Kyle Kuhn
In a previous Empiric blog post on effective strategies to find and retain nCino talent, I shared some strategies to find and keep nCino talent. As the leader of the Empiric USA nCino hiring team, I often get asked how to hire the best people for nCino projects, so here are my top tips and insights to help you build your very own dream nCino team.
Let’s go!
1. Master the Industry Niche
As software purpose-built with tailored features and intricacies, understanding the financial sector's ins and outs, from processes to regulations is essential.
Access to nCino training is limited to partners, nCino employees, or product users, so finding nCino Admins with formal certification or hands-on product experience from previous roles can be a challenge, but it’s also a necessity if you want to get the most out of your nCino investment. Our nCino team specializes in placing top talent from various sources:
- nCino itself: nCino hires and trains its own staff to provide consulting and support services to its clients. These are the most experienced and skilled nCino professionals but are the most expensive and hard to get.
- A financial institution: Some banks and credit unions have their own internal nCino teams, who have learned how to use and customize the product through hands-on experience. These are the most practical and relevant nCino professionals, but they are hard to lure from their current jobs.
- An nCino consultancy: Some Salesforce partners have specialized in nCino implementation and development, and they have certified nCino consultants on their payroll. These are the most available and flexible but quality and expertise may vary.
With each option having its own pros and cons, you need to decide which source of talent meets your needs, budget, and timeline.
2. Grasp nCino’s Complexity: Technical vs Functional
Many organizations make the mistake of thinking that they can get away with just having an administrator to handle their nCino ecosystem. However, nCino is a complex system that requires a combination of technical and functional skills to optimize its performance and usability.
Many nCino Admins can configure settings but miss the bigger business picture. You need a functional expert who understands your organization's goals and can translate them into actionable requirements, paired with a technical architect or developer who ensures scalability, security, and efficiency.
3. Understand Your Org Size
Your org size is a key factor that influences how many people you need on your nCino team, as well as their roles and responsibilities.
If you are a small credit union with 200 employees or less, you might be able to get by with one or two nCino specialists who can wear multiple hats and handle both the technical and functional aspects of the platform. This can help save costs and keep things simple without sacrificing quality.
However, if you are a large bank with thousands of employees or more, you will need a bigger and more specialized team with roles such as product owners, architects, analysts, developers, admins, testers, trainers play an important role in collaboration and reporting.
Consider team structure, communication, and governance to ensure cohesion, quality, and security.
A well-balanced team of tech and business experts will drive your nCino success!
4. Understand Your Location
When it comes to hiring nCino talent, location matters. The location of your organization and your potential candidates will have a significant impact on your hiring process, your talent pool, and your budget.
Many banks and credit unions have restrictions on where they can hire from due to tax laws or regulatory compliance. For example, some states might require that you hire local residents or citizens only, or that you pay certain taxes or fees for hiring out-of-state or foreign workers.
You also need to understand the candidate population in the locations where you are allowed to hire from. For example, some regions might have a higher concentration of nCino professionals than others, or some markets might be more competitive or saturated than others. You need to do some research and analysis on the supply and demand of nCino talent in your target locations and adjust your hiring strategy accordingly.
5. Understand Your nCino Products: Which Ones Are You Leveraging?
nCino isn't one-size-fits-all. It offers various products for different sectors in financial services – it's a flexible product that consists of various products that cater to different segments of the financial services industry (think commercial banking, retail banking, small business banking, treasury management, etc.)
Knowing your nCino products will also help you find the right talent for your projects, as different consultants, admins, developers have different experience and expertise in different nCino products. While they might have some common skills and knowledge, the nuances and details of each product can make a big difference in terms of quality and efficiency. This knowledge will guide your talent search.
6. Balance Your Salary Expectations vs Normal Salesforce Candidates
Finding the right nCino talent means being flexible with salaries. As I mentioned in my previous blog, due to the niche nature of nCino talent, they generally command a higher salary or rate than normal Salesforce candidates - generally 10-20% higher than traditional Salesforce roles dependent on location, and seniority.
Be realistic and flexible about your salary expectations when hiring for your nCino team. You might have to pay a premium for top-notch nCino talent, or you might have to adjust some aspects of your ideal candidate profile. Also consider benefits, incentives, career growth, and work-life balance as additional incentives.
Conclusion
Building your dream nCino team is the foundation of a successful implementation. Niche skills, high demand, and complexity demand meticulous planning. Follow these tips, understand the industry, balance roles, consider org size and location, identify your nCino products, manage salary expectations, and embrace interview best practices.
Creating a top-notch nCino team requires effort, but the long-term rewards are more than worth it. Use these insights as your guide to assemble your dream squad.
Some final mantras to live by, from me:
The art is in the preparation.
It's not a sprint; it's a marathon.
If time isn’t on your side or you need the expert touch, our dedicated US-based nCino team specializes in full-time and contract hiring, partnering with companies globally to fill even the most niche and advanced roles. We are well placed and available to advise and help here, whatever your goal and growth ambition is. Through our many years of experience, we’re more than familiar with the importance of cultural as well as technical fit.
Learn more about Empiric's nCino capabilities on our dedicated Salesforce page and be sure to subscribe to our newsletter below. Also be sure to connect with me on LinkedIn.
