Shawn Greco always wanted to work in the nonprofit world.
“I love helping people and I felt that nonprofits were a great place to do that,” Greco told Denver Business Journal.
After graduating from the University of Northern Colorado with a degree in political science, the now 29-year-old landed a position in his chosen field. But he soon found himself in a dead-end job with no room to grow.
“I was looking for a challenge,” Greco said. “I didn't want to be in my 20s and already stuck in a job.”
So Greco went to Denver-based recruiting public benefit corporation Activate Workforce Solutions and was surprised to learn from the recruiters there that he would make a great financial services employee. Prior to talking with the recruiters, Greco said he never seriously considered working in the financial services sector.
“In my mind, it was more of this antiquated kind of business sector and just something that maybe someone that loved taking math in school would want to do,” Greco said.
Since Greco began his job as a loan processor at FirstBank three and a half months ago, he has found that working in the financial services is far from boring.
“There's so many opportunities and so much variety,” Greco said. “It's not just sitting behind a calculator all day.”
But Greco is not alone among millennials who are reluctant to start a career in financial services, according to Activate Workforce Solutions founder and CEO Helen Young Hayes.
“When we tell individuals that they have the characteristics to succeed in financial services, they look at us blankly and ask ‘What does that mean?’” Hayes said. “They think of bank tellers.”
The financial service industry is one of 14 key industries that the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade is focused on, according to OEDIT spokeswoman Jill McGranahan. But the industry is struggling to recruit compared to others in the state.
Financial activities saw a 2% decrease in employment in Colorado in May 2019 compared to May 2018, which was the largest decrease posted by any industry in the state in the same time frame, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
DBJ spoke with more than 15 financial firms, banks and recruiters with operations in the Denver metro about their hiring struggles and what they are doing to ameliorate these challenges.
Some firms, such as Fidelity Investments and Innovest Portfolio Solutions, said they have not had trouble in this area. But others disagreed, such as Tim Pendergast, founder and CEO of Englewood-based executive search firm Corporate Talent Inc., one of the top recruiting firms for the sector in metro Denver.
“If there is a ‘war for talent,’ a lot of banks are bringing a squirt gun to the fight,” Pendergast said.
Competition with tech
Pendergast and others said many financial services firms in the Denver area are losing high-potential young professionals to the technology industry.
“In regards to attracting top talent in technology, every company is our competitor,” George Vega, chief technology officer at Transamerica, said in an email.
In contrast to financial services, the number of tech jobs in Denver has skyrocketed over the last several years. Paul Williamson, president and regional CEO of UMB Bank in Colorado, noted that according to the Downtown Denver Partnership’s annual report, more than 120 tech companies took up residence in downtown Denver last year alone, bringing the total number of tech businesses operating there to 724.
“So, undoubtedly, we have seen some talent move into that space,” Williamson said.
Tech-related fields added more than 7,000 workers in Colorado last year, according to a recent analysis by CompTIA's Cyberstates 2019, a guide to tech sector and tech workforce analytics.
And Denver for the first time cracked real estate giant CBRE of North America's top tech cities list in 2018.
“One of the biggest reasons is the perception that tech companies are more fun and offer a better work-life balance,” Pendergast said.
Young professionals often want to work in environments where they can learn and not live in fear of failure. For instance, Pendergast has found that most technology firms have a willing-to-fail attitude that encourages employees to stretch themselves and experiment.
In contrast, financial services firms are designed to be risk-avoidant, Pendergast said.
Hayes, of Activate Workforce Solutions, agreed that the tech world has overtaken financial services as the “it” industry to work in — a drastic change from when she graduated from Yale University in the 1980s. Prior to founding Activate Workforce Solutions, Hayes served as the chief investment officer at Janus Henderson Investors, then Janus Capital Group.
“It was kind of the sexy profession,” Hayes said of financial services when she graduated. “Finance attracted top talent. Now the tables have turned and it’s startups and tech that are interesting and sexy.”
She cited the tech industry’s dedication to creating innovative offices with unique perks as luring more millennials and employees in general away from financial services.
Lisa Hough, manager of strategic initiatives at the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation who runs its Colorado Investment Services Coalition, said that the competition between financial services companies and tech companies for workers has grown due to technology disrupting the financial services industry.
“The nature of working is also changing, especially in financial services,” Hough said. “More and more financial services companies are relying on technology.”
Aimee Schwartz, vice president and senior recruiting manager for BOK Financial, said that as financial companies are transformed by technological innovations such as machine learning and robotic process automation, careers within banking are becoming more fluid.
“As our recruiting team works to get job opportunity messages out to the general population, these are the things they are talking about,” Schwartz said.
