Project Overiew

FNZ Group is a global wealth management platform provider operating at scale across capital markets, asset management, and financial services technology. In support of a significant global implementation program, FNZ established a Brisbane-based delivery office and set a mandate to hire 50 new employees across technical and delivery disciplines.

LIMELIGHT’S REMIT:

Given the specialist nature of the roles and the competitive Brisbane talent market, FNZ partnered with Limelight People’s Technology division to source, screen, and deliver qualified candidates at pace. The engagement required deep collaboration between the Limelight team and FNZ’s internal talent function.

The Challenge

• Several factors made this one of the more complex high-volume technology mandates Limelight has delivered:
• Technical bar: All technical candidates were required to pass a formal technical assessment with a minimum threshold of 80%.
• Global benchmark: The assessment is part of FNZ’s globally standardised hiring framework, designed to ensure consistent technical quality across all international offices. This is a deliberately rigorous standard — not a local threshold — reflecting the calibre required on a complex capital markets implementation program.
• Market context: Across the broader candidate market, approximately 1 in 6 candidates who sit the assessment achieve a passing score, illustrating the challenge of building a quality pipeline at volume.
• Geographic sourcing: The mandate required both local Brisbane candidates and interstate sourcing across Australia, broadening the pipeline while managing candidate engagement and relocation expectations.
• Compressed timeline: The full mandate carried a two-month delivery deadline, requiring Limelight to build rapidly deployable engineering and delivery teams at pace — sustaining consistent pipeline throughput without compromising the 80% technical bar.
• Candidate experience: Managing candidate expectations through a multi-stage process — submission, technical testing, interviews, and offers — required proactive communication and transparency throughout.

Our Approach

Dedicated Team Structure

Limelight assembled a dedicated technology recruitment team of three consultants to own the engagement end-to-end. With a two-month window to deliver, the team was structured for speed — building rapidly deployable engineering and delivery talent pipelines, running parallel workstreams across multiple role types simultaneously, and giving FNZ consistent points of contact and accountability throughout.

Targeted Talent Sourcing

Limelight conducted targeted sourcing across the Brisbane market and nationally, identifying candidates with directly relevant capital markets or enterprise financial technology experience. Sourcing was prioritised toward candidates with Java development backgrounds aligned to the implementation stack, delivery managers with financial services program exposure, and QA and test analysts experienced in complex integration environments.

Pre-Submission Screening

Each candidate underwent structured pre-submission screening before being put forward to FNZ. Screening assessed technical depth, communication and stakeholder skills appropriate to the delivery environment, genuine interest and readiness for the program, and alignment to the specific Brisbane office and program context.

This investment in pre-screening contributed directly to Limelight achieving a 35% pass rate against FNZ’s globally standardised benchmark — well above the broader market average and a reflection of targeted sourcing and rigorous candidate qualification.

Collaborative Partnership with FNZ Talent

Limelight operated as an extension of FNZ’s internal talent team. Collaboration included weekly reporting covering candidate submissions, technical testing outcomes, interview stages, and pipeline progression percentages; shared feedback loops enabling rapid iteration on candidate profiles; joint management of offer-stage processes to protect candidate experience; and regular check-ins to align on emerging priorities and role changes within the program.

Candidate Management

Given the high attrition point at technical testing, managing candidate expectations through the process was critical. Limelight ensured candidates were well prepared for the testing format, promptly informed at each stage, and professionally handled regardless of outcome — protecting both Limelight’s and FNZ’s employer brands in the Brisbane market.

Results

• 25 of 50 hires placed directly by Limelight within the two-month delivery window — representing 50% of the total mandate delivered through a single partner.
• 35% technical test pass rate achieved across Limelight-submitted candidates, well above the broader market average against FNZ’s globally standardised 80% threshold.
• Overflow demand managed: the remaining 25 hires were filled directly by FNZ, with Limelight’s pipeline activity supporting the broader program.
• Weekly reporting cadence maintained throughout, giving FNZ full pipeline visibility and forecasting capability.

What made the difference

The FNZ engagement demonstrates what is possible when a recruitment partner invests in genuinely understanding the technical and cultural requirements of a program — not simply pushing volume.

• Quality over quantity: Thorough pre-submission screening delivered a 35% pass rate against a globally standardised technical benchmark that the broader market clears at approximately 1 in 6.
• Dedicated resourcing: A three-person team with full ownership of the mandate created accountability and consistency that a transactional engagement cannot replicate.
• Transparency: Weekly reporting kept FNZ informed and in control, enabling programme planning rather than reactive hiring.
• Candidate respect: Professional management of candidates through a high-attrition process protected FNZ’s reputation in the Brisbane market.

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