Keeping hold of scarce talent in the banking sector has always been an issue - a growing sense of dissatisfaction among financial services professionals in the Gulf suggests it could once again develop into a concern. This whitepaper presents and analyses the results of a survey of over 9,000 financial services professionals globally in which the Gulf emerged as the location with the least happy and most restless financial services employees.

1. Sentiments of Gulf
Financial Services
Professionals
By Paul Clarke
Editor, eFinancialCareers
WHITEPAPER SERIES

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Sentiments of Gulf Financial
Services Professionals
By Paul Clarke – Editor, eFinancialCareers
For HR professionals in the Middle East banking sector, retention of employees should be high on the agenda.
Keeping hold of scarce talent has always been an issue – particularly in countries like the United Arab Emirates
and Qatar, where localisation initiatives have given national candidates a strong negotiating position – but a
growing sense of dissatisfaction among financial services professionals in the Gulf suggests it could once again
become a huge concern.
Before the global financial crisis of 2008 hit the Middle East, job-hopping among financial services professionals
in the Gulf was rife, with the prospect of large pay rises prompting many to switch jobs every 12 months. Now,
however, as most banks preach prudence over pay, HR professionals need to keep their employees happy by
other means and our research suggests that, broadly, they are failing to do so.
In a survey of over 9,000 financial services professionals globally by eFinancialCareers, the Gulf emerged as the
location with the least happy and most restless financial services employees. The majority of respondents in the
region said they were actively looking for a new job – the only location in the world where this occurred.
A Growing Sense Of Unease Among Gulf Financial Services Professionals
Despite a widespread perception of unhappiness
in the financial services sector after six years of
regular headcount reductions, smaller pay packets
and reduced job options, our research suggested a
general sense of satisfaction.
Only 23% of financial services professionals in
the UK said they were unhappy in their jobs – the
lowest proportion of any country – and, while
the Gulf had the highest number of dissatisfied
respondents, just 38% said that their current
employer was an unenjoyable place to work.
However, 53% of people in the Gulf said that they were currently actively seeking a new job, 10% higher than
its nearest competitor New York. A further 40% of respondents in the Middle East said they would be open to a
new opportunity, meaning that only 6.6% were not interested in changing jobs.
Financial services employers in the Middle East need to work harder to engage their employees from the outset.
While the largest proportion of respondents (38%) said they actually changed jobs every 4-5 years, over 43% of
those actively seeking a new job opportunity said that they started their search less than a year into their current
position and a further 21% said they began after just 12
months. The message is clear – Gulf financial services
professionals feel little loyalty to their current employer
and dissatisfaction sets in early.
Chris Roebuck, former global head of talent
management at UBS and visiting professor at Cass
Business School who works with banks in the Middle
East on training and retention, says dissatisfaction in
the region often goes hand in hand with antiquated
leadership style.
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Enjoyable place to work
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Why Finance Professionals Move
There’s a clear correlation between time in the industry and dissatisfaction
in the workplace. Just 25% of respondents aged 20-24 – namely, those
starting out – said they were unhappy in their current job. This figure rises
to 39% for those aged 25-34, 42% at 35-44 and 45% when finance workers
reach 45-54. This may be down to simple disillusionment with working in
the sector for an extended period of time, but the data suggests one over-
riding reason why financial services professionals in the Gulf switch jobs so
regularly – a lack of career progression.
Pay is still clearly a big concern for those working in the Gulf financial
services sector. In a separate survey by eFinancialCareers on banking
bonuses for 2014, nearly 60% of respondents cited dissatisfaction with
their payment for this year – despite the fact that 46% said they received
an increase. Similarly, when questioned about how much of a salary
increase they would expect to switch employers, the largest proportion
of respondents (29%) said they would demand an uplift of 20-29%. The
second biggest group (17%) said they would expect between 30-40% to
move jobs.
This seems out of touch with the new reality of cost-cutting in the banking
sector, but our research suggests that despite expectations of large salary
uplifts, pay is not the primary issue for financial services professionals.
Instead, the largest number of those actively seeking a new opportunity
(25%) cited a lack of career progression as their main trigger to move
employers. This was followed by a lack of recognition in their current
position (11%) and then relationship with their line manager and
compensation both of which were highlighted by 9% of respondents.
The quick fix of hiking up pay is unlikely to retain financial services
employees in the long-term – they have high expectations anyway, but
value active career management more than monetary gain.
“The command and
control leadership style
in the Middle East is
still practiced and it’s
at odds with the more
collaborative approach
adopted in Western
locations. These are
ongoing issues in the
region, where there’s a
lot of churn in the job
market.”
Chris Roebuck, Former Global Head
of Talent Management at UBS
