We continually seek to improve what we offer our people and the investment we make in them. We know how important employee engagement is to the JFSC’s success and we work hard to ensure that it is an inspiring and inclusive place to work, where staff are recognised and valued for their contributions. For this reason, in 2021 we will focus on delivering a new, all-encompassing people strategy for the organisation.
Adapting to home working
Looking back at 2020, we thank everyone at the JFSC for the resilience, commitment and perseverance that they demonstrated during an extremely challenging period for all, both professionally and personally.
For the majority of the year, almost our entire workforce was based at home. This not only posed unique challenges but also presented opportunities for our people. Thanks to technology and the support we gave one another, we were able to adapt and overcome adversity. The experience has changed the way we work for the better and for the future.
Recruiting in a pandemic
Like most activities, our approach to recruitment had to completely change in 2020, as we trialed new ways of attracting and onboarding new talent. Our recruitment campaigns incorporated video clips of our people working from home to show the human side of the organisation. We hosted virtual coffee mornings with recruiting teams and webinars with line managers and members of HR so candidates could get a flavour of what it is like to work at the JFSC before applying. All interviews were conducted over Zoom and we adapted every aspect of our onboarding procedures, including digitising our induction programme, to successfully get 50 new joiners up to speed over the course of the year.
Focusing on learning and development
As we were based from home for the majority of the year, we had to completely redesign our training programmes for staff. This involved delivering everything online via live webinars and pre-recorded video content. In total, we provided more than 50 in-house training sessions, ranging from specific technical learning to our bespoke toolkit for managers.
To facilitate our online programme, we rolled out a tailored learning management system, which includes a foundation level AML course which everyone on our workforce must complete. In April, we launched our intermediate level and advanced financial crime prevention training framework. Thanks to this digital approach to learning, we now have a comprehensive library of workshops, briefings and modules for staff to access as and when they need to.
We know that our success relies on continually investing in our people and we are passionate about supporting their development, at every stage of their careers. Over the course of the year, we celebrated 27 colleagues as they moved internally to new roles or secured promotions. A further 18 achieved qualification success, including one staff member qualifying as an FATF assessor.
Coaching remains a hugely important element of our organisational culture. We were therefore delighted to retain our status as an approved ILM Centre following an assessment by the Institute of Leadership and Management in June.
Career development
2020 was the first year we put our accelerated career development framework into practice, with a cohort of five successful candidates starting on their journeys to develop their skills, which aim to complement our organisational needs for the future. On successful completion of their respective programmes in the coming years, we will have grown our own subject matter experts and developed further expertise in Fintech, financial crime, compliance, and FATF assessments.
JFSC Academy
The pandemic did not prevent us from progressing with our ambition of launching the JFSC Academy, which we fulfilled at the end of 2020.
We have a blended approach to learning because we understand that one size does not fit all. The Academy encompasses all of the learning and development opportunities we offer; it allows us to prioritise our staff’s development needs while helping them to achieve their full potential through on-the-job training, relevant courses and qualifications, and internal and external secondments.
In 2020, we also reinstated our graduate programme with the recruitment of four successful applicants.
Celebrating success
In March, we were delighted to scoop two awards at the Citywealth Powerwomen Awards for 2020. Our Director of Supervision, Jill Britton, was named Woman of the Year for Government, Regulatory and Non-Profit Organisations and the JFSC picked up silver for Company of the Year in the same category.
Prioritising health and wellbeing
Never was it more important to focus on the mental health and wellbeing of our people than in 2020. The challenges faced by our workforce due to the pandemic were not unique to us but we wanted our response to be.
As our usual engagement activities were not possible, we had to get more creative and thoughtful with the way we motivated colleagues and showed our appreciation for their efforts and sacrifices. Faced with countless logistical hurdles, we managed to ensure that staff had all the resources they needed to work from home, by delivering computing and desk equipment and surprise gifts as tokens of our thanks. We set up dedicated channels on Microsoft Teams to support colleagues and share ideas for managing workload and professional/personal boundaries.
Like other organisations, we were unable to see colleagues in person, so we hosted weekly online gettogethers, including a virtual pizza-making night for our Christmas social. Conscious of the pressures staff were facing, we organised online mindfulness, yoga, Pilates and fitness sessions, as well as physio webinars to remind everyone about good desk-based posture. We also offered annual memberships to the wellbeing app Headspace and Jersey Zoo, which was a JFSC chosen charity for 2020.
79% of staff surveyed said they received quality and timely communications during the pandemic, with the regular videos, briefings and updates we shared. Their feedback supports this: “JFSC supportive in the crisis”, “That staff wellbeing is very important” and “the JFSC prioritises the wellbeing of its staff while carrying on business as usual very effectively”.