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The Danos Group is pleased to announce an exciting partnership with Leadership Through Sport & Business (LTSB), a social mobility charity that prepares and supports bright young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into meaningful roles within Business and Finance, and Digital / Technology.

Commenting on the announcement, the Danos Group Global Managing Partner Dominic Danos stated, “We realise we have the power as a recruitment company to actively influence the inflow of under-represented groups into the sector we service, thereby helping to advance the diversity and inclusion agenda. As a sector it is important that we address the under-representation of minority groups and ensure a career in the financial services industry is appealing to the next generation of professionals.”

“We admire LTSB for focusing on those young people from underprivileged backgrounds, by delivering them a dedicated program and the support to enable them. As recruitment and market experts, we know we can help support these young people with practical advice and guidance. Our senior managers will be mentoring young people on the LTSB program, and as a group we are committed to fundraising on their behalf. We will also promote the LTSB apprenticeship scheme to our clients and networks to increase the hiring of young people.”

“This is a great opportunity for the Danos Group to be involved in partnering with a charity that gives young professionals great equal opportunities and allows them to fulfil their potential.”

This is the start of a great partnership between the Danos Group and LTSB, a demonstration of how organisations in collaboration can join their experiences and expertise to benefit others.

“We feel truly honoured to have been chosen as a Charity Partner for the Danos Group, who have shown such interest and commitment to helping us achieve our Vision. We connect young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to meaningful careers and wider professional experiences and with the help of the Danos Group we are able to create more of these life changing opportunities. We are inspired by the generosity that the Danos Group has shown to LTSB and are excited about furthering our relationship in the future, which we know will unlock more opportunities for young people to flourish” – Paul Evans, CEO at LTSB.

To mark the start of this partnership, on the 21^st January 2021, the Danos Group launch the “Danos Group 2021 Challenge for Charity”. For the next 21 days the Danos global team will be taking part in 21 challenges, including 21 mile cycle, 2.1 mile run, 21 mins of meditation, and 21 cake bakes, follow our progress on LinkedIn or Twitter.  

We are raising money for the Leadership Through Sport & Business charity if you would like to donate visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/danos-group.

Results of a Compensation and Workforce Trends survey that captured responses from over 1,150 hiring decision makers, managers and above, revealed how employers have coped with the COVID-19 pandemic regarding talent management.

According to the survey, 70% of organisations who have furloughed or laid off employees during the COVID-19 pandemic will back-fill the roles that were eliminated, with nearly 9 in 10 of those saying they will do so in less than a year.

Making decisions about furloughs or lay-offs and reprioritising what skills are needed for a firm is not always easy, often hard decisions need to be made. During this time of uncertainty interim hiring can provide a flexible solution for managers. Danos Consulting can onboard contractors within 48 hours, with full compliance and referencing checks, completed to tier one financial banking standards, providing a quick and expert solutions when needed.

According to the report, during the COVID-19 pandemic it was reported that adaptability/creativity, critical thinking/problem solving, and financial management have become essential skill sets for firms to have. To help meet the increased need for specific skill sets, 45% of respondents indicate that their organisation is upskilling current employees, followed by 35% who are reskilling current employees to be redeployed.  However, over 1 in 4 decision makers are looking outside of their organisation to meet the need for increased skills – 28% are bringing in consultants and 27% are bringing in contingent workers.  Danos Consulting has an established bench of over 1,500 Consultants & Interim Contractors, these experienced practitioners can be deployed quickly, and at affordable costs. 

As all types of professional industries adapted to remote working, the survey revealed that 37% of respondents’ organisations previously opposed flexible and/or remote work, but now promote it. The change in attitude is helping them plan for the future with more flexible work options for employees. The majority of the Danos Consultants and Contractors are currently working remotely. We work with our clients to ensure that new hires are successfully onboarded. Our close candidate management during the selection and onboarding process continues through the assignment, enabling us to provide reliable support when our clients need it most.

“We have used Danos Consulting many times to hire previously and trusted their recommendations on contractor hiring. The onboarding of a candidate was achieved within 48 hours as requested and we are pleased to have had the extra onboarding support from Danos at this difficult time,” Head of Compliance, Asset Management.

“A prime example of how recruitment in an ever changing and dynamic environment can still be executed efficiently and swiftly.  Danos Consulting team facilitated a streamlined and adapted recruitment process to support the financial services industry being thrust into uncharted territory, whilst still meeting the high standards required by their clients.  Very impressed by the team’s work ethic and diligence in making ‘virtual’ recruitment an entirely seamless and successful experience,” Compliance Consultant, Private Equity.

