Bankers – Who wants to work in a place like this?

Bankers – Who wants to work in a place like this?

Bankers!. Modern day witches, the easy prey of journalists, target of hate by those suffering through the economic downturn.

 

What then of those that work there and those that are thinking of applying for jobs in the future?

A noble profession has turned into a dark word uttered by many when talking about how bad life is. It’s the bankers fault right?  Well yes it is…and isn’t.  At least not ALL bankers.

Firstly, many people are suffering as a result of the economy, not just because of how bad it is, but because of an expected life style due to the economic advancement through the early/ mid 90’s to late 2000’s.

IN this short time we had growth, advancement and a life style that would have been impossible had it not been for banks. Off the back of trading, economies grew and people (not all people though) enjoyed this new economy. 

With the crash yes people suffered and felt the pain and it was easy to blame the banks. But we all bought into this vision and benefited from the ‘good times’, no we have to get through the ‘bad times’. Clearly SOME bankers, (traders, regulators and CEO’s) made bad decisions that impacted far too may people.

So what of those that are left in banking? It is a highly pressurised business. Not just those in the trading floor, but those doing the support work in the back office and operations functions. These staff DO NOT get the £2,000,000 bonuses annually. I know, because I spent 18years at JPMorgan and was always excited when I read the paper (usually the Daily Mail in UK) about how much I would be getting, only to disappointed when the real figure was revealed by my then manager.

These back office staff do a hard job. They are asked to do more with less. This years 10/10 is next years 8/10. When asked what they do for a living they used to say with pride where they work, now they whisper it just in case someone overhears.

And this leads to an opportunity. An opportunity for leaders in the banking world to recognise that their current talent is feeling very challenged and may just walk away from the business (or wait for redundancy) and they also may not be able to attract the next TOP TALENT.

Never before has leadership at all levels been vital for this sector especially those in the back office functions who need to more with less.

Make no mistake about it. The world still needs banks and bankers. They contribute a lot to the economy as well from taxes to buying goods and services that then help the shops that are selling these. We do need more focus to ensure trading is done responsibly and may then we will see a return to banking, as a profession, to be a job to  be proud of. 

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You can take that to the bank…

Wow, after changing bank accounts recently it has made me realise why some people think it is too much hassle.

After closing my old account and opening a new one I have found myself with no cheque book (it’s in the post), no internet banking (it’s in the post), no telephone banking number (received it but it doesn’t work!)  and now they have blocked my card by mistake.

All of this now means I have no access to any cash today (Sunday) and can’t buy anything online either.

It makes you realise how comfortable things can get and why we often don’t like to change things like utility providers etc

I have my reasons for changing accounts and am still glad I did but it can be very frustrating when you have to wait. Like many things it shows how we can take things for granted and only know how good a service is when it is taken away.

So today I am having a ‘no cash’ day, no shops, no coffee and looking for ways to convince my local petrol station that I am good for the petrol and can come back tomorrow (Monday) with the cash 🙂