Financial services marketing update – first half of 2013

While the market in general has continued to be tough in the first half of 2013, we are starting to see some real signs of improvement within the financial services marketing sector. As ever, we are keen to keep you updated with any market trends and updates. So, we recently conducted a survey amongst our financial services marketing candidates, regarding a few key topics on everyone’s minds at the moment. We have covered a number of areas below, including the impact of Facebook on job searching, the impact of the current economic climate on candidates’ day jobs and some up to date salary and bonus commentary. The overriding conclusion is that while the market remains tough, we are starting to see some real growth and positive signs while we continue to place strong candidates.

In current times we often find ourselves in a whirlwind of social media, ranging from Twitter, Instragram and LinkedIn to Facebook. Is it possible that there is a window of opportunity for recruiters to now start contacting potential candidates through Facebook to keep up with the times? Our recent survey results displayed that only 1% of people use Facebook to actively look for jobs, illustrating this is actually a rather minuscule window! Additionally, this same survey demonstrated that 40% of people strongly agreed that they would only use Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family and they don’t want to buy products or services there. Only 5% of candidates agreed that they would be happy to see job advertisements on Facebook. In addition, only 5% strongly agreed that they would be happy to be contacted by recruiters through Facebook, showing that this method of contacting prospective candidates might be one step too far when it comes to recruitment.

Undoubtedly, the financial crisis has had a vast effect on candidates’ day jobs, with an increasing amount of people admitting to feeling much more stressed and stretched by their current roles. A mammoth 88% of candidates have said a sufficient work/life balance is of key importance when trying to reduce stress within the workplace. Our survey also indicated that a substantial 69% of candidates agreed that work has been more stressful due to the current economic climate. Moreover a considerable 67% of candidates also agreed that they have had to take on more responsibilities in areas outside their normal job roles. Something else affected by the financial crisis is progression and bonuses on offer, with 77% of people agreeing that there have been fewer opportunities for promotion. Further to this 81% of candidates agreed there have been fewer bonuses and pay rises available within their roles in recent times. Overall, we’ve had a clear insight into how the financial crisis is affecting more than just one aspect of an individual’s day job.

In terms of looking forward, candidates generally seem to be much more optimistic about bonuses now than in recent years. More than half (51%) the candidates surveyed said that they expect their bonuses to be higher for 2013 than the bonuses they received in 2012. However, when it actually came down to it comparing bonuses year-on-year, 27% of candidates said their bonuses were lower the previous year. When looking into whether people received a rise in salary at the end of 2012, 47% of people said they did not receive an increase. Although this figure may seem high, it is significantly better than last year’s 61%, which does display a positive outlook going forward.

Trying to keep a positive attitude within the workplace can at times be quite a challenge, with the overall majority of candidates saying they don’t think their earnings are decided by their individual performance. Our survey showed that 50% of candidates said that they believe their earnings are mostly decided by company performance.

It is clear that everyone is looking for the best of the best in terms of talent in the market; therefore when looking for quality candidates, it is crucial now more then ever to use multiple channels of sourcing strategies. Some companies are missing out by limiting their use of recruiters, seemingly to reduce costs but actually reducing their chances of sourcing the best talent available, according to our recent survey.

While employers start to rely on social media for their hiring strategies, thinking it to be more cost-effective, they might actually be missing out on over 50% of the available talent. Using a recruitment firm was ranked the number one method out of six possible channels by job seekers. This proves that when trying to attract top talent, using a recruitment firm still has its place within the job searching process.

To speak to someone about your financial services marketing recruitment process, please get in touch with the team.