Your go-to guide on navigating the Festive Blues Resignation Rave

In the cycle of recruitment, January has the highest turnover rate in terms of candidates mentally detaching from their current role and starting the search to pursue a better career opportunity.

In January 2024, approximately one in five will open their mind to new opportunities aligning to their motivations, with the chance of an even higher fraction when coupled with the cost-of-living crisis and lifestyle changes people are being forced to make.

I’ve been catching up with the candidates in my network to discuss the most common reasons people make the decision to look elsewhere to fulfil their career:

• Money- Money talks, especially for traders. If a Trader isn’t money motivated, they’re likely not in the right profession.
• Budget Allocation- Business strategies and budget can change to suit the overall needs of the business, by investing more in alternative areas and applying stricter trading limits to others, Traders impacted who want to develop their career will likely consider looking for a platform that can provide a better suited desk.
• Management- Poor treatment, encouraging a toxic environment with little investment in employee wellbeing can push employees into the arms of another.
• Lack of Diversity- If your trading environment is heavily dominated with male leadership and colleagues, it is likely that a strong female trader will look elsewhere for a firm that values empowering women in business and evening the playing field.
• Flexible Working- Hybrid/ Remote working is one of the hardest things to navigate in the Energy Trading sector. There are matters of compliance to take into consideration, ensuring appropriate set ups, general distractions, and lack of motivation without the buzzing energy of the trading floor. Naturally, most companies are trying to encourage their staff back into the office more frequently, but in more cases than most, these policy changes can cause friction ergo, encouraging Traders to look elsewhere.

Retaining Talent:

The trouble with retaining talent is that each case is complex and individual. Let’s face it, us human’s can be pretty complicated with the involvement of both strategic and emotionally charged decisions.

The biggest mistake that employers make with regards to retaining talent, must be the fact that they wait until it’s too late to resolve the problem, or simply put- the counteroffer.

The counteroffer can be perceived as a compliment or an insult; for those who are money motivated but love everything else about their job, this can often be enough to secure retainment however, you can’t guarantee the duration of retainment because counteroffers often come with their close cousin- empty promises.

A counteroffer can often be perceived as an insult when employers only see the value a Trader when they’ve made the decision to leave. The truth of the matter is, running a hiring process is costly and new talent comes at a premium, given that Traders are highly unlikely to jump ship without a boost in compensation, therefore, it's less costly and time consuming to counter.

If we divert to the matter of gender diversity, slapping ‘equal opportunities employer’ on your website unfortunately, doesn’t enforce the slogan into practise.

In 2022, Energy Monitor reported that women working in Power, Oil and Gas, occupied a mere 20.2% of the top-paying jobs in the industