In 2021, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 47.8 million Americans had voluntarily quit their jobs, the highest number since tracking began 20 years earlier. It’s a similar picture in the UK, where the Office for National Statistics reports that in Q1 2022, ‘job–to–job’ moves, primarily driven by resignations, increased to a record high of almost 1 million. Widely referred to as ‘the Great Resignation’, this trend shows no sign of slowing down. Research by Slack indicates that a third of UK workers are considering moving jobs this year.
We know that skilled financial crime employees are in demand. A recent study evidenced that recruitment in financial crime was up a whopping 92% in 2021, and was 49.4% higher than pre-pandemic levels. There is a particularly fierce battle for talent in FinTech given the ongoing expansion of the sector and an annual global growth rate of 20% a year.
All this begs the question: what are you doing to retain your staff and enhance your organisation's culture? Specifically:
Are you doing enough to motivate and engage your staff?
Are you investing enough in retaining your top people?
To combat the Great Resignation and attract and retain talent, employers need to look to the future. By introducing new practices and ways of working, employers can demonstrate they value their employees and their needs. Below, we outline some of the ways you can take meaningful action to survive the Great Resignation.
It’s not all about the money
The Spring 2022 Labour Market Outlook from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development highlights a difference between what employers have done in the past and what they plan to do in the future. Only 36% say they will raise pay in response to retention difficulties. 40% of employers with retention difficulties have put a greater focus on employee wellbeing, and 39% have improved flexible working arrangements.
Employer responses to retention difficulties, past responses and future plans (%)
Increasing pay or bonuses alone won’t cut it. With a greater emphasis on work–life balance and health and wellness post-pandemic, employees are looking at additional ‘benefits’ in addition to the take-home pay.
Employees also want an interaction-based relationship, not just a transactional one — the impact of feeling valued by an organisation can go a long way in retaining staff.
Removing barriers to work
The pandemic has changed the way we work; no longer is the 9–5 or an hour-long commute the norm. Demands for flexibility have increased. And if not supported can have a detrimental impact on employee motivation and satisfaction.
Slack’s Future Form Pulse survey says employees of companies that do not support flexible working are 20% more likely to look for a job in the next year. Flexible working promotes inclusion, work–life balance, wellbeing, job satisfaction and loyalty. It is no longer only for working mothers; working dads, caregivers, those who want to run in the evening or practice yoga in the morning (or avoid the 6am alarm clock!) thrive without traditional constraints. For many, COVID has resulted in shifting priorities and a greater understanding of the value of our time. Employees are questioning what they want from work and how much they will commit in return.
Understanding how flexible working best fits your organisation and meets the expectations of your employees can be a difficult path to navigate. The key thing to note is that a one-size-fits-all approach does not work. However, where possible employers should consider:
Part time or compressed hours for those balancing external demands
Creating an agile working environment, with the flexibility to adjust working hours
Implementing a minimum number of ‘collaboration hours’ where teams meet face–to-face, e.g. a day a week for teams, or a day a quarter for whole departments
Hybrid or remote working, where this works for the team and the individual
Focus on health and wellbeing
The 2022 Microsoft Work Index Trend Report highlights that 53% of employees are now more likely to prioritise health and wellbeing over work than before the pandemic. Whilst flexible and remote/hybrid working can go a long way to facilitating a supportive environment, employers should look at other ways to support employees’ mental health and wellbeing:
Give employees purpose — fighting financial crime has true social and economic benefits. Ensuring your team understands the ‘why’ and the impact their role has can increase their engagement and passion.
Reduce the number and length of meetings to allow your team time to reset, stretch their legs and come back fresh to the next call. FinCrime compliance requires alertness and engagement, which need some mental breathing space!
Introduce screen free hours — e.g. an hour a day at lunchtime when employees can power off and step away from their screens. This will increase productivity and focus in the long run.
Support employee–led initiatives and provide access to wellness hubs which provide information and resources to support employees
Invest in mental health platforms, and show a clear commitment to this important issue. In a digital environment, many people hide their problems behind a screen — do not let this become a barrier to identifying issues and supporting people.
Celebrate the small things. Let’s be real — working in financial crime can be hectic and, at times, stressful. We often forget to celebrate successes (even if it’s just completing a small task, or a day when nothing goes wrong!). Facilitate recognition for colleagues to appreciate the support and work of others.
