People with no financial advice skills are being approached by some advice firms to fill planner roles, according to an online recruitment portal.
The firm, eFinancialCareers, says that due to the skills shortage, some companies are looking further afield for suitable candidates to fill financial advice roles, targeting people from outside the financial sector.
The findings came from a recent eFinancialCareers discussion forum, which was attended by HR professionals from several international and Australian firms.
One representative said their firm had decided to approach business-to-business sales people working in other sectors because “they have the fundamental skills and importantly they are used to working on long-term deals, unlike those from retail sales who have a shorter-term mentality.”
“We need salespeople who we think will stick with the business and fit into our culture,” said the firm’s representative.
… a Financial Planner can expect to earn approximately $79,000 per annum
An insurance-sector delegate added that a recent hire who came from a background of telecommunications “gave a new perspective to the business and exposed our tunnel vision.”
She said financial services employers should also consider public sector candidates, especially those from the Treasury and the Department of Finance and Deregulation. Many of them “are dying to get out” and have a great understanding of risk and compliance issues.
“But it’s always a hard sell to the business. Some line managers are open minded and some aren’t. It can be difficult for HR to change entrenched attitudes,” she added.
One barrier to recruiting from outside the sector is the potential drop in salary. According to MyCareer’s Salary Centre a Financial Planner can expect to earn (on average) approximately $79,000 per annum. In contrast, the average annual salary for a sales manager from the IT/Telecommunications sector is $129,000. Banking and Finance salespeople earn an average of $90,000 each year.
