As financial institutions focus on cost cutting and revenue generation, risk teams are being trimmed back in Australia and hiring is falling.

“Demand is not the same now as it was post-GFC when risk was growing in importance and headcount was growing too. When there is an urgent recruitment need, one needs to present a very strong business case for approval,” says Robert Shaw, Asia Pacific director, The Emerald Group.

Lay-offs have also hit this job function and a number of risk people are still unemployed. CBA, for example, has made retrenchments, and its remaining risk staff have taken on extra work, according to another headhunter, who asked not to be named.

Within many risk teams the emphasis is on internal recruitment and promotion. “The likes of Westpac, AMP and CBA have a lot of great talent already in their organisations, but the problem is that they might end up being a bit stretched,” says the anonymous recruiter.

The candidate plight

Shaw says although vacancies have not completely dried up, job seekers are forced to fight for fewer positions than there were a year ago. “Competition is certainly on the candidate side, with some senior professionals considering roles requiring less experience.”

Firms are able to raise the quality bar when they do hire. “With few recruitment opportunities in the market, it’s challenging for candidates, but great for hiring managers. Nine times out of ten they are presented with three or four strong candidates. It’s not hard to compile a quality shortlist these days,” says Shaw.

And employers don’t have to throw money around to attract talent, he adds. “It’s a cost-sensitive environment, with no sign-ons and no inflated bases. Firms just don’t need to do this to attract quality candidates.”

[polldaddy poll=6041123]