Topic HR Strategy
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The finance sector is a cornerstone of the economy, as it keeps money and investments flowing through banks, businesses, and investment firms. But the industry is also undergoing intense and rapid changes due to Fintech's economic shifts and advancements.
These shifts present many opportunities for firms and companies but risk leaving employees in the lurch. For an industry that disproportionately relies on people to conduct its tasks, maintaining critical HR support is crucial to supporting workers and growing their skill sets to meet these needs.
Managed HR services can empower firms to thrive through the industry revolution by putting people first. They take on the HR need and risk management in firms, helping to support workers so the firm can focus on its growth.
Now, let's explore finance companies' pressing HR challenges and how Managed HR can help them support their staff and grow their company.
HR Challenges for Finance Companies
More so than many industries, finance relies on its people. They make the decisions, crunch the numbers, and decide on investments. And their HR must have the capacity to stretch to accommodate needs across all departments. That can be particularly challenging when undergoing many changes.
Here are some of the critical challenges finance companies are facing:
Lack of Overlapping Skills with Tech
As finance tech makes its way into firms, it changes workers' necessary qualifications. Day-to-day responsibilities have shifted, and tech can help workers accomplish more tasks with the assistance of helpful technology. The issue stemming from this transition is the large volume of valuable and existing workers who don't have tech skills.
Today's finance roles require a blend of financial acumen and technical skills, a combination often hard to find. Consequently, this skills gap poses a significant challenge, hindering progress and putting companies at a competitive disadvantage. Long-term workers struggle to learn these new skills but have rich experience. Younger employees may have received training in tech while in school, or at least have a higher propensity to learn it, but don't have the same level of experience.
Managed HR firms or PEOs can help companies implement training policies to help workers make these shifts. They have the expertise to help you implement Learning Management Systems that can focus on software best practices, or they can work with your HR team to guide them as they create more individualized training programs.
Ongoing Mid- and Senior-Level Worker Shortage
Even though it's been almost two decades since its occurrence, the finance industry still faces some ongoing effects of the 2008 financial crisis – on top of the worker shortages due to the pandemic. Many workers left the finance industry after the 2008 recession, significantly lowering the volume of mid-level candidates available. With the string of early retirements brought about by COVID-19, the finance industry is facing a steeper shortage.
Companies must stand out and work to retain their employees – and HR support can help them create more attractive offers than they could achieve otherwise. Their support in providing quality benefits and focusing on mental wellness can encourage workers to stay with your company.
Poor Retention Amongst Younger Workers
Turnover is a massive drain on companies – due to cost and lost institutional memory. 26% of employees see themselves changing jobs within a year – with Gen Z making up the most significant proportion of that group. As a result, loyalty has decreased drastically, with younger employees rarely staying with the same company for long stretches. This high turnover rate results in a lack of continuity and cohesion within teams, leading to decreased productivity and a weakened company culture.
Struggles to Create Conducive Work Cultures
With the ongoing worker shortage and the high-pressure demands of the industry, companies are struggling to cultivate a positive and conducive work culture to attract and retain workers. Employee well-being often falls by the wayside in such a demanding environment, leading to increased workplace stress and deteriorating mental health. Remedying your work culture requires putting in effort to balance corporate expectations and employee wellness.
One of the most significant shifts that affects work culture is its changing diversity. What has historically been a male-dominated industry is welcoming more women into the fold. There are obvious growing pains that come with this shift, and it often falls to HR departments to make your work culture more inviting.
How Managed HR Can Help Finance Companies
Putting people first is essential to making employees feel supported and getting them to invest emotionally in their roles. Managed HR firms (like PEOs) can help finance companies free up HR's time by outsourcing crucial but mundane activities that detract from their focus on employees.
They can help with the following:
Improved Options for Healthcare Support
With the aid of a Managed HR service, companies can negotiate better healthcare plans, offer extensive health support, and establish preventative wellness programs. Firms can offer their employees improved healthcare options, which directly contribute to their job satisfaction. Workers today prefer flexibility, and giving them options to choose the healthcare plan that works best for their needs or their family's needs gives them that.
Healthcare benefits are the biggest factor outside of wages in determining how their company supports them. Providing quality benefits shows you support them, aiding in employee retention and fostering a culture of care within the company.
Help to Create a Conducive Work Culture
Work culture underlays all the goings-on at work and affects employees' feelings and motivation for doing their jobs. Regardless of whether companies put effort into cultivating a work culture, one will develop. Putting in the effort to create a conducive and inviting work culture can greatly improve employee well-being. And Managed HR can be a helpful source for achieving this.
They can help companies by assisting in developing comprehensive policies on work-life balance, diversity and inclusion, and professional development. That can improve employee satisfaction and promote a culture of respect and understanding, which reduces workplace conflict, boosts job satisfaction, and improves overall productivity.
Initiate Mental Wellness Programs
Initiating mental wellness programs is a powerful strategy that boosts employee well-being and attracts younger workers to your company. These programs could include mindfulness training, stress management workshops, or even yoga classes to help employees develop resilience and coping mechanisms to deal with high-pressure work environments or adjust from the years under the pandemic. Offering such support signals to employees that their mental health is a priority, thus improving job satisfaction and, in turn, retention rates.
Establish Better Work-Life Balance
Part of the push for workplace flexibility is that workers desire better work-life balance. People want more control over their lives and will request flex time or remote work to achieve that. Facilitating open communication, promoting a culture of collaboration, and recognizing and rewarding employee efforts can reassure them that they can utilize this flexibility.
When combined with policies that ensure work-life balance, diversity, and inclusivity, this approach can make your company more appealing to existing employees and potential recruits. Working with a PEO or managed HR Services can play a significant role in fostering a positive work environment by helping finance firms develop equitable programs that give your staff the capability to take control of their lives.
Improve Your Firm's Retention with Managed HR
Talented people are the core of any organization – and finance is particularly reliant on staff to push the boundaries of productivity. Partnering with a PEO or Managed HR firm can help you create the conditions that bring enthusiastic workers to you and get them to stay with your company.
With their ongoing support, your company can be at the forefront of innovation and become a finance industry leader.
