Financial sector workers ‘insufficiently engaged’

It is vital that organisations work to engage with and empower their financial services workers or they could see them moving on to greener pastures, according to a new report from international assessment provider Talent Q.

New research from the firm found that 45 per cent of workers in the financial services market admit to feeling unmotivated in their current role, suggesting a mass exodus of talent could be on the cards in 2014 and 2015.

If firms continue to fail in keeping their staff happy, they will be forced to deal with a high level of turnover, particularly as the economy continues to improve and more positions become available, reports On Rec.

Strikingly, 52 per cent of respondents said they would be actively looking for a new job in the coming 12 months.

This is supported by research from the Hay Group - Talent Q’s parent company - which found that employee turnover will spike at 18 per cent in the UK over the course of 2015.

Solutions director Lucy Beaumont described the new figures as “alarming” for executives in the finance industry and called for prompt action.

"As the economy begins to recover, new job opportunities will arise and UK employers are at risk of a mass talent exodus. This is further fuelled by a local and international demand for talent," she added.

Staff could end up looking towards alternative fields such as commercial and industrial business, where plenty of financial services positions will be available and the work-life balance on offer can often prove more favourable.

This is not an intractable problem - 81 per cent of respondents said engagement on an individual level would better motivate them and improve their performance levels, although just 41 per cent felt this was a facet of their organisation currently.

"Big bonuses have often been the default motivator for the financial services yet our research shows that only a third of employees will be truly motivated by this," concluded Ms Beaumont.