Walk the talk
Shiny new policies that say great things are all well and good, but any disconnect with what business leaders actually do may lead to more harm than good.
Investing in leadership development sends a message that you care about your people, and can inspire them to meet and exceed performance expectations. Leaders must be able to connect with their teams, something that can be more difficult remotely. Investing in development that focuses on emotional intelligence, and training managers to be empathetic leaders will equip them to spot morale issues and contribute to a positive culture where people feel valued and better connected. Most importantly, leaders need to enact the behaviour they wish to see and make themselves accountable by modelling the behaviours and values that are important to the company.
While policy is set at the top, leaders need to empower line managers to help meet employees’ individual needs. Team leads should feel confident making decisions that are right for their teams, rather than being obliged to follow a group wide approach. Agility and flexibility is core to success.
The importance of training
Investing in developing skills helps organisations maintain a robust talent pipeline, and increase employee retention. One study has shown that 70% of employees are more likely to move to an organisation known for investing in training and development.
Investing in training makes good commercial sense. It makes people more effective in their role, and can make them ’sticky’ - for those working in financial crime there is always the lure of more money and new opportunities elsewhere, but career progression and the opportunity to learn can be an effective counterweight.
Refresh and rethink your approach to training, and look for innovative and creative ways to bring it to life:
Shake up your traditional training model — introduce scenario-based training and make it immersive. Give your team scenarios, data and tasks that they deal with daily, and ask them to make decisions on how they would tackle them.
Make it impactful — remind people of ‘why’ we do what we do. Understanding the importance of fighting financial crime and the impact it can have is a powerful motivator. Look at stories of criminal activity and get your team to identify where anti-financial crime controls could be effective in stopping it.
Make it flexible – provide on-demand, flexible training that allows employees to participate when they want. Distilling it into ‘bite-size’ modules that can be accessed in various formats will drive engagement.
Map out individual learning paths — work with your teams to understand the various available training options. This can be in the form of supporting formal training such as ACAMS or ICA certifications, or highlighting webinars, industry events or reading material that is relevant to their current or potential future roles.
Make it continuous — in addition to having a defined training plan, look at how you can come together as a team or use other resources to support training on a more frequent basis. Arrange lunch-and-learn sessions with either internal or external guest speakers or carve out time in team meetings for training.
Career development matters
Many people leave companies as they cannot see a clear path for development. It is incumbent on you as a leader to provide support in identifying that path for your employees. Many financial crime teams, particularly those in larger organisations, are siloed by activity, yet many of the skills needed are similar. This opens up a variety of possibilities for career advancement. There are a number of ways that you can support this:
Job rotations: this is an excellent way to provide training and transfer knowledge and skills between teams and individuals. It can also provide flexibility and options to redeploy people based on operational needs
Stretch assignments: these allow employees to develop skills outside their current roles and comfort zones, giving them a chance to learn and develop and boosting their confidence in applying for more senior roles.
Mentoring: either a formal or informal programme to allow more experienced employees to assist with supporting career development.
Skills mapping: identifying individual skills that map across to other roles e.g. AML investigator to fraud roles, or opportunities between the first and second lines of defence. Career paths do not need to be linear, and mapping out options based on skills and areas of focus can open people’s eyes to new opportunities within your organisation.
Future proofing
All financial crime teams need to respond to ever-changing threats — from fraud to cybercrime and human trafficking to terrorism. A more agile and forward-thinking approach makes teams more effective at fighting crime. The same skills need to be applied to managing teams — the environment, needs and priorities of our people will evolve in the same way as external factors. Anticipating this can strengthen and develop your talent planning and retention.
Finally, don't plan in isolation — seek your employees’ view. They are the ones best equipped to tell you what would make them stay or make them leave. Consider running ‘stay' interviews — asking what employees like most about their role and the organisation and what they would change. This presents an opportunity — own it, listen and make changes!
The best leaders foster a culture that embraces flexibility, values its employees’ wellbeing and recognises the competitive advantage in investing in its people through training and development.
FINTRAIL believes that a motivated, passionate and engaged financial crime team is a powerful asset in combating financial crime. Valuing and taking care of your people will promote a positive working environment, increase productivity and drive efficiencies. Furthermore, having a diverse and inclusive team and culture will support attracting and retaining talent. To explore how you can create a more equal and inclusive workplace check out our blog post on ‘Hiring a Diverse and Inclusive FinCrime Team’.