Media Release | Job Confidence Index 2020

MEDIA RELEASE

Low Job Confidence by South East Asia Mid-Senior Finance Professionals
However, Hiring is Still in Progress for Business-Critical Roles
Majority 53% Finance Professionals Still Receiving Bonuses

 Singapore – Immediate release – New Selby Jennings research reveals 6 in 10 employees foresee a worse economic situation for the next 12 months. With more negativity than positivity about the current job market, research, however, shows almost two thirds (60%) of respondents are still confident about their job security over the next six months.

Survey during Covid-19

When the Asian workforce was back from Chinese New Year in late January, the workforce was disrupted with Covid-19. Selby Jennings hence conducted a Job Confidence Index survey to understand financial services professionals’ views on:

• Economic outlook

• Perceived job security

• Current job satisfaction

• Satisfaction with compensation

The survey was conducted during February and March 2020 by Selby Jennings consultants through email and telephone conversations with over 350 financial services professional across South East Asia. The majority of the sample are middle to senior levels professionals.

Most finance professionals still receiving bonuses

Despite the background of an uncertain economic environment and the pandemic, the research shows the majority are still receiving bonuses, more than 4 in 10 respondents believe that they are likely or very likely to receive their yearly financial incentive. Furthermore, over half of respondents (53%) are receiving or had received the same or an increased bonus this year compared to last year.

Failure to address employee satisfaction leads to loss of valuable talent.

Our survey shows that just under half of respondents (47%) are satisfied or highly satisfied with their current jobs. Some advise we would give HR Managers would be to always ensure employee engagement and employee satisfaction to ensure that the firm doesn’t lose any
valuable talent. We all predict the year ahead to be challenging, so we urge HRs to ensure that employees are kept engaged and feel valued through the difficult times.

Financial Services Professionals feel a lack of confidence for the future

According to our survey, almost half of respondents (48%) are unconfident or very unconfident that the job market will improve. They are equally divided between those who feel confident in their ability to find a new role within three months if made redundant, and those who don’t (38% each). These results are hardly surprising given all the factors currently affecting global markets.

​Still hiring for Business-Critical roles

“Employment prospects are conservative, but still moving forward,” Natasha Madhavan, Team Lead for Governance & Technology at Selby Jennings. “Companies are being more calculated and cautious, prioritising business-critical roles such as governance, legal, sales, cloud and cyber security. The recruitment process has slowed, but not been put on hold.” 

“In the wake of Covid-19, digitisation and transformation in FS will be further deepen and be accelerated,” according to Cheryl Koh, Head of Selby Jennings, South East Asia. “With a talent pool that is becoming increasingly specialised and digitally skilled, this could have positive ramifications for productivity and industry, and lay the foundations for future economic growth.”

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For media enquiries or interview arrangements, please contact Katrina Chui, Marketing Manager, APAC (Katrina.chui@phaidoninternational.com) 

About Selby Jennings

Selby Jennings is a leading specialist recruitment agency for banking and financial services. For more than 15 years, we have given clients and candidates peace of mind that the recruitment process is in expert hands. Our continual investment in best-in-class technologies and consultant training enables us to recruit with speed, precision and accuracy. Today, Selby Jennings provides permanent, contract and multi-hire recruitment from our global hubs all over the world.

We pride ourselves in keeping our professional network up-to-date with any changes that will shape the future of work or affect the hiring process. Visit our website www.selbyjenings.sgto discover more invaluable insights, including exclusive research, salary guides and market trends.