Pension Fund Recruitment: How to secure better hiring outcomes with alignment in the world of pensions recruitment!
Pension Fund Recruitment: How to secure better hiring outcomes with alignment in the world of pensions recruitment!
We help firms ensure they are equipped to tackle the world of pensions recruitment allowing them to set strategies that work, make better hiring decisions and retain talent for longer.
The hiring frenzy of 2023 may be easing, but the landscape of talent acquisition within pension fund recruitment as well as the consultancy world is shifting. The challenge today isn’t about getting as many people as possible through the door to handle workloads, it’s about securing the right people who will contribute to long-term success.
As experienced pensions recruiters, we’re seeing a common theme. Pension Funds as well as the Consultancy counter parts in the main are hiring well. That said, we are hearing more and more about hires that simply 'haven't worked out'.
The issue isn’t always capability or technical skills, it’s a lack of alignment between the individual and the team or business. And when alignment is missing, performance, engagement, and retention suffer.
The cost of misalignment in hiring
Although we are a pensions recruiter, at Zatori we operate differently to that of a typical pensions recruitment agency as often we are engaged in helping pensions funds and the consultancy counter parts to set the strategy and diagnose issues. This helps gives us a unique insight into what is currently working and where the common challenges lie.
We regularly speak with businesses struggling with turnover or underperformance, often this can be only 20% - 30% of their hires for the year (so it's not always systemic). A frequent pattern emerges: hiring managers focus too much on skills and experience but not enough on personal and professional alignment.
When a hire doesn’t work out, it’s rarely because they lacked technical ability. More often, they:
- Didn’t connect with the team culture or leadership style.
- Had different expectations about career progression, the role, the firm or what was expected from them
- Needed workplace flexibility (this could be more office based or more WFH we see both) or benefits that weren’t available.
These factors directly impact performance, retention, and overall job satisfaction, and they’re avoidable when hiring managers take the right approach.
Hiring for Alignment: What Interviewers Need to Know
Effective hiring isn’t just about assessing a candidate’s qualifications. It’s about understanding what drives them, what they value, and what they need to succeed.
To maximise hiring success, interviewers should explore:
- A candidate’s ‘why’: What motivates them? Why are they considering a move?
- The impact your business can have: How does your company fit into their long-term career goals?
- Their non-negotiables: What factors must be in place for them to thrive? (For example, career development opportunities, flexible working, or a supportive team environment.)
Too often, it can be easy to make assumptions about what candidates want instead of asking the right questions. This can lead to wasted time, mismatched expectations, and ultimately, the wrong hire.
The Role of a Strong Pensions Recruiter in Alignment
A good pensions recruitment agency doesn’t just introduce candidates, they provide valuable insight into why a candidate is interested in your business before they even step into an interview.
A strong pension recruiter (internal or external) should be able to tell you:
- What a candidate is looking for in their next role.
- Why they’re considering leaving their current employer.
- What key motivators and non-negotiables matter most to them.
With this information, hiring managers can go into interviews fully prepared to have meaningful conversations that create true alignment, leading to stronger hires, better retention, and higher performance.
How Zatori Can Help
At Zatori, we help businesses not just find talent, but hire smarter. Our training programmes equip first-time interviewers with the skills to move beyond box-ticking and conduct insightful interviews that lead to better hiring decisions. Conversely we work with leading pension funds and their consultancy counter parts to attract and retain the talent that is right for them through our partnership approach to pensions recruitment.
Martin has been advising businesses in talent acquisition and retention for over a decade. Discuss how you he can help you elevate your strategy, book a call or contact him at martin.wigfield@zatori-consulting.co.uk
