Independent Banker - April 2022 - 25

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How Digital Has Forever Changed the
Career Landscape in Banking and SBA Lending
Where Have All the Candidates
Gone?
It only takes a quick trip down Main Street to recognize
the current hiring frenzy we're facing. Once closed due
to early COVID-19 quarantining measures (causing
numerous layoffs and furloughs), businesses have
returned to serve a public who is eager to get back
out there.
But companies' pleas for additional workers have
largely gone unanswered.
It's not just restaurants and retailers. The hiring drought
has affected financial services too, including banks,
CDFIs, lender service providers, small business owners,
recruiters, vendors, partners, and many more. And in the
lending industry, it's even harder to find quality talent
with the kind of specialized and unique skills necessary
to build business lending teams and products.
How did we get here? Where has all the human talent
gone? And what can be done to reset the balance of
workers to jobs?
There are many potential reasons for how we've ended
up here, from the federal stimulus to new competition
in the war for the best talent. Regardless, the need for
greater service remains, whether met by additional
headcount or more efficient processes. And lending
organizations must either adapt or be left behind by an
industry that is continually transforming to the digital age.
5 Explanations for the Lending
Job Shortage
1. IT'S ALWAYS BEEN THIS WAY
The events of the pandemic have no doubt caused
Americans to take a step back and reassess their
careers and lifestyles. But perhaps there were some
underlying causes of the current hiring frenzy in the
lending industry all along.
SBA-specific lending expertise has always been hard
to find. Just take a look at career movement within the
industry. A quick glance at a few banker profiles on
LinkedIn demonstrates a commitment to finance, but
also high migration between banks simply due to the
volatility of the industry. From employees jumping ship
to banks being acquired and setting up new divisions,
many of these roles don't seem to stick.
Today, these professionals are in especially high
demand due to the impact of the pandemic on small
businesses and subsequent government lending.
But should your success as a lender be driven strictly by
who you can attract or afford to hire - or should you be
able to run efficient, expert-level processes regardless?
2. EFFICIENCY VS GROWTH MODEL
Some banks value efficiency above all else. A bank's
" efficiency ratio " is a measure of how well (or how
poorly) it controls its overhead and back office
expenses. In the bank's eyes, the lower its efficiency
ratio, the better it is operating. But this measure creates
a lack of incentive to invest in technology and teams,
risking potential future returns.
While operational efficiency is a must, it should not be
prioritized at the expense of employee ability, budgets,
or resources. At the opposite end of the spectrum
are high-growth companies like FinTechs who aren't
measured by efficiency ratios and instead prioritize
innovation.
This dichotomy presents professionals with a choice
between a place that squeezes everything it can out of
workers or a chance to build, try new things, and grow.
3. COMPETITION FOR TOP TALENT
It's an employee market right now - one where
candidates have the freedom to pick and choose from
the best jobs available. Companies with a high-growth
mindset not only realize the value of creativity and
innovation, but the importance of " now vs. later. " Instead
of pushing off digital transformation for the future,
they implement new systems and processes today
to set a foundation for growth. In the same way, they
prioritize outbidding other companies for candidates
with the right experience to build a company of expert
innovators. This is one of the reasons base lending
salaries have increased by large margins.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/16/upshot/unemployment-pandemic-worker-shortages.html
Independent Banker - April 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - April 2022
