India's banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector is finding it hard to retain top talent, according to a study by specialist recruitment firm Michael Page. To arrest attrition, companies are resorting to competitive employee retention strategies such as overseas opportunities, guaranteed growth for employees in their existing roles, and creation of new roles, the study noted.
Owing to the relative small size of certain roles, such as front office banking, the employment market for these is driven by client needs. However, due to the shortage of skilled candidates in areas such as analytics and risk, these positions command premium salaries. To retain employees, companies are also looking at employee stock ownership plans and higher bonuses, the report added. (CRUNCHING NUMBERS)
Specialised jobs such as finance transformation, regulatory reporting, client portfolio, etc are in high demand. With demand for these positions far exceeding supply, candidates are in a position to demand greater responsibilities, higher compensation and better work-life balance before switching jobs. To top it all, they also prefer to work for a reputable brand.
Analytics has witnessed a huge spurt in growth opportunities thanks to increasing reliance on data-driven decision-making in areas such as risk and marketing. The report noted companies were also trying to generate insights into consumer behaviour using tools such as big data and machine learning.
These jobs require candidates with a strong background in engineering, mathematics and statistics, who represent a niche talent pool and, hence, are able to command high salaries.
LinkedIn and other social media platforms are increasingly becoming central to the job search market. These platforms are also the biggest source of candidate mapping for many organisations, the report noted.
Finance professionals with less than 10 years of experience are also in great demand. The report said some niche roles, such as those in compliance and taxation, are seeing a shortage of skilled professionals.
Much of the hiring activity is concentrated in the e-commerce, manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries, which continue to experience growth and investment. Notably, retail and consumer goods companies are losing their top talent to start-ups, which are witnessing tremendous growth thanks to funding by private equity firms.
"Given the huge spike in the start-up ecosystem in India, there has also been a big churn of candidates from BFSI segments moving to start-ups," it said.
Going forward, the report said hiring for mid-level management jobs in finance would continue to grow, while hiring in the manufacturing sector would also open up.
