As recruitment specialists, we know just how important it is to have the right interview process in place in order to secure great candidates and ensure you don't lose them to your competitors.

Having the right interview process in place can make all the difference. And because we've seen it ALL when it comes to what works (and what doesn't), we decided to write this blog detailing how to plan and execute a great interview process.

What to do

Before you even begin the process of hiring for your vacancy, sit down and decide who are the key stakeholders within your business whom you think it is really important for the candidates to meet. Try to narrow this down to the really key people who must be involved in the decision, and rule out including anyone else, as the more people involved, the more likely you are to have delays.

Once you know who needs to meet the candidates, give them a full brief of your vacancy and their role in the hiring process. Try to get a rough idea of their availability over the next few weeks and make a note of any holidays or commitments.

Make sure all interviewers, and most importantly you, the hiring manager, are completely clear on what are the must-have skills that the successful candidate should have BEFORE you carry out any interviews. This will help you identify the right people early in the process, and ensure unsuitable candidates don't go through to final stages.

Next, plan out how many interviews there will be, and which areas each interview will cover. It's important to do this to make sure you are happy that the right conversations will take place with potential new hires. It's also good to be able to outline this to the candidates once you start shortlisting, and will show them that you are well-organised, giving them a great first impression of your business.

When deciding on the amount of interviews needed, make sure you consider the following:

-The seniority of the role; for senior level roles with a large impact on the business, it's likely there will be more interviews as more stakeholders will be involved and seal of approval needed from members of the senior leadership team. For junior level roles, you shouldn't need more than 2 or 3 interviews to be able to make a decision; any more than this, and you risk putting the candidates off.

-Time; try to narrow the number of interviews down by having a few of the stakeholders in on the same day/meeting. If you have one interview per week for 6 weeks, then it is highly likely that the best candidates will no longer be available or have multiple offers on the table, and you'll have to start the process again. So ideally, try to have the process finished within 1-2 weeks.

-The number of candidates; if you shortlist a lot of candidates to interview, then it's a good idea to set aside half a day to do 30 minute video calls with them all, in order to shortlist further. You then only need to arrange further interviews for those who pass the initial screening.

-Video or face-to-face; the majority of first stage interviews happen via video call, which is great because it means more date and time options are available. But it's beneficial to meet candidates face to face for at least one of the interview stages. Video calls can change the dynamics, and whilst you can understand a person's skillset and experience, it's important to have a face-to-face meeting in order to truly get a sense of the team and personality fit with your business.

What not to do

DON'T leave any key decision-makers until the final stage interview. If you have a 5 stage process, and the key decision maker is only in on the final stage, then a lot of time has been wasted if they don't click!

DON'T delay giving feedback after interviews have been carried out; it will turn candidates off and they may lose interest if you are not keeping them engaged

DON'T take too long to set up final stages or make an offer. Being decisive and direct, and efficient with your process will help you obtain the best talent ahead of your competitors

DON'T underestimate the need to sell your company, role, progression and benefits in the interviews. It's not just an interview for the candidate; it's also their chance to understand whether your business is somewhere they want to work

DON'T move the goalposts, add in lots of extra interviews or deviate from the process you initially outlined to the candidate. This really has the potential to turn candidates off and cause doubt about your firm.

Use the above advice to nail down an efficient and successful interview process, and ensure you hire great talent for your vacancies.

Need support with your hiring and interviewing process? At Twenty84 we are able to manage the whole interview process if required, and are available to provide advice or assistance at every stage. Get in touch for more info!

The deadline for the Senior Managers and Certification Regime is 9th December

If you work in the finance sector in any capacity, you’ll no doubt be aware of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR / SMCR). You’ll therefore also know then that the deadline for this is 9th December 2019. Which – from the publish date of this blog – is a mere week away.

Despite its honourable intentions to ensure that financial organisations make themselves genuinely accountable to their clients, the team at Twenty84 understand the strain that this regulatory change has placed on small and large financial organisations alike. We’ve therefore pulled together the below final checklist of best practice to help youput the finishing touches in place and ensure you are compliant with the new SM&CR regulation.

