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Financial Services Report Hiring, Retention Challenges
MENLO PARK, Calif. -- Faced with a changing regulatory environment, the financial services sector might have yet another challenge: finding and keeping good employees. Fully 89% of executives surveyed in a recent Robert Half study reported recruiting difficulties, and 83% said they are concerned about losing top performers to other opportunities.
The survey includes responses from seven countries: Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States.
"While some areas within financial services institutions have seen cutbacks, other more profitable product lines are receiving further investment, which has resulted in additional hiring," said Neil Owen, global practice director of financial services recruitment for Robert Half. "This is creating challenges in finding the requisite staff to capitalize on emerging opportunities. Competition for the industry's top talent continues to intensify for middle [management] and back-office roles, particularly accounting and finance, as well as operations positions."
Shortages of talent are especially acute in Hong Kong where 95% of respondents cited difficulties. Even in France, which had the lowest level of difficulty, 82% of executives reported challenges recruiting the talent they want.
"Institutions around the world need staff who can manage fundamental business needs, drive profitability and ensure compliance mandates are met," Owen said. "Building a team with these skills has become increasingly difficult as firms face situations in which the demand for skilled professionals often outweighs the supply."
With the hiring environment improving for professionals who can fill roles in areas such as accounting and finance, operations support, revenue generation, and risk and compliance, employers around the globe are worried about losing their best and brightest. Eighty-three percent of financial services executives are at least somewhat concerned about hanging on to top performers, the survey found.
The greatest worries appear to be in Hong Kong and Singapore, where 93% and 92% of respondents respectively, cited concerns about losing good employees. In the seven countries surveyed, at least three-quarters of respondents expressed some level of concern.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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