Paying market rates to get good people

Financial services organisations need to choose the right people and pay them appropriately if they are to successfully pursue change, a superannuation conference has been told.

The chief operating officer of UK-based USS Investment Management, Howard Brindle told the Conference of Major Superannuation Funds (CMSF) on the Gold Coast that creating the investment management business out of a universities-based pension fund had represented a substantial challenge which had meant changing internal attitudes.

He said one of the internal attitudes which had changed was the belief that it was appropriate to pay people below market rates in the belief that this was acceptable because it was offset by lifestyle benefits.

Looking at the billions of dollars in funds under management being handled by USS IM, Brindle said when managing that amount of money it was important to pay the right money to get the right people.

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"It is amazing what you can do if you have the right people and appropriately empower them," he said.

Brindle said that once the right people had been employed they, in turn, needed to be empowered to hire more good people.