about it?  It’s a huge topic ranging across diversity in gender, age, disability, ethnicity, neurodiversity etc., and it can feel a bit overwhelming particularly for small to medium companies who may not have the resources that larger companies can lend to the topic.

If it seems daunting as a whole, break it down into manageable steps and prioritise these.  Thinking about the stages where diversity plays a part, the biggest of these is probably recruitment as this is where the source of your diverse talent will come from.   Breaking this down further how do you ensure you attract applications from the most diverse range of candidates then how do you ensure your selection process is fair to all? 

Job Design

Consider what is actually essential for this hire and what can be taught once in post.  What could be offered in terms of flexible working, part-time hours, agile working etc?  What adjustments could be made for neuro diverse candidates?

Candidate Attraction

If your job design is done well this should automatically lead to a job advertisement which will attract a wider pool of applicants.  Also check that the words used in your advertisement don’t accidentally appeal more to a particular gender, there are online tools to assist with this.  Now consider how to actively target a wider pool of talent i.e. taking your roles directly to them rather than simply hoping they will find them e.g. where could the advert be placed? 

Return to Work Candidates

There has been a rise in the number of returner programme in UK from 4 in 2014 to 70+ in 2019.  These are for candidates who have a had a career break of one year or more and are looking to return to the workplace.  Research shows that the biggest barrier for them is often loss of confidence so however appealing your job advertisement they still may not apply to you. 

The Back in Business returner programme offers workshops to the candidates to help them regain that confidence and get them work ready.  We will also consult with your firm to help design a “returnship” opportunity to ensure a manged return to work which more often than not will lead to a permanent hire for your business.  Returner candidates tend to prove to be mature, established and loyal which is not always the case with regular hires.

Selection Process

Consider what steps you can take to anonymise applications e.g. removing name, age, gender etc., from CVs before they are passed to hiring managers.  Unconscious bias training should be compulsory for all interviewers.  Review any assessments being used for ”“ could they disadvantage any groups of candidates?

Back in Business is a diversity led recruitment service which offers returner programmes in Scotland and can also support with each of the other steps mentioned above.

Blog written by Morna Ronnie, Head of Programmes at Back in Business