The struggle to recruit qualified professionals is one of the largest concerns in 2023 across many industries and jurisdictions. In the finance industry in the Channel Islands, recruitment and retention are rated as one of the top risks, and rightfully so in today’s candidate-driven job market. There are simply not enough skilled employees to fill open positions in the financial services industry. Business leaders cite workforce and talent-related issues as their primary concern as their organisations struggle to fill vacancies.

So, what are the consequences?

The consequences of the workforce shortage are concerning, with insufficient resources to support business strategies and a stretched workforce that struggles to meet regulatory requirements. The results of not having sufficient resources can be categorised into stages:

Stage 1

  • Reduced resources to do the same or more work.
  • Shortcuts in training and induction processes.
  • Negative impacts on staff morale.
  • Increased (and often long-term) staff absences.
  • Staff attrition (voluntary and involuntary).

Stage 2

  • Regulatory and/or statutory breaches.
  • Internal breaches of policies and procedures.
  • Client complaints.
  • Backlogs of minutes, file reviews and other tasks.

Stage 3

  • Regulatory findings.
  • Audit findings (internal and external).

Stage 4

  • Regulatory remediations.
  • Audit actions.

The stage at which a client reaches out to us at Virteffic Limited (Virteffic) varies.

Many of our clients have quickly identified their limited capacity and reached out to us early, often at stage 1. Some come to us for assistance during a limited time whilst they are recruiting for a permanent employee, and we have also assisted with maternity cover for a couple of clients.

Some clients have waited a bit longer and engaged with us at stage 2, and we help them to clear backlogs of minutes.

We also have clients who engage us at the later stages where the limited resources, ongoing projects and backlogs have resulted in regulatory findings, auditing findings or remediation requirements.

At whatever stage, we are happy to help to provide the support required.

About Virteffic

Virteffic is a leading virtual assistant company in the Channel Islands that strengthen organisations with professional support services.

We have become a trusted support firm that assists many of the larger regulated firms (trust companies, fund companies, wealth advisors and insurance companies) as well SMEs, charities, and non-profit organisations. Our clients are based in Jersey, Guernsey, the Cayman Islands and the United Kingdom. Clients have used our services over the last 2.5 years, either for temporary support with a specific project or as a longer-term solution to fill their capacity needs.

At Virteffic, our team members work whenever they want, as much or as little as they want – provided that deadlines are always met – and we collaborate to share the team workload. The team continues to grow in size to meet an ever-growing demand for our services.

Our team members appreciate and value the freedom and independence that comes from the unique roles that we offer and by entrusting our team members with complete flexibility to set their own hours and working environment, we have revolutionised the way that our business operates. This has resulted in us having experienced and qualified team members with regulatory expertise from lengthy careers in the Channel Islands finance industry who are available to support your organisation.

Our working model at Virteffic, whereby we work where and when we want, allows our staff to have a great work/life balance, and we believe that this approach allows us to be more effective and efficient with our time.
Find out more

You can visit our website to find out more about Virteffic. Get in Touch if you are in interested in any of our services or just want to hear more about Virteffic.