Women in Financial Services
Recruiting Diverse Talent
Mark.Freed / 31 Mar 2021
Recruiting Diverse Talent – A Case Study
“It is the diversity of our people – whose varied skill sets, backgrounds and cultures shape our outlook – that means we are able to explore unique avenues and uncover opportunities unseen by others in our industry.” Charles Brooks, Head of Talent Acquisition, Janus Henderson
All investment companies search for a competitive advantage. Janus Henderson already knew that the diversity of its people and the inclusivity of its culture could give it a genuine edge. But it also recognised that to maximise this opportunity it needed to change how it recruits.
Charles Brooks, Head of Talent Acquisition at Janus Henderson, explains that they wanted new and innovative ways to find the right talent for experienced and senior hires. In particular, they knew there were capable women out there for many of their roles. They just needed to connect with them.
He says, “Our analysis identified that diverse talent has more loyalty to their employers and is less interested in traditional recruitment approaches. A friendly tap on the shoulder by a trusted friend increases the chances of having the desired effect. It was at this point we came across E2W.”
“They have built an industry-wide reputation for supporting women through the E2W community and helping them succeed in their financial services careers. As a company, E2W already knew, and were trusted by, a significant proportion of the women in the industry. This gives them access to talent that we, and others, could not reach.”
Charles adds that he also faced the same challenges as most in-house recruitment teams. He was under pressure to reduce the time and cost of hiring, in part by taking more inhouse and giving less to external agencies. This meant he needed to allocate people and budget effectively.
His solution was to give his team the option of engaging E2W from the very start of the process when they are working on a senior hire where it looks like finding high-quality female candidates will be a particular challenge or priority. This has turned out to be a very successful strategy.
Charles says, “Over the three years of our partnership with E2W, they have been able to put forward an average of three capable female candidates for every role. Four in five of their candidates are selected for interview and over 70% have been hired because they were the very best people for the firm, team and role.”
While E2W has been able to make a significant difference to the diverse recruitment at Janus Henderson, the attitude of the company itself is also essential. Mark Freed, Head of Recruitment at E2W, explains how the partnership with Janus Henderson works so effectively.
Mark says, “It is extremely important to us that firms have a culture and working practices that enable the members of our community we place with them to flourish and succeed. All our members, not just those we placed, talk very highly of the culture, opportunities and working practices at Janus Henderson.
“It is also very encouraging that they have the clear intent to seek out diverse talent. It is not an afterthought, tick box exercise or numbers game for them. They are partnering with us, so we can be sure we are not wasting our members’ time. And we know that whatever the outcome, our members will have a positive, professional experience. “
Mark concludes by explaining that the combination of these two factors helps E2W build a great value proposition about Janus Henderson. This makes it much easier for them to encourage members to explore new opportunities with the company, even if they are loyal, settled and happy in their current roles.
https://www.e2w.co//uploads/library/Diversity_Project_Janus_Henderson_Case_Study.pdf
About Janus Henderson
Janus Henderson Group (JHG) is a leading global active asset manager dedicated to helping investors achieve long-term financial goals through a broad range of investment solutions, including equities, fixed income, quantitative equities, multi-asset and alternative asset class strategies.
As of June 30, 2020, Janus Henderson had approximately US$337 billion in assets under management, more than 2,000 employees, and offices in 27 cities worldwide. Headquartered in London, the company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
About E2W www.e2w.co
Since 2002, E2W have supported women in their financial services careers and enabled Financial Institutions to gain the benefits of a more diverse workforce.
E2W’s community now boasts 10,000 women working in senior positions in financial services in London.
We are committed to bringing gender diversity to the forefront of recruitment strategies and our clients are, too. Our clients recognise that, to achieve this, they need to implement recruitment strategies with a true emphasis on diversity – and are committed to doing so with E2W right behind them.
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