Fintech has been in the spotlight as exponential advances in technology and digital business models challenge existing products, enabling faster, cheaper and more engaging solutions. The industry has seen rapid innovation and a slew of product launches both from startups and established financial institutions. As the sector evolves, so does the skilling demands for its human capital.

Adhering to organizational cultural standards in hiring takes a lot of discipline, particularly when job candidates with the right technical credentials are hard to find. However, the dilemma today is different -- do need candidates with high emotional quotient or high technical skilling? 

In BW People’s recent Roundtable conducted in association with Harappa, industry experts agreed that today’s fintech workforce requires utmost agility to effectively deal with transformation. The session featured Swapna Nair, Vice President - HR, Khatabook; Vishnu Iruvanti, Head – HR, Cleartax; Anuradha Bharat, Vice President - People Operations, Razorpay; Dhruv Dhanraj Bahl, Chief Operating Officer, BharatPe; Sandeep Banu, Head HR, Freo (MoneyTap); Ankur Sharma, Head - Human Resources, Aye Finance; Nilanjan Kar, Chief Revenue Officer, Harappa; Sidharth Verma, Director Enterprise Partnerships, Harappa and  Ruhail Amin- Executive Editor, BW Businessworld - Session Moderator. 

Upon being questioned if the disruptive pace of fintech meant that skilled employees with high emotional quotient are more likely to succeed than those who only possess technical skills, Swapna Nair, Vice President - HR, Khatabook responded, “Emotional quotient does play a pivotal role in today’s high-tech world. The end-users whom we work with (majorly MSMEs) and the talent we hire, primarily don’t fall in the particular segment we look into.” She also emphasized on mindfulness as a skill that helps candidates build emotional agility.

Emotional agility as a top priority

“Emotional agility is about channeling one’s thoughts and emotions into actions that are pragmatic, empathetic and tailored to suit the situation,” Anuradha Bharat, Vice President - People Operations, Razorpay stated.

Vishnu Iruvanti, Head – HR, Cleartax also agreed that “Living in the VUCA world today, skills are becoming obsolete day by day. While it is essential to upskill and reskill, the idea is to also focus on acquiring the right skills–it's a balancing act. When faced with uncertain situations, focus on harnessing the right skills and developing organizational agility and fluid intelligence.”

In fintech, growth on a daily basis demands newness and change. “Emotions are arbitrary and different for each person. We need to create a common thread of commonality to center teams together,” said Dhruv Dhanraj Bahl, Chief Operating Officer, BharatPe. 

“We almost doubled our headcount during the lockdown. The expectation management goals are something that is strongly driven by purpose and values, and how people are achieving them. That's where your empathy, your stakeholder management, your teamwork, leadership, in a situation leadership kicks in. We created a playground of values in which people are the players and the values are around you. So we kind of created that ecosystem, which is kind of working well, for us where change agility is a key parameter.” stated Sandeep Banu, Head HR, Freo (MoneyTap). 

Road Ahead 

Just as successful hubs need to secure a pipeline of fintech talent, innovative organizations need to develop fintech competencies through a combination of attracting new blood, training existing talent pools and creating an environment that retains high-caliber innovators.

Nilanjan Kar, Chief Revenue Officer, Harappa and his team share a similar view, as they aim to drive their business model with like-minded professionals who aren’t primarily from a ‘tech’ background, unlike other edu-tech firms.