More than half of employees in the asset management, fintech and wider financial services industry are planning to find a new job in 2018, according to research from AlgoMe.
The AlgoMe Career Satisfaction Benchmark Report 2017 polled 147 people and found that 55% planned to start looking for a job in a year or less. A fifth (21%) said they are currently looking, and a further fifth (21%) reported that they will be looking in six months.
When it came to why they might like to leave, the research asked what employees valued in a job and compared this with what their actual experience was. While 59% ranked salary and benefits as the most important or a quite important factor, only 52% felt their current firm was leaving them very satisfied or satisfied on this front.
While 52% saw flexible working as important, just 41% thought their company had an approach that was better than neutral. Additionally, 40% said they tend to leave jobs for a change of career direction, while a third 33% cited a change in company culture.
Luuk Jacobs, COO of AlgoMe, said the industry must face up to this problem. “We’ve identified a major gap in what people are looking for in the companies they work for and what the reality offered to them is,” he said. “This puts the workforce in a perilous position – as people will look for a new role in another company or possibly even other industry, leaving the company and asset management industry with a skills and resource gap.”
He suggested that HR and business leaders have a role to play in identifying and rectifying the reasons people are leaving. “Managers and HR professionals can use exit surveys or staff mood to help them understand why people leave businesses,” he said. “However, there are many reasons that create a complex landscape to navigate. Being aware of these trigger moments means management can concentrate on strategies that help stabilise people and keep them within the company.”