A brief recap of the SM&CR’s history:

The SM&CR, as mentioned above, is the regulation designed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to ensure that Senior Managers (such as the C-Suite, CEOs, Risk/Compliance Officers, Senior Front Office staff) in financial services firms are held accountable for their decisions. As the FCA has said itself:

“[…] Individual Senior Managers have an important part to play in establishing and embedding the right culture and governance within firms, to improve the standard of conduct at all levels.”

The regulation’s origins date back to the 2008 financial crisis, where, upon recommendation from parliament, the FCA established an accountability regime that focused on the responsibility of senior managers and individuals in the financial sector. Back in 2016, its enforcement was extended from just banks and building societies to also include brokers, financial advisers, fund managers, insurers and reinsurers; and, as of next week, will be replacing the Revised Approved Persons Regime.

There are three key components to the SM&CR:

1.1   Senior Managers Regime

In sum, senior managers are required to “take reasonable steps to prevent regulatory breaches in the areas of the firm for which they are responsible."

1.2   Certification Regime

Firms need to ensure that employees who have a hand in their regulated activities are fit to do so. This is not only based on their assessed competence and qualifications, but also their characteristics.

1.3   Conduct Rules

Senior Managers, Certified Persons and other employees will have to follow a set of rules in the FCA’s Code of Conduct Handbook.

https://www.cii.co.uk/media/10120216/sib-good-practice-guide-smcr.pdf

What are the consequences for non-compliance?

The FCA have emphasised that consequences for not being compliant with the new SM&CR regulation are more geared towards companies and individuals maintaining their reputation than suffering penalties. However, it’s important that these senior managers do understand the risks involved with non-compliance, including hefty fines, for both companies and individuals alike. You can see a list of fines that were made to companies and individuals last year in this FCA article.

To doubly-ensure that your preparations so far will prevent you incurring these hefty fines or any reputable damage to your business, make sure you can answer “yes” to the following questions:

Your final SM&CR Checklist:

1)  Have I identified and informed absolutely everyone who will be affected?

As part of the process, you’ll have already identified your company type under the new regime, whether that’s Core , Limited, or Enhanced. You should have also identified who in your team will be taking responsibility for senior management functions, and whether they have fully met the conversion requirements for the role. There are a number of different job types that fall under the requirements, however – such as the “significant management function” and “client dealing function” categories – so be sure that you have covered these bases in your final checks, too.

2)  Has everyone received the training they need to, and do we have evidence for this?

Additionally, as part of your SM&CR preparations, your staff should have received Conduct Rules training relevant to their roles. Certified persons will have also had tier one training, and senior managers will have had tier two training. In your final checks, be sure that everyone has received the relevant training they need, and that you have the evidence you need to demonstrate that you have done this in a safe place in case you should be required to present it.

3)  Do senior managers and other relevant staff know what is expected of them?

As mentioned above, you will need to demonstrate evidence that your staff have completed their necessary training. Part of this is ensuring that your staff can clearly state what their responsibilities are, and why these are necessary. Your senior managers will hold a clear outline of these responsibilities, so as part of both your final checks and as an ongoing process, be sure to check their knowledge and understanding of this, either through one-to-one or team meetings.

4)  Do we have the correct processes in place for new starters/promotions?

Over time, you will be likely to have additional staff joining your team or be promoting current members of staff to a senior management position. It’s important in this case to be sure you have the correct training and procedures in place for new recruits so they do not fall short of SM&CR regulation before they’ve even started. During your final checks, be sure that these procedures are clear to all the necessary individuals in your team.

5)  Are there any other last-minute good practice measures we can polish?

Ultimately, the aim of the SM&CR is to increase the public’s trust in the finance industry by reducing harm to consumers. So, consider general good practice, such as:

• Making your customers’ needs and outcomes a priority
• Keeping up to date with further compliance changes - always expecting the unexpected
• Creating or emphasising a company culture with a consistent aim to do the right thing

At Twenty84, compliance in the financial sector and regulatory changes are at the forefront of what we do.

For the last ten years, we’ve worked alongside clients through compliance changes like the SM&CR to ensure they are as prepared as possible. If you’d like to discuss the SM&RC or any other regulatory changes, we’d be glad to hear from you; simply contact us here.

We also have a helpful, expert-written guide to keeping up to date with regulatory changes, which you can download for free here.