It’s a double dilemma for banks: they are struggling to stop staff moving to other industries but are also finding it challenging to convince employees to move into internal roles based out of Sydney.

Increasing numbers of financial professionals have left the sector so far this year, according to the 22 HR professionals who attended the recent eFinancialCareers roundtable in Sydney.

Disheartened investment bankers, for example, have been attracted by potentially better work-life balance and job security in other sectors. They have used their banking networks to secure in-house corporate roles in areas like business development and corporate finance, said one of the delegates, all of whom asked not to be named in this report.

This trend was most prevalent among investment bankers with three to six years’ experience who were at the “coalface” of the industry, she added. “They work long hours, deal-flow is down, and they haven’t had great remuneration increases for a while.”

A representative of an international bank said low- and mid-level operations and accounting professionals, who had received scant pay increases this year, were most vulnerable. “They are looking for ways to use their accounting qualifications in the corporate sector.”

Financial planners can also be hard to hold onto. The Future of Financial Advice changes were helping to persuade some planners to leave the industry, said an attendee from a big four bank.

Stuck in Sydney

While movement between sectors is giving HR a headache, it’s lack of movement that is the problem in interstate relocations. Banks admit that, despite the resources boom, shifting staff out of Sydney is tricky.

“We are definitely having problems getting people to Adelaide and Canberra. With Perth it’s ‘yes and no’: some are excited by the opportunity; others aren’t,” said a roundtable attendee.

One Australian firm gives employees an extra week’s annual leave if they accept an interstate role. But extra benefits aren’t everything.

“For us it’s more about highlighting the career development opportunities of moving; how it’s better for them,” said an HR professional from a local bank. “We craft it as part of a long-term and sustainable development plan.”

Some employees are offered fixed-term contracts of between 12 and 18 months to relocate, with a guaranteed role on their return, if they perform well.