As fears of a financial meltdown envelope Europe around the single currency, caution reigns among in-house financial services sector teams with some employers seeking to recruit direct and others looking to grow talent from within. While quality candidates remain in demand, agency margins are tight with employers are increasingly seeking more ’bang for their buck’ from recruiters.

“The sector is cautiously optimistic with an eye on what might happen in terms of economic pressure in Europe and what might happen in our own economy,” says Richard Hoar, divisional director at Goodman Masson.

According to Samantha Rich, head of group attraction & talent - HR at AXA UK, in-house recruiters appear to have learned the lessons of the banking crisis of two years ago. “Due to the recession many larger employers within the market have moved their focus toward direct recruitment, helping them to reduce costs.”

Marie Stewart, group recruitment & induction training manager at Kwik Fit Insurance (KFI), told Recruiter that the insurance provider has a strong in-house recruitment team which recruits direct, works closely with the local job centre and insurance/call centre specialist agencies, as well as operating a company staff referral scheme.

For Stewart the emphasis is on growing talent internally. “Some of the training opportunities available to staff include Alan’s Apprentice, a scheme fast-tracking successful applicants through KFI’s management development courses and its Learn Direct Centre, providing more than 600 online courses in a purpose-built learning suite. Employees also have one hour of company time per month allotted to self-development, and twice-annual appraisals ensure their learning needs are assessed and action plans implemented to support their career development.”

With most of its employees in customer-facing call-centre roles, Stewart seeks candidates with excellent customer service and sales skills, as well as, crucially, a positive attitude.

Wendy Sullivan, Admiral Group recruitment manager, agrees. “The biggest concern is the attitude of applicants. School/university leavers need to be made more work ready - educational establishments need to work with businesses to ensure people are ready.”

Rich says demand at AXA is in the areas of underwriting, claims, actuarial and change management, while Stuart Affleck at LV= told Recruiter that Solvency 2, an updated set of regulatory requirements for insurance firms that operate in the EU and set to come into effect in late 2012, will create a demand for niche skills.

“We’ve certainly seen an increase in demand for niche skills, such as actuaries, particularly as a result of Solvency 2 and it will be challenging for organisations to find the right levels of experience over the forthcoming months ahead.”

Stewart adds that while margins are tight, securing the right employee is paramount. “KFI has a comprehensive training programme and it takes time to see a return on investment, but the focus is to get the right person who can grow within the company, to the benefit of all concerned.”

Jen Bargrove, senior consultant, VMA Group, adds: “The pressure a year ago was to push recruitment margins down; however the market requires more imaginative, solutions-led recruitment, and this does not sit well with discounted recruitment. The best recruiters are still in demand and can prove the value of a well managed assignment.”