3 Compliance Hiring Challenges Faced by Singapore HR Directors

With increased regulatory pressure across the globe, we have seen 6-7 years where demand for Compliance professionals has skyrocketed Singapore’s Compliance landscape: Demand outweighs supply. As a result, we’ve seen a talent war that has meant firms have hired from a patchwork of related areas like Legal, Risk and Audit Singapore’s Compliance landscape: Demand outweighs supply. We’re now in a more mature market, but the rapid growth has left firms with three main challenges: The current state of play: Three main Compliance hiring challenges:

1. Lack of in-depth experience

2. Thin talent pool

3. Local hiring requirements

Challenge 1 – Lack of in-depth experience

• Lack of in-depth experience The sudden increase in demand for Compliance professionals led to a bidding war that saw people being pulled from related areas despite a lack of experience, and we’re now seeing the results of a hot-housed talent market
• Lack of in-depth experience Cost-conscious managers reluctant to buy in new talent have promoted internally, solving short-term headcount issues but creating longer term stagnation

Challenge 2 – Thin hiring pool 

• Thin hiring pool The hiring pool is still limited in size, making it harder to find individuals with the right experience for specialist roles, which are increasingly being sought by firms as headquarters and functions get split out
• Thin hiring pool With many firms competing for the same talent, Compliance professionals are willing to jump ship for a title upgrade or payrise, and fewer are staying put and developing deep expertise

Challenge 3 – Local hiring requirements 

• Local hiring requirements The Singapore government is focused on creating more opportunities for Singaporeans and developing the local talent pool as much as possible
• Takeaways An ideal candidate may not necessarily be an obvious choice or even actively job seeking, so specialist hiring knowledge is needed to find hidden talent
• Takeaways Growing a local talent pool takes time, so firms often use recruitment specialists to help them source and select promising local talent or exceptional and experienced overseas talent

Danos Associates Our Singapore team has a combined 20+ years in the local Compliance market. We focus on long term client relationships, often working across locations to help firms acquire the best talent available. Contact Charles de Carvalho +65 6233 6871 cdecarvalho@danosassociates.com