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The Stress Factor
Stressed employees and the prospect of burnout should be a particular concern for employers in the Middle
East. In a 2013 survey of Middle East HR professionals by recruiters Robert Half, 89% of respondents said that
they were worried about losing top performers because of stress brought about by increased workloads, a lack
of recognition and economic pressures.
Our own research again singled out the Gulf as the most stressed region for financial services professionals, with
31% of respondents saying they felt “very” stressed compared to just 13% in the UK and 19% on Wall Street.
The Middle East also has decidedly higher levels of burnout than more developed financial centres, despite the
fact that the vast majority of respondents (77%) saying they worked no more than 50 hours per week. Between
73-77% of Gulf financial professionals aged 25-44 said they experienced some degree of burnout, compared to
60-65% in the U.S. and UK.
“It doesn’t help that people end up making far less money than they’d expected – it’s very easy to earn and
spend a lot here and people can get frustrated at how difficult it can be to do business,” bemoaned one
anonymous banker in Dubai.
How To Engage And Retain Your Employees
One of the first things any HR team can do to actively engage their employees is, quite simply, encourage more
open communication. 51% of respondents to the eFinancialCareers retention survey said that they didn’t have
regular meetings with their manager to feedback on their performance and discuss career progression.
This is a shame, because employees value them. Of those respondents that did meet with their managers
regularly (46% said it was a once a month encounter), 63% said they were either useful or very useful for
managing their career and increasing engagement. When the question was asked whether regular meetings
with their manager was something they would like, an overwhelming 80% said it was.
The concept of more open communication extends to highlighting opportunities to move within the company.
Formal internal mobility programmes may not be present in all financial services organisations in the Gulf, but
firms certainly don’t make an effort to shout about them.
The largest proportion of respondents (42%) said they would consider a position in their current employer
before looking externally, but 48% suggested that – to the best of their own knowledge – their company does
not have an internal mobility programme. Only 34% said they knew of such a scheme and 18% were unsure.
“Internal mobility programmes depend on the culture of the organisation,” says Keith Pogson, EY’s managing
partner for banking and capital markets. “In some, roles are just advertised internally, followed by interviews.
But in others taking ownership of your own career is actively encouraged and frank dialogues with bosses or
mentors are appropriate. Stronger managers will clearly understand the benefits of sharing skills and building
internal networks that comes from internal mobility.”
Finally, banks in the Gulf need to take a leaf
out of the book of their global counterparts.
With guaranteed bonuses unlikely in London
and New York and compensation generally
on a downward keel, financial services firms
are instead now focusing on developing their
current staff. Banks are now working harder
to keep their employees “motivated, engaged
and committed to the organisation when times
are tough”, says Andrew Pullman, founder of
People Risk Solutions, which consults with
banks’ HR teams.
“After years of slicing and dicing the past 12 months have been more about retention. Banks are spending more
money on training and development, ensuring their existing employees can acquire a broader range of skills and
that they’re really buying into the values and culture of the organisation,” he says.
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Conclusion
As a hub for international financial services professionals, HR teams in the Gulf have always struggled to retain
a relatively transient group of employees. They are also further hamstrung by localisation targets that create
an aggressive bidding war for talent. However, throwing money at the problem is not the answer to solving the
retention conundrum – employees want open channels of communication, mentoring opportunities, visibility on
their career path and regular opportunities to learn and develop.
About the Author
Paul Clarke is news editor at eFinancialCareers in London. He writes for
the UK and EMEA English-language sites covering investment banking,
asset management, hedge funds and technology in banking. Before joining
eFinancialCareers, Paul spent six years working for various titles within
Financial Times’ business publishing division and two years working for
specialist publisher Hedge Fund Intelligence. He has a degree in Journalism,
Film and Broadcasting from Cardiff University.

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eFinancialCareers is the leading global online job board for recruiters and
hiring managers who need to source high quality finance professionals.
Our Gulf site allows you to target local candidates from recent graduates to
senior hires, across the whole spectrum of Financial Services and related
areas including IT, Insurance, Accountancy and Professional Services.
The HR Observer is the region’s first of its kind initiative aimed at becoming
a platform for HR professionals to exchange insights freely both online and
offline in efforts to help develop the profession in the Middle East.
Visit www.theHRobserver.com to know more.
The HR Summit and Expo is the Middle East’s largest show dedicated to HR
professionals in the region. Running for more than a decade, the show has
grown to become the ultimate platform to feature the latest innovation,
strategies, insights and international best practices by the most influential
and respected HR leaders and practitioners from around the globe.
Visit www.hrsummit.com for more information.