'In today's competitive, talent-rich landscape, we need to grab these people as soon as they are discovered,' said John Johnson, chief partnerships distribution officer at Prudential. He cites an astounding rate of growth as the primary impetus for the need to hire more financial services managers (FSM). While the bancassurance sector is experiencing industry-wide expansion, Prudential went through a 70 per cent increase in this area for the first quarter of this year.

Another factor attributed to its recent growth is that the nearly 10-year alliance with Standard Chartered Bank has evolved into a progressive, comfortable relationship. Prudential now has about 150 staff stationed at Standard Chartered Bank branches around Hong Kong and now it is looking for 15 to 20 financial services managers in the bancassurance department.

This association allows Prudential to take advantage of the bank's well-established network of locations and clientele, while permitting the bank to offer more convenient, comprehensive financial services to its customers. As such, communication skills and a customer service ethos are also vital features for a financial services manager.

'Our FSMs collaborate quite closely with the bank management teams and need to almost act as bank employees themselves in some cases. But this co-operation does allow them to focus on a consultative relationship, so there is no pressing need for us to hard-sell or prospect for clients,' Mr Johnson said.

Once hired, aside from standard orientation, new recruits can expect to go through continuing internal and external training, as Mr Johnson's department includes nine trainers dedicated to the continuous development of the staff within the department. There are also a number of career development routes available to employees, performance incentives and the occasional opportunity to work in other Prudential offices globally.

The financial services managers are normally placed in groups of 15 and these groups are then headed by a senior person. This helps to create a dynamic, positive, open working environment, as the team leader's role is to solely manage the people.

While a financial background is advantageous, it is not a necessity, as some financial services managers come from a wide range of disciplines. Take the example of Yvonne Lai Yuen-kwan, an executive financial services manager who was in media before joining Prudential.

'The biggest challenge for me was that I needed to learn a lot more about financial services in general,' said Ms Lai, who has been with Prudential for more than two years and is based in Standard Chartered's Jordan Road branch.

'However, Prudential provided me with a tremendous amount of training, including on-the-job exposure. And they continue to train and develop all of us so that we can keep growing as business managers and people.'

Ms Lai spends part of her day training and briefing bank staff, while gaining a better understanding of the bank's clientele. However, she does spend the bulk of her time providing professional financial advice to clients and prospective customers, and offering tailor-made solutions to the people she meets. Her biggest thrill comes from meeting their needs, producing a 'satisfaction that comes from the bottom of my heart'.

'We believe we offer a better place to work in than most comparative organisations, but this is not for loners,' Mr Johnson said. 'If a person is truly prepared to be a team player and work hard, we are absolutely certain we can create plenty of opportunities for them to succeed.'

Fact file

Prudential was established in London in 1848 and opened its first Hong Kong office in 1964

The bancassurance industry is experiencing tremendous growth and Prudential went through an above-average expansion of 70 per cent in the first quarter this year

Prudential, which is in perpetual hiring mode, is seeking 15 to 20 financial services managers

Passion, commitment and sincerity are key employee characteristics

A financial background is beneficial, though not a necessity