More than a third of employers in the insurance and actuarial sectors fear they could lose talented individuals as the UK job market begins to recover, according to a survey by recruiters Reed
Reed's annual Salary and market insight report polled 2,500 employers and workers, highlighting UK employment trends on factors including job security, satisfaction and whether workers are looking to move.
It found that 35% of insurance and actuarial employers fear they will lose talented staff this year, while almost a quarter (23%) of people working in these sectors said they were looking to move jobs.
Static pay and reduced benefits in terms of bonuses, training and entertainment were named as the main causes of concern for employees. More than a third (37%) of employees said they received no incentives at all in 2013, while 60% of insurance and actuarial employees did not receive a pay rise.
Despite this, 91% of the insurance and actuarial workers said they felt secure or vey secure in their roles.
Reed urged firms to invest in their workforce. 'As the economy continues to strengthen and job opportunities rise, the competition for quality candidates will increase, and businesses can't afford to lose out,' said Tom Lovell, group managing director at Reed.
'Despite a need to attract and retain talent within their organisation, many businesses aren't investing in their workforce through pay or their benefits, such as training, and this will impact on the overall satisfaction rating for their workforce. Businesses need to invest in both their employee brand reputation and talent management to attract people with the right skills to their organisation and hold on to employees with the right talent.'
Figures from Reed also reveal that across the whole economy, job opportunities increased by 28% year-on-year, but the proportion of businesses with a talent strategy remained low at only 38%. The recruiter added that 'none of the organisations questioned had changed their approach or put new incentives in place to support workers in this competitive environment.'
Commenting on Reed's findings, Hugh Nolan, chief actuary at JLT Employee Benefits, agreed that firms in the sector should look after good staff.
He told The Actuary: 'If you look at the industry stats for the insurance and actuarial sector they show 88% are satisfied with their role compared to 70% in their survey overall. So, we're doing significantly better than a majority of employers.'
Asked if he was fearful of staff leaving, Nolan said he always worried about losing good people but didn't see a particular reason for them to leave.
'We always try and put people in roles that are suitable for them. I think people enjoy using their skills appropriately, so people who have trained for a long time to be an actuary want to be able to use those skills.'