Large bonuses fail to buy the loyalty of people working in financial services. So way pay them? Survey findings published yesterday by Zynap, a personnel software vendor, show that 64% of those working in the financial services sector expected to receive a bonus last Christmas, yet 75% are not committed to staying in their jobs in 2005. 46% do not feel their employer is doing enough to make them stay, and 33% intend to leave their job.
High remuneration has often been cited as a major retention weapon in the finance sector, with many firms holding out the promise of substantial bonuses to buy loyalty for the year ahead. However Zynap’s study shows that pay is not enough to bond talent to the firm, and that other factors play a role in the struggle to keep talent in one of the most competitive sectors.
Only 1 in of 4 employees that they would definitely be staying in their job in 2005, and just under half are considering leaving the sector altogether. 46% admitted to feeling that their employers were doing little to encourage them to stay, with career management and the need for better work-life balance ranking high on the priority list. 96% see work-life balance as important but more than a quarter felt their employer dealt badly with the issue.
“The best talent is always the most marketable, and with large numbers of employees disposed to moving on, the real worry is that a very significant proportion are likely to be the firm’s top talent,” says Chris Macklin, COO of Zynap. “To reverse the trend, talented people need to feel confident their firm recognises their capability and potential and are committed to creating long-term opportunity for them. The statistics suggest that many firms therefore have a real opportunity to improve talent retention through more focus on career management strategies. Retention strategies will always deliver a better return than replacement activity – not just in terms of hiring costs, but also in terms of potential loss of ‘institutional’ knowledge and expertise.”