Financial tech-ops chief: open source is a recruitment talent imperative

This is a guest post for the Computer Weekly Developer Network blog ‘penned’ by Dr. Andy Phillips in his role as director of technical operations at LMAX Exchange — the company is a specialist in technology that facilitates the FX trading strategies of both buy-side & sell-side trading institutions.

C-suite headaches

It’s the question that keeps C-level execs awake at night: how do they attract and retain the best talent? To become best in class, you need the best people and that has become an ever-tougher task in the highly competitive world of tech talent.

No longer are the stock options, pool tables, free meals and beanbags enough to set you apart from the crowd. For star developers, there are plenty of good financial offers on the table too, so pay packets alone won’t necessarily seal the deal, especially among those who are most motivated by the technical quality of their working environment and peers.

City-chic is waining

Finance sector companies in particular, who may have relied on brand recognition and big paychecks to attract the best talent are now competing with companies that did not exist a decade ago. It’s no longer cool to work in the City compared to being part of a fintech startup in Clerkenwell trying to disrupt traditional finance. For more career risk averse developers, Internet giants like Facebook or Google have as much or more attraction than the giants of Wall Street.