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Financial services workers seeking new jobs, survey found

June 17, 2014

Keeping financial services workers long-term is important but bankers are poised to jump ship, according to a recent eFinancialCareers survey. Of those surveyed in the U.S., only 12 percent of respondents said they are not looking for a new position, and 88 percent are either actively searching for a new job or are open to new opportunities.

In a ranking of global institutions, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Blackrock were the top three desired companies for both U.S. and global survey respondents.

For those employees actively looking for a new job, 24 percent cited compensation as the main trigger for their decision to change employer, followed by lack of career progression at 21 percent. And of the 33 percent who said increased compensation would be most critical in a new role, 34 percent said they would need a raise of between 10 and 19 percent of their current compensation, and 31 percent said they need 20 percent to 29 percent.

Of the workers surveyed who are not actively looking for a new job but are open to new opportunities, the top reason this group is satisfied in their current role is “the people I work with” at 19 percent, followed by compensation at 13 percent, a sense of autonomy at 12 percent and career progression at 11 percent. Forty-two percent said that increased compensation would be critical to them in a new role.

“Employers hoping to improve their retention rates should develop a culture of reward for good work – both in terms of comps and culture, and making these part of the fabric of the organization,” said James Bennett, global managing director of eFinancialCareers. “For those who are actively looking for a new position, over half said they started their job search one year or less after getting hired. They decided almost immediately that they would not be sticking around. Employers must aim to make lasting impressions on new hires from the get-go.”

The survey was conducted between April and May, and included 8,761 finance professionals globally, of which 1,593 are based and work in the U.S.