Fintech: Winning the talent war

On Tuesday 6th December at our fourth fintech event this year, we examined the impact employee benefit fintech solutions can have on brand reputations and in creating a competitive advantage in the war for talent.

With thanks to the panel for their insight:

• Dipa Mistry-Kandola, CEO, Cloud8, a disruptive SME employee benefits platform focused on simplicity for end-users.

• Neasa McNulty, Co-Founder Employer Partnerships, Octopus MoneyCoach the UK’s leading money coaching service, working with employers to make 1:1 financial planning accessible to all.

• Natalie Izzard, Customer Success & Partnerships Manager, OctopusEV, a sector-leading leasing business focused on removing barriers to access for electric vehicles.

The morning began by discussing the impact the shift to a hybrid workforce has had on business as, according to CIPD, three quarters of companies now offer hybrid working through either formal or informal arrangements (although companies are split over whether it will last (1).

The panel agreed that their businesses had pivoted and grown through the move to a hybrid workforce, with expectations that this mode of working is set to continue. Noted was that hybrid has the benefit of better accommodating the individual holistically, including their home responsibilities. But some things cannot be compromised. For instance, new starters are expected to be present for week-long inductions so that they can better forge relationships with their team, manager and understand systems.

And while technology provides the rails upon which businesses now run, human interaction (be that through a physical financial coach or working alongside your team) remains critical. The shift to hybrid has also seen an increased appetite for electric vehicle leasing, as people opt to drive to work on the reduced number of occasions they journey to the office.

We explored the typical brand and cultural challenges that companies are seeking to address when deploying fintech-led benefits platforms. Neasa from Octopus MoneyCoach highlighted the ability to normalise financial well-being, particularly during the current cost of living crisis, with the ability to facilitate conversations that are often tricky to broach. Natalie from OctopusEV highlighted how electric vehicles can meet a company’s ESG ambition, with Scope 3 emission data supporting the net zero target. While Dipa from Cloud8 spoke about the ability to use the platforms and benefits to deliver the corporate vision and milestones and forge cultural cohesion.

The panel also responded to a question about the future of work of work and for employee benefits and platforms, and whether they agreed with Korn Ferry’s future of work trend which highlights a new era of humanity, with more and more power and autonomy devolved to workers (2). Dipa raised the increased importance on the manager employee relationship and how big data will start to provide insight from other businesses facing similar challenges or of a similar size.

With huge thanks to the panel for their views. Yet again, fintech innovation is at the heart of offering new opportunities for engagement, support and creating a sense of belonging, as well as meeting business’s ESG commitments.

Sources

1. https://www.cipd.co.uk/about/media/press/270622-cipd-hybrid-working-splits-employers#gref
2. https://www.kornferry.com/content/dam/kornferry-v2/featured-topics/pdf/FOW_TrendsReport_2022.pdf