Bringing with her a background in operations, a track record setting up the HR department in a major retail chain, alongside a Master's in Employment Law, Charmaine Gauci draws on her experience, on the daily as she runs the HR effort at Finductive. “HR is close to my heart, because people are the secret to every company's success. Without people, a company doesn't achieve anything,” she declares from the outset.

“At Finductive, we firmly believe that one of our biggest competitive advantage is our people,” Ms Gauci explains. “As we've grown, our focus has been on creating an environment where employees can continuously develop professionally, build meaningful careers, and see a clear future within the organisation. This strategy deliberately combines technical excellence with strong leadership and personal development, ensuring that our people grow alongside the business.”

Central to that philosophy is a trifecta of effective HR, namely a good package, space to grow, and flexibility. “Work must get done, but it's just as important to create a workplace where employees feel empowered and have real opportunities. Underpinning this philosophy is a set of values that were not simply handed down from management but designed collectively by the workforce itself.  Teamwork, passion, agility and integrity enlighten all of our work,” she adds.

Learning at Finductive is embedded into the company culture spanning an annual Learning and Development programme, technical certifications, compliance and regulatory training, leadership development, external conferences, and cross-functional exposure between departments. Ms Gauci also runs an annual survey to take the pulse of sentiment across the company, a habit she credits with keeping the organisation attuned to how its people are actually feeling, rather than assuming.

“We encourage employees to continuously enhance both their technical expertise and their professional skills. This can range from certifications and specialised industry training to project management development or participation in external conferences, alongside learning from colleagues through cross-functional collaboration.”

A dedicated soft skills roadmap sits at the core of this effort. For employees, the focus falls on communication, time management, emotional intelligence, problem solving, customer focus, collaboration and adaptability.

“Technical ability alone isn't enough. We invest heavily in the behavioural skills that enable individuals to collaborate effectively, communicate confidently and build strong relationships with colleagues and clients,” Ms Gauci explains.

As part of this commitment, fifteen per cent of the company are trained mental health first aiders, an achievement which has awarded Finductive the Richmond Foundation's Silver Mark. Furthermore, over a four-month period, the entire workforce at the company underwent a 25-hour programme with the Richmond Foundation covering empathy, cultural difference and constructive criticism, as part of a broader CSR commitment.

For managers, the roadmap runs deeper still, following a dedicated leadership pathway covering coaching, performance management, giving feedback, difficult conversations, decision making, conflict resolution, leading change and employee engagement.

“We want managers who develop people. In fact, Finductive partnered with an external training provider to put 20 selected individuals through a year long managerial training programme which will conclude in December. Alongside this initiative, continuous training remains mandatory across the company,” Ms Gauci continues.

Succession planning is also taken seriously at Finductive. Rather than waiting for vacancies to arise, the company actively identifies employees with leadership potential well in advance, through talent reviews, high-potential identification, individual development plans, stretch assignments, mentoring, acting roles and leadership exposure. “Succession planning ensures business continuity while also giving ambitious employees visibility of future career opportunities.”

“Whenever possible, we aim to promote from within. We believe employees should be able to build careers, and this philosophy has proved to be extremely effective. We have a beautiful number of success stories we are immensely proud of, such as an employee who joined the company directly from the student benches at MCAST in 2019, and who has since progressed, through continuous mentoring, structured learning and hands-on experience, into the role of Financial Crime Compliance Investigations Analyst - a six-year journey which is almost unheard of in the industry. Another employee, arrived at Finductive from a completely different sector, worked her way through a Payments and Onboarding Officer role and is now excelling as an AML Specialist. This year we had eight internal promotions, these stories are common, and they happen all the time,” Ms Gauci proudly asserts.

“Perhaps our secret is that we don’t recruit the skill, we recruit the attitude,” she confides. “Technical ability and qualification is obviously crucial, however, we look for a positive, can-do attitude which often proves to be invaluable at the workplace.”

Proof of this philosophy has been tested yet again recently, with a number of members of staff going on maternity leave, including two heads of department. “The people in their teams have risen to the occasion and are running the show successfully, showing loyalty and the right attitude. There's always room for good people. The worry would be if we couldn't find good enough people.”

That same recognition of commitment lies behind a recent round of leadership appointments at Finductive which continue to shape the company’s trajectory for growth in the future.

Antoine Scerri and Ramon Montebello have been appointed Executive Director and Non-Executive Director respectively, while Jeanelle Abela Tanti has been promoted to Deputy Chief Financial Officer. “These appointments demonstrate that we recognise talent and provide genuine opportunities for career progression,” Ms Gauci reiterates.