Banks follow fintech to attract top talent
FINTECH is leading the way in the City by offering flexible working hours to attract and retain staff, according to new research today.
39 per cent of women are now able to work flexible hours in the City – up from 30 per cent last year – and 35 per cent of men, while 61 per cent of all staff in the Square Mile can even work from home on a regular basis.
The study by recruitment agency Astbury Marsden claims this is down to increased competition with the fintech sector, as investment banks and fund managers fight to snare the best staff.
“Investment banks are looking at how fintech companies structure their working arrangements and realising that, if they are to compete with them for talent by offering an attractive all-round package, office hours could easily become more elastic without too much business disruption,” said Bardia Sohi, Finance Director of Astbury Marsden.
“Long hours might often still be required, but there’s a growing acceptance that this can be offset at other times.”
Sohi added that the flexi-time trend would help women in the City to “pursue their career paths right the way through their professional lives,” helping to reduce the gender pay gap and address female under-representation on boards.