Talent Management in the Banking Industry

You’ve invested in acquiring the best talent, but how do you keep them? In the demanding and fast-paced financial sector, retaining and developing your workforce can be one of the biggest challenges within your HR team. From hire to retire, introducing a mentoring and talent management program can be pivotal for growth and development at every level. We take a look at best practices within the banking industry and how to ensure your business has an effective talent management strategy in place.

The state of talent management in the finance sector

In a recent article by Jack Milligan in the Bank Director, Jack discussed the dramatic generational shift that has forced banks and the financial sector to change how they manage talent. Over 300 individuals working within the industry were surveyed about key challenges in talent management and how they plan to overcome them – the results were pretty staggering.

• 45% said it has become difficult and costly to attract and retain staff
• 61% said they are actively and intentionally recruiting millennials and generation Z
• More than 70% are expanding internal training programs to develop young leaders

Jack writes, “The banking industry will be forced to rely disproportionately on millennials as this generational shift occurs. This is why training programs that focus on talented younger employees in the organization are so important,”.

Investing in talent management

In Deloitte’s Human Resources Benchmark for Banks they reviewed investment in talent management and human resources (HR). Reviewing both internal and external pressures, the report highlights investment gaps, most notably in talent management. Key findings within the banking sector identify vital areas to focus on including:

• • Staffing inefficiency in the centres of expertise toles, particularly in areas of:
    • Talent management
    • Strategy and program design
  • Transaction inefficiency within talent management administration

  In short, the report highlights that with investment in talent management, the banking industry should be able to improve workforce effectiveness, develop future leaders and capitalise on the growth of emerging markets.

Adopting learning initiatives

One key element to successful talent management is learning and development. Businesses within the banking sector who adopt learning and development initiatives will reap the rewards of an engaged workforce. From formal training programs through platforms such as SuccessFactors to informal mentoring schemes, it’s imperative that everyone from the C-suite to trainees is an active participant in your initiatives. Achieving buy-in will help you to identify areas in need of development, individual employee performance and areas at risk.

The challenge throughout your learning and development program is to create an environment that cultivates leaders who, in turn, encourage growth and learning. In our blog on Training your team to lead with SuccessFactors, we identified the importance of leadership within a business and how it can give your company a competitive edge. From matching the right candidates to leadership roles in the hiring stage to setting career goals, training, feedback and support, we have seen how learning and development programs are key drivers to employee retention and effective talent management.