The Employer-Driven Marketplace

The tables are turning! Here are the four signs we’re seeing that suggest we’re now in an EMPLOYER-driven marketplace:

1) 7 out of 10 banks, based on our research, are concentrated on controlling costs as recessionary headwinds increase, significantly decreasing the number of options for candidates. Because banks are looking for ways to decrease overhead, it’s tougher to substantiate any new hire unless that person can significantly move the needle.

2) Over half of the candidates we’ve surveyed that have made a change in the last quarter did so for either a lateral move, a modest raise of less than 10%, or even took a step back in compensation for a better culture fit. We haven’t seen this trend in nearly a decade, suggesting the salary bubble may be about to burst.

3) Banks of all sizes across the US, from community to national, continue to shed 10%+ of their workforce. Some of these roles end up being refilled, but all at a lower salary than previously paid.

4) We’re getting calls from many LIFO – last-in-first-out – candidates who now find themselves out of work, often because of the high salary they came in at relative to their lack of tenure and subsequent output. Unfortunately, when banks no longer have the desire to extend credit, many newly hired performers find themselves highly paid with little performance to show for it, through no fault of their own.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Are you seeing reasons why we’re not yet in an employer-driven marketplace?

As always, if you’d like to connect and discuss more, please reach out to Lee Campbell, Mark Mahan, Clayton Neal or Ben Richards.

We’d love to hear from you!