Overcoming the 'black eye'
But Schwartz said that tech companies aren’t the only reason why finance institutions are fighting for future employees more than ever before.
“Banks all over the United States are competing with tech companies for talent,” Schwartz said. “However, while we might occasionally lose an experienced candidate to a tech company, it really feels like it is more aligned to low unemployment and candidates having multiple opportunities.”
Pendergast, of Corporate Talent Inc., added that the tech industry isn’t the only industry poaching potential finance superstars early in their careers. He has found that real estate development companies, real estate asset management firms and franchisees are also stealing talent away from Denver-area financial firms.
Pendergast added that many other industries offer more training opportunities for young professionals in comparison to the financial services industry.
“Millennials prefer a formalized training program, with clear career-path options,” Pendergast said. “Banks want ‘bankers’ to hit the ground running.”
Hayes has also found that some candidates are reluctant to work in financial services due to the reputation it garnered after the Great Recession. Many millennials came of age as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and other large banks received a bailout from the government. She noted that this has given some possible candidates second thoughts about working in the financial services industry.
“The industry was tarnished in the ‘08 crash and received a major black eye,” Hayes said.
Jenifer Waller, COO and senior vice president of the Colorado Bankers Association, said she has found that there is a general lack of understanding as to what the banking industry does and how banks support communities in Colorado.
In 2013, seven of the state’s largest employers in the financial services sector formed the Colorado Investment Services Coalition with the mission of growing the industry here through increased recruiting efforts.
Within the past month, the coalition met with the Colorado Bankers Association and discussed, among other topics, ways they could work together to help educate the public on financial services more generally in the state.
“The industry is working on changing the potential employee perception,” Waller said.
Beating the hiring odds
Financial services firms in the Denver metro are using a variety of tactics to fill positions despite these struggles. For instance, many firms are recruiting candidates from outside of the industry.
“Aptitude and attitude can be found in every industry,” Schwartz, of BOK Financial, said.
Charles Kibort, global head of talent management at Janus Henderson Investors, said that, 20 years ago, the firm wouldn’t hire anyone without experience in the financial services industry.
“That requirement has loosened,” Kibort said.
While many roles still require experience in finance, Kibort said he has hired employees with their sole prior experience from industries such as nonprofits and health care.
Unique benefits are another way that financial firms in Denver are attracting talent.
“Investment services firms are working to adapt traditional working environments to better meet the innovative culture of Colorado,” Hough, director of strategic initiatives at the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation said.
They range from month-long sabbaticals and tuition reimbursement to bike-sharing programs and adoption assistance.
But benefits aren’t enough to recruit and retain talent in Colorado, Stacy Roode, general manager and Colorado regional leader at Fidelity Investments, told DBJ.
“At Fidelity, we offer our people industry-leading benefits, but the reality is that in today’s competitive landscape, especially here in Denver with the job growth that we are seeing, benefits are table stakes when it comes to recruiting top talent,” Roode said in an email.
Therefore, Roode said Fidelity Investments has focused on helping its employees thrive inside and outside of work.
“Many companies expect you to leave whatever’s happening outside of work at the door, but not here,” Roode said.
The approach has been successful, Roode said. In a recent survey, 85% of Fidelity employees said they can work in ways that meet their personal needs.
Whitney Kenter, partner at private wealth management advisory firm Matter Family Office, said that she has noticed more and more potential job applicants are focused on their future firm’s workplace values.
“While ‘fun’ can mean different things to different people, the main reasons we see candidates deciding to reach out to us when leaving their current firms have a lot to do with culture...,” Kenter said. “We have seen more and more over time that applicants don’t view their work as ‘just a job.’ They are becoming very aware of their interests and strengths and they want to work for a company that offers alignment and opportunity.”
Kenter’s view lines up perfectly with a recent Deloitte survey on millennials.
“Millennials and Gen Zs, in general, will patronize and support companies that align with their values ... Many say they will not hesitate to lessen or end a consumer relationship when they disagree with a company’s business practices, values or political leanings,” the study said.
FirstBank’s values are why Greco ultimately decided to quit his nonprofit job and begin working as a loan processor. He said he greatly appreciated how FirstBank works with nonprofits throughout Colorado and Arizona. And in his own work, Greco has enjoyed helping process loans for families in Colorado, Arizona and California.
“Even though it is a for-profit, there's still an element of serving at FirstBank, which I love,” Greco said.
Assets managed by Colorado office(s)
| Rank | Prior Rank | Business name |
|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | RBC Wealth Management |
2 | 2 | Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC |
3 | 2 | Northwestern Mutual |
