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JPMORGAN and DBS Bank topped the list of best banking employers in Singapore according to a report out on Thursday (Jul 11).
The study, which garnered over 500 responses from job candidates, was carried out in the second quarter of 2024 to learn about sentiments towards global and local banks.
The research included a wide range of factors contributing to employers’ appeal to candidates, such as pay satisfaction, work-life balance, flexibility and opportunities for training and development.
Respondents were asked to name their single favourite employer, and also to agree or disagree with a series of statements such as “This company pays well”; “This company has a robust training and development programme”; and “It is good with engaging the local community.”
When comparing rankings across all categories, JPMorgan and DBS Bank performed the most consistently overall, noted eFinancialCareers, the job platform that carried out the study.
JPMorgan was ranked the top employer by 67 respondents (13 per cent), while DBS was preferred by 66 respondents (12 per cent), with both banks receiving the most consistent rankings among Singapore’s leading banks across all evaluated categories.
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While some job seekers are primarily looking for high pay and exposure to a premium franchise, just as many of them prioritise fair pay and stability, the study found.
The survey asked respondents to indicate agreement or disagreement with two questions directly relating to pay – whether their favourite employer “pays well” or “pays fairly”.
Goldman Sachs was recognised as the highest payer by more than half of the respondents, but placed fifth for popularity, highlighting that candidate preferences are not solely based on salary and financial renumeration, noted eFinancialCareers.
Compared with their larger global counterparts, local banks in Singapore were perceived by candidates as less likely to offer competitive pay, with DBS and OCBC ranking lowest in the study.
However, among the most enthusiastic candidates, the Bank of Singapore (30 per cent) performed better, receiving nearly as many “strongly agree” responses as JPMorgan (31 per cent) and more than UBS (27 per cent) when rating the company based on compensation.
To the candidates, “pays well” is not just about pay. Their answers to this question were very strongly correlated with their views on “This company offers interesting work” and “This company has exceptional colleagues”.
The study explained: “The way that these answers cluster together suggests that there is a significant proportion of candidates who view the global investment banking career as a package, in which demanding and interesting work is combined with high remuneration, and who want to work in an environment alongside colleagues who feel the same way.”
Work-life balance appears to be less of a priority for Singaporean candidates than might have been expected, possibly due to the current market situation, the study found.
One of the critieria in the study posed to employees was “This company will give me time to enjoy life outside of work.”
The most popular employers overall did not score particularly highly on this criterion. More than 20 per cent of people who aspire to work at JPMorgan or DBS do so without any positive belief that they will have time for life outside of work, and there were no respondents that picked “strongly agree” for this statement for Goldman Sachs.
Work-life balance could be considered a bull market luxury, and in harsher market conditions it might be expected that candidates would prioritise security and remuneration over outside interests, according to the study.
Peter Healey, chief executive of eFinancialCareers, said: “Following a challenging period in the Singaporean labour market, we are now starting to see the early shoots of a banking sector recovery.
“Interestingly, the employers who performed well overall do not necessarily correlate with those offering the highest compensation, indicating a shift in priorities among candidates in the Singapore job market.
“Candidates now weigh up career opportunities in terms of comprehensive, rounded packages. Engaging work, flexibility and opportunities for personal development or training are valued just as much, if not more, than high remuneration when determining an employer’s attractiveness.” THE STRAITS TIMES
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