Fintechs in Singapore plan to bolster their HR capabilities in the next one to two years

Presently, however, 29% of the fintechs surveyed do not have a dedicated HR function.

As fintechs in Singapore scale, they are keen to develop mature HR capabilities to support their growth, and a high value, strategic HR function to shape the talent agenda and drive employee experience.

This was one of the key findings of the Singapore FinTech Talent Report for 2023 put forward by Singapore FinTech Association and Accenture Singapore.

Diving further into the ambition of fintechs to create high-value HR, presently 29% of the fintechs surveyed do not have a dedicated HR function. Thus, one in five (22%) report HR to be largely administrative in nature (performing HR transactions and managing employee queries and documentation). Meanwhile, close to half report themselves to be more strategic and/or advisory in nature (providing people advisory services, shaping workforce strategy based on business needs, providing insights for talent decision making and driving culture and employee experience).

To note, respondents came from a four-pronged research methodology that included 73 valid responses from fintech leaders and practitioners, 10 executive interviews, two roundtables with 11 HR representatives, and secondary research.

Fintech HR leaders covered in the report cited that a significant part of their work is strategic business partnering and talent advisory. This suggests that those with dedicated HR tend to build a function that provides people advisory services, above and beyond transactional services. It was also observed that the lack of a proper HR function is more apparent in smaller fintechs with 30 employees or less.

Further, survey results indicated that 9% more fintechs were looking to hire HR specialists in the next one to two years as compared to the past year, indicating the increasing importance of HR and need to scale people practices to fuel growth priorities. 

Based on the data, fintechs with higher business metrics (across company age, headcount, funding stage, revenue bracket and projected headcount growth) tend to have more mature HR capabilities. 

However, when comparing fintechs and their HR practices based on business metrics, results indicate that fintechs with higher business metric scores tend to do better in onboarding, performance management, succession planning, compensation and benefits, but less in learning & development, exit management, and hiring.

Practices commonly seen in Singapore fintechs

In terms of onboarding practices, fintech HR leaders, cite that having a buddy to onboard and integrate new hires is the minimum to provide a positive onboarding experience. Further, actively identifying high potentials and accelerating their growth by giving them varied exposure opportunities as well as ensuring that all critical roles have successors identified are some key practices visible in the fintech sector today.

The highest rated HR capability for the top 50% of fintechs based on business metrics was performance management, which saw an increase in the usage of structured practices across goal setting, feedback and assessments as compared to 2022 survey results.

For goal setting, while KPIs and/or objectives and key results (OKRs) / management by objectives (MBO) tend to be highly adopted, 2023 survey results show that 9% more fintechs are using balanced scorecards.

For feedback, while more than 80% have implemented means to drive regular, continuous feedback, and 10% more are using 360 feedback methods. For assessment, 70% have implemented manager calibration methods, a 15% increase from 2022. These practices are aligned with bigger technology organisations and financial institutions, bringing focus on 'performance development' over 'performance management'.

Shadab Taiyabi, President of the Singapore Fintech Association, noted it is vital for fintechs to make talent the central focus of our their strategies. He added: The path to success for fintechs lies in the attraction and retention of talent, as this will be a key driver of business and organisational growth."

Nesan Govender, Accenture Managing Director, expects fintech talent demand to grow by 30% in the next one to two years, adding: "By searching for hidden workers and untapped talent, one can turn the talent shortage into a talent abundance game."

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Image / FinTech Talent Report