Capitec’s secret ‘IQ test’ weapon to ensure they only employ the best candidates

Capitec puts all its employees through intense psychometric screening, with the bank employing only about 5 people out of 100 applicants. 

This is to ensure the bank has the best people for the job and individuals who can connect with clients to better understand their needs and provide service. 

Former Capitec CEO Gerrie Fourie explained the bank’s hiring process in a recent webinar hosted by the Efficient Group. 

Fourie was instrumental in Capitec’s growth from a small grouping of microlenders into one of South Africa’s biggest banks. 

Having been there since the start, he played a major role in shaping Capitec’s culture, processes, and operating systems. 

Fourie was at Capitec before it was a bank and headed up its microlending business as its de facto CEO before Riaan Stassen joined from Boland Bank. 

He would have his own stint as CEO from 2013 to 2025, when he retired after spending 25 years at the bank in various executive roles. 

Fourie explained that Capitec was obsessed with two things in the bank’s early days – its position in the market and the quality of service it provided. 

“We were obsessed with our positioning. The way we position our branches, how they look, and where they are in the community, and all the way to how we communicate in the media,” Fourie said. 

“All of that is crystal clear, and we defined that. If you look at the product, it is the same. In the beginning, we had one product for everyone, and the pricing is the exact same, no matter who you are.” 

This gave Capitec’s early staff immense clarity about what the bank was trying to do and how it would do it. 

More importantly, it made it relatively simple to execute initially, with the bank’s product and positioning being clearly defined. 

There was not going to be any strategic pivots or changes in philosophy. Capitec was going to be the bank for everyone, treating every customer the same, regardless of income. 

The secret to implementing such a simple strategy effectively is to employ the right people, who are highly capable and able to connect with a diverse client base. 

Psychometric testing and business school 

Hiring the right people for Fourie and Capitec is not necessarily about getting the smartest individual who did best in school, but about who can best serve the client. 

For a bank that aimed to serve millions of clients across South Africa, finding individuals who could connect with communities and diverse groups was key. 

“On the service side, the appointment of our staff, our systems, and our processes – we were obsessed with it,” Fourie said. 

“This was to make certain that we get that right and that was to build the brand and feel of Capitec in those early days.”

Fourie pointed to the bank’s rigorous hiring process as an example of how obsessed they were with serving the client and building the best bank possible. 

“We started with psychometric testing in 2003. So, if you wanted to become a consultant, you had to go through a psychometric test,” Fourie said. 

Psychometric testing is typically a standardised test to measure an individual’s cognitive abilities, skills, and personality traits. 

These tests aim to evaluate candidates for a job using unbiased, data-driven insights into their intelligence, work style, and suitability. 

“Our psychometric test was designed to measure your mathematical skills and your ability to connect with a client. But first, you had to have done maths,” Fourie said. 

“The ability to connect with a client is key. If you do not connect with somebody, it does not work. If the salesperson or consultant does not connect with the client, you are dead.”

“We tested that, and we were strict. On average, we appointed around four or five people out of 100 candidates.” 

With regard to branch appointments, Capitec hires people from the community as far as possible to ensure better connection with clients. 

This philosophy went into overdrive with the creation of Capitec’s own business school in Stellenbosch in 2003. 

“Starting then, every single person hired by Capitec would come to Stellenbosch and would have a two-week training course,” Fourie said. 

“For two weeks, every single person, regardless of their role, will sit here. We were obsessed with making sure that everyone gets the same training, the same culture, and everyone meets the CEO, et cetera, et cetera.”