When compliance meets HR

A personal testimonial of our founder Elke on transferable skils:

Do you believe in transferable skills? I am a big fan! In recruitment, companies typically search for a so-called 'plug and play profile'. Why is that?

Fyi, I am quite biased on the transferable skill topic, as my CV clearly illustrates a total job switch every 2 years.

In 2018 I arrived in Luxembourg I had quite a technical professional background, I was an excel girl with main professional experience as auditor and as digital & data consultant. A bright headhunter decided to onboard me and teach me the art of headhunting. I totally jumped in this opportunity as it would teach me the soft skills I missed so far. And oh I love this job. Connecting with candidates, connecting with clients, convincing people who don't know you to work with you, leading a young and dynamic team... I can keep going on how much I adore the job of headhunter and filling the positions of customers.

Working closely with ING Luxembourg was one of my big wins of the last 2 years. I am genuinely proud of the partnership we have built. We respect the same human values and stick to it. In a close cooperation on the recruitment for multiple roles, amongst which compliance, in 2020 the opportunity arose to cooperate at a whole other level, I would support their compliance team temporary.

Uh, what?

Yes, supported on my skills as auditor and previous project experience in banks, we decided to go for it and I became a part of the compliance team. ING is not only agile in their IT department, they also apply it elsewhere in the organisation. I especially like the quote of my N+3 stating: "Who am I to question agility'?, clearly illustrating the ING Behaviours:

• Take it on and make it happen.

• Help others to be successful.

• Always a step ahead.

And so we all jumped in this adventure, and oh yes, we made it happen! Compliance is so full of challenges these day. Being someone that is easily bored in a job, I admit I haven't been bored for a second. There is a lot going on and a lot of room to take initiative. After 1 week my audit skills were all refreshed and I was in charge a couple of topics: test of design, test of effectiveness, reporting, discuss with business, find an agreement. The only way is forward :-)!

After more then a year in this role, what can someone with a totally different background bring to the table when filling a job?

1) a fresh view and energy boost

2) a new way of working: people who need to learn the hard skills on the job from scratch, will plunge in their existing knowledge/skills to have some support in doing their job, which brings

3) team diversity: where compliance officers typically have a strong C (DISC profile) in their profile (i.e. objective thinkers who tend to be more risk averse and detail oriented) it can be refreshing to have a Id in the team bringing enthusiasm, energy and big picture ideas.

On the other side, on a daily basis I am confronted also with the importance of hard skills if I see people jiggling with regulation and laws where I can only watch, learn, smile and be grateful to be surrounded by smart people.

In short, this project is offering me everything I like in a job, a steep learning curve, being surrounded by nice colleagues in strange covid lockdown times and challenging projects, for which I really need my brain to 'crack the nut'. In addition, it allowed me again to see a bank from the inside again in a position where I was in touch with many departments, and see how it actually works in Luxembourg. And on top of that I am having fun! (And seeing an initial duration of 3 months being extended in 1,5 years now, I have the impression ING is also satisfied with the recruiter who became a compliance officer :D)

Concluded, a team needs a good mix of hard and soft skills, if everyone knows his/her strengths and weaknesses and focuses on the strengths of each team member, not only does it impact the happiness at work, the team also becomes very effective. Dear hiring managers, don't underestimate transferable skills and the fresh look that comes with it! Dear recruiters, don’t underestimate hard skills.

Have a lovely day! #makeitcount

Elke