2020 was not been a typical year for anyone, it has shown how resilient professional organisation can be. It is positive to see that the market is looking optimistic about the future, and that hiring will maintain all round and grow in some areas. Danos Consulting is a specialist financial services consultancy firm. With an unparalleled talent network of Compliance, Risk, and Legal experts, we provide experienced, first class practitioners. If you are looking for a flexible solution contact Katherine Lord, Partner and Head of Danos Consulting | + 44 (0) 207 010 1153 | Email: klord@danosconsulting.com.

Source: 2021 Compensation & Workforce Trends Survey (October 2020).

In an increasingly regulated world, organisations are facing greater scrutiny than ever. Compliance functions have been growing for many years due to the increased focus on compliance and meeting the regulators demands.

Today compliance functions are more aligned to business strategic goals and are transforming into a more value-add service, focused on effectiveness and efficiency. A significant move away from the image of past, when Compliance Offices were referred to as the “killjoys of finances” and were seen as the “troublemakers” who created setbacks, making business more difficult.

It is without doubt that increased regulation is driving compliance demand, but are there other factors? And is this growth a temporary trend?

2008 Financial Crisis – Affected the global economy, the lack of regulation was one of the contributory factors for the crisis. The financial crisis cost the British economy up to £7.4 trillion in lost output, according to the Bank of England. The crisis drove a host of legislative, regulatory, enforcement, litigation, and political responses, many of which are still unfolding. Regulators, Investors, and the Public now have heightened expectations for Risk Management, strong Governance, Transparency, and a Culture of Compliance.

New Regulations – The Governance, Risk Management and Compliance (GRC) landscape continuously evolve, as new regulations emerge, and changes to existing ones are made, ensuring that compliance functions are kept busy. Some of the key regulatory changes of recent years include MiFID II, MAR, and SMCR. Firms in the financial sector need to remain responsive to a wide range of developing areas, from sustainable finance, FinTech, LIBOR reform, and operational resilience, to significant changes to regulatory capital and remuneration requirements.

Penalties – In 2019 the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a recording breaking £392 million fines. According to Skillcast this included Standard Chartered Bank (fined £102m) for breaches of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007, and Bank of Scotland plc (fined £45.5m) for breaches of PRIN 11 & SUP – failing to be open and cooperative. Firms have been quick to realise that they need professionals with skills in risk assessment and compliance to mitigate the risks of hefty fines and reputational damage.

Brexit – With Brexit looming, many firms are in the final stages of moving their operations from the UK to continental Europe.  It has been reported that since the Referendum, 44 Firms have announced plans to make local hires for existing or newly created roles in Europe, equating to over 2,850 new jobs(1). This represents an increase of over 400 since the beginning of the year, with Dublin, Luxembourg, Frankfurt, and Paris named as the main locations. Professionals experienced in international trade and regulations are even more necessary.

Technology Developments – Though regulatory technology (RegTech) advancements are being used to facilitate compliance and aims to protect against violations or highlight vulnerabilities, the global world of technology continues to advance at pace, and the digitalisation of banking services and crypto-currencies is creating new dimensions to historic threats such as terrorism, money-laundering or international crime, and the sector recognises the need to have more AML, KYC and risk specialists onboard.

COVID-19 Global Pandemic – It has tested organisations’ operational resilience and crisis management policies. Osbourne & Clarke published the results of their “Compliance Risk Survey 2020” and reported that 56% of the respondents agreed that COVID-19 would result in a permanent increase in compliance risk, and 70% expected an increase in investment in legal compliance in the next five years.

A changing business environment, tough economic and competitive conditions, evolving risks, evolving regulatory landscape with fines and reputational risks, and cost pressures on financial institutions have led to increasing pressure on organisations to have robust compliance and risk structures and strategies. Having competent compliance specialists will enable firms have the right due diligence in place to identify risks in advance and mitigate them.

While it is difficult to predict the future and given the uncertainty around the global pandemic, we feel that the hiring outlook for Compliance remains very strong across Europe. We have had a busy fourth quarter, and we expect our pipeline to grow as we move into 2021.  

The Danos Group recruits premium Compliance, Risk and Legal professionals to the world’s leading institutions, enabling them to fulfil their legal, risk and regulatory responsibilities.

As a leading supplier of Compliance personnel to the financial services industry globally, we are extremely well-placed to find you the best permanent and interim candidates.

If you would like to discuss your hiring needs, or a recent track record of our work conducted, please contact:

Isabel Anchebe
Senior Associate, Compliance

Tel: +44 (0) 203 889 5758
Email: ianchebe@danosassociates.com

Sources:

(1)https://www.ey.com/en_uk/news/2020/09/ey-financial-services-brexit-tracker-fs-firms-continue-moving-staff-ahead-of-brexit-deadline

https://www.osborneclarke.com/insights/covid-19-compliance-risk-survey-2020/

https://www.linklaters.com/en/insights/publications/2019/december/financial-regulation-horizon-report-2020

https://www.skillcast.com/blog/highest-fca-fines-2019