Beyond the vacancy: How banks can plan talent around capability

A hiring plan can tell you how many roles a bank expects to fill. However, at most instances, it does not necessarily inform the business key details such as when the capability is required and when the work begins.

The gap will become apparent when we look into other priorities such as a regulatory deadline, a data platform build or a financial crime remediation programme. The roles matter, but so does have the right skills and enough capacity at the point the work needs to happen.

What a vacancy will inform the business is the roles needed to be hired, while capability asks questions involving the business: what does the business need to be able to do, and what combination of skills, experience and capacity will get it there?
 

Why capability is becoming a more useful measure 

For recruitment and hiring, the standard metrics of time-to-fill and quality-of-hire will remain useful as part of filling in vacancies. However, as a business continues to grow, HR and TA leaders are also considering expanding that measurement to include capability. These measurements would include the skills the business line needs to be in place when the work starts, and can they keep pace if the requirement changes? 

Everest Group’s Operationalizing Next-Generation Talent Acquisition research reflects that shift. 46% of respondents mentioned strengthened strategic workforce planning aligned to future skill needs as an expected TA outcome.  

Having TA teams build an understanding of what is available and what are the gaps, helps them to contribute even before the first requisition is opened. Identifying where the risks are, the technology and data skills required, how long will they take to hire, and the cost are some key considerations that will shape the hiring approach before the recruitment process begins. It means workforce decisions can be informed by what the market can realistically support, rather than discovering those constraints later. 
 

Designing the workforce mix around the work

Permanent, early-career and contingent hiring often sit with different owners and different reporting lines. That can make a simple question hard to answer: what combination of people will deliver this programme? A more useful starting point is the work itself. A remediation programme with a fixed window may call for specialist contractors and a delivery partner alongside a small permanent core. A data platform that will run for years may justify more permanent investment, with an early-career pipeline behind it.

Once the mix is visible in one place, decisions are easier to explain. Finance can see the cost of each route, risk and compliance can see where responsibilities sit, and the business can see how quickly it can scale up or down if scope changes. It also gives TA a clearer view of the total workforce being assembled around a business priority, rather than only the vacancies being filled.
 

Where a delivery partner fits

A delivery partner can form part of the workforce mix, particularly where a bank needs specialist capability quickly, has a defined programme of work or wants to flex capacity without building it permanently. The role of the partner can range from providing specialist talent to taking responsibility for agreed elements of delivery. 

Everest Group reports that 67% of respondents expect KPIs to align to enterprise goals. That matters because the measures used with an external partner should make sense to the business too. At Robert Walters, we work with clients to understand those priorities first, then co-create an approach around how the organisation operates and the outcomes it actually wants to see.
 

Choosing measures the business recognises

Fill rates tell you how many seats were occupied. They say less about whether the team was ready to deliver. Time-to-capability is one measure worth considering. Put simply, how long does it take to get the right skills in place and for the team to become productive?

Everest Group includes time-to-capability among the north-star outcomes TA can work towards, alongside workforce agility, hiring quality aligned to growth and talent cost effectiveness.

A practical place to start is agreeing what a productive team should look like before the programme begins, and when the business expects to get there. Progress can then be reviewed against that point whether the people involved are permanent, contracted or supplied by a partner. Specialist talent may also have several options in the market. A slow or unclear hiring process can therefore become a delivery issue, not simply a candidate-experience issue.

Keeping decision rights clear as automation grows

As AI and automation are being used across the hiring process within banking, there are some emerging questions: who, or what, is making each decision?

To begin, identifying and mapping where automation is currently required or being used will be key in understanding the opportunities and gaps. With that information, business leaders will be able to decide who will be accountable for the use of AI within the business and where human judgement is still necessary. Building a strong governance process will be key in maintaining the use of AI that is secure, and productive.

Moreover, it also makes those decisions easier to explain. That matters particularly where AI or automation influences hiring decisions, and banks may need to show risk, audit and governance stakeholders how the process works and where accountability remains with people.
 

What this means for leaders

There are a few useful questions to bring into the next workforce planning conversation.

• Which two or three outcomes would the business recognise as success for TA, such as quality-of-hire, time-to-capability or workforce agility?
• How clear is the full workforce mix across permanent, early-career and contingent hiring for your largest programmes?
• Where do partners already contribute to outcomes, and are their KPIs tied to enterprise goals?
• Where AI or automation is involved, who makes the decision and who remains accountable?

Talk through your workforce priorities

If these questions reflect priorities in your business, we'd be happy to discuss what a capability-led approach could look like for your workforce. Speak with our talent solutions expert to explore how we can help you build the right capability around your business priorities.