Thinking about leaving financial services? You are not alone
Almost four in five Australian financial services employees (78%) are considering quitting the sector, with mining the preferred destination, according to a new eFinancialCareers report.
The Movement Survey found that perceived better job opportunities in other industries were the main driver for intended movement (39%), followed by the potential for higher remuneration (25%).
For those employees who were prepared to change sectors, the most popular alternatives were mining (26%) and oil and gas (10%).
The survey follows a string of redundancies in Australia, a relatively flat bonus season and continued global uncertainty in major financial markets.
“It fires a large warning shot over the bows of Australia’s financial firms, if they want to retain key staff. It comes at a time when Australia’s two-speed economy is attracting finance employees out of the slow lane and onto the superhighway – the booming resources sector. It means financial service firms need to immediately pay closer attention to their retention strategies of their key staff to avoid business risk and significant churn,” says, George McFerran, managing director, Asia Pacific, eFinancialCareers.
Australia still preferred
The survey found that three quarters of Australian finance employees (76%) were not considering moving to another country in 2012. Of those who said they were happy to stay, nearly three quarters (74%) cited “quality of life” as their main reason. More than 8 in ten of all respondents (84%) would also recommend living in Australia to other finance professionals.
However, a similar proportion (82%) said they were not considering an interstate move – not great news for companies looking to fill these vacancies. “This reluctance to move around the country makes it difficult for companies to redeploy their staff to other areas. Financial institutions are having to be increasingly more creative in luring staff and candidates to interstate and regional roles,” says McFerran.
The eFinancialCareers 2012 Movement Survey was conducted between June 15 and July 2 2012. There were 472 respondents, all of whom were employed financial professionals living in Australia. A full report on the survey will be published here next month.
