People who keep tabs on the latest happenings in the tech sector have undoubtedly read about talent shortages that are hindering the industry at large, mainly when companies need to address specific needs, like cybersecurity gaps.

And research suggests the issue surrounding the lack of skills extends to blockchain technology, too. The demand for the developers, let’s say, with adequate know-how has been on the rise, but the response rate is in decline.

We have asked Francina Moisa, Managing Director of Nicholls Moisa about her recruitment procedures, but also what is her viewpoint specifically on crypto and blockchain hiring techniques.

CoinPoint: You are the director of one of the most innovative recruitment agencies for finance, legal and technical talent acquisition in Malta. Can you tell us more about some general specifics of recruitment for Blockchain and Cryptocurrency businesses?

Blockchain and Crypto are disruptive and innovative sectors and it fits superbly with our ethos as a business, but the talent pool in these areas is not necessarily limited, but underdeveloped would probably be more accurate. As such, when recruiting for a blockchain or crypto business, it’s imperative for a recruitment and talent management partner to understand adjacent and cross-over sectors, as well as the commercial deliverables that its client company wants to achieve. Going like for like is not always the best way or most certainly not the only way and I cannot stress this enough, but talent assessment and engagement in this sector is perhaps the most important pillar to look at. Why ?

Just do a quick search on LinkedIn or any other website for blockchain and crypto “experts”, “guru”, “enthusiasts” and dare I go there “evangelists” and you will understand why businesses need to have a thorough assessment and engagement process, to distinguish between short term enthusiasm and long term understanding and affinity to their business model.

Secondly, with so many start ups and projects in this space, it’s easy for talent to migrate from one place to another fairly quickly, so knowing how to recruit individuals who are aligned long-term with the business is imperative for the bottom line and the long term success of a company.

CoinPoint: Finding a new job can be a stressful experience as you already underlined on your website. How do you ease that process for future candidates?

Firstly, by acknowledging that searching for a new role, whether you do it voluntarily or prompted by certain circumstances, it’s a minefield in itself. Just open up the web and type in any discipline for vacancies and you will get hundreds, if not thousand of results. Curating opportunities and then engaging with those opportunities takes a lot of time, commitment and research and let’s be honest, professionals do not have the time for that. As an external recruitment and talent management partner, we are in a position to curate that for them — meaning that within our specialist area, we engage the talent pool with specific opportunities or we help specific individuals target certain opportunities that they are interested in. However, that’s the starting point only. The engagement, assessment and retention recruitment model is no longer serving the needs of a community of professionals who want to join business not only for the monetary rewards, but for its synergy, cultural and commercial alignment. This is why, the professionals that we represent are engaged in an interactive assessment and engagement process which is exclusive to us in Malta, called I.R.i.S, giving them the opportunity to present themselves via video to their desired company, showcase their knowledge and skills through specific key competency questions and ensure that they are compatible with the business from a cultural , commercial and behavioral perspective, through personalized behavioral assessments. This, combined with the traditional CV and executive summary, gives their target company a much more holistic and dare I say, scientific, view of their compatibility, significantly increasing not only the chances of a successful interview and discussion, but the long term tenure within the business.

CoinPoint: Cost, time and people are the most important elements for the business in general. How does your recruitment agency balance them out in order to succeed?

You, know there is an old saying relating to cost, time and people — pick 2. We have spent a lot of time and research into ensuring that both our clients and candidates, don’t have to pick 2, but have all 3. How ?

Through our recruitment and assessment methodology I.R.i.S, we are in a position to achieve a 96% new employee retention rate within 12 months for our clients — this significantly reduces commercial downtime ( the amount of time from when a job becomes available to its closing) because we are focusing the search on a project basis , with key delivery timescales that we pre-agree at the start of the assignment; we reduce costs through achieving long term employee engagement with our clients and helping them secure talent that is commercially, behaviorally and culturally aligned with the business and by engaging both clients and candidates in a personalized and curated process, we ensure that their needs are not only met, but respected and engaged throughout the whole process.

CoinPoint: You have multiple sectors that the agency covers for hiring processes and talent acquisition. Every one of them comes from different niches ranging from finance and legal all the way to compliance and blockchain. Where did you face the most challenges and why? How did you solve them?

My mother always said that I love challenges and the sectors that we operate in, are no exception. Whether it’s financial services institutions, service providers, or blockchain and crypto businesses, each of these businesses want to hire the best people. The common denominator challenge we found across any sector and discipline is the actual hiring process in itself. Few businesses and agencies have a proprietary methodology when hiring and this can be seen in vacancies being active for 6 months+ , great people being overlooked because of the lack of consistency and understanding between decision makers and a narrow vision towards the “technical” skills, whilst overlooking soft skills, engagement and emotional intelligence. We are committed to solving these issues through our thorough and in-depth methodology, combined with our expertise in international markets and extensive professional networks, and helping businesses understand that there is a better, easier and more efficient way to secure top talent.

CoinPoint: Can you describe in three words what does the agency mean to you?

Professionalism, innovation, and delivery.