Digital is here to stay. Beyond impact to our personal lives in the form of products and services, the industry's approach to employee recruitment may also prove to have a lasting effect.

Stiff competition has always existed for the finite talent pool comprised of individuals from leading colleges in possession of tier-one management consulting and/or best of breed corporate employer experience (the 'Candidate Elite'). Historically, this battle has been waged between like-kind, industry participants as candidates vie for offers with the leaders of their respective fields of specialization (financial services, life sciences, industrials, etc.). Admittedly, this dynamic has witnessed some minor disruption over the past 15 years in the form of "hot" segments (dotcom's, VC/PE, Hedge Funds) but in general we haven't witnessed a lot of sustained, cross-industry pollination. That now seems to be changing as many of the most successful digital organizations are electing to stockpile talent, regardless of previous industry experience or subject matter expertise. The ramifications of this approach are beginning to have a pronounced effect on corporations comfortable with the more traditional recruiting battle lines.

For illustrative purposes, we need look no further than the financial services industry where a different hiring landscape, one with a multitude of candidate paths and opportunities is taking shape. New competitors, most notably digital companies, have entered the fray, particularly in the payments space. Google (the most visible and voluminous of 'talent stockpilers') is attracting a lot of attention for "Google Wallet," in essence an app that turns your phone into your wallet. Facebook, Amazon and Intuit are also devoting efforts to cracking the payments space and even eBay/PayPal, an industry stalwart, is becoming sexy again. What we are seeing is the development of payment solutions that don't rely on the existing infrastructure already in place and in some cases, threaten to bypass it completely. This is being done by non-financial services companies.

What does this all mean? In this industry example, it means that the traditional consumer financial services companies (banks, card co's), particularly the leading brands that place a premium on attracting elite talent, are now competing head-on for candidates that historically would not have considered technology or non-financial services employers in the past.....their share of the 'candidate elite' pie is shrinking.

Why are so many top flight candidates eschewing traditional financial services companies in favor of technology companies? Undoubtedly, the tarnished image of the industry in the aftermath of the financial crisis has played a small role but by most accounts, the perception is that the digital employers afford the candidate greater options in the form of future career breadth. They can do so by way of transferable, industry agnostic skills and experiences....not being pigeon-holed into a specific industry. Adding to the appeal is the opportunity to participate in the development of innovative and potentially game-changing products and services during a time when many traditional financial institutions are retrenching. Further, the lure of entrepreneurialism cannot be overlooked and exerts a strong pull on candidates...particularly those driven to challenge existing paradigms and traditional business models by making things more efficient and cost effective. Finally, there is the cultural attraction. Upstart entries offer candidates an opportunity to be a part of a corporate culture that is fast-paced, non-bureaucratic and highly-collaborative.

While it might be easy to dismiss this current talent battle with the belief that top flight candidates are just chasing the next hot thing, we believe that a seismic shift is taking place. The digital industry is clearly making a run on talent, the unique component is that they are doing so through the dual lenses of "talent" and "potential" rather than the traditional perspective of industry depth and experience, thereby dramatically increasing their candidate pool to include all industry/functional backgrounds...not just "tech". As these organizations continue to grow, they aspire to involvement across all industries and therefore have become an attractive, if not preferred option for top-tier candidates from both a near-term and longer term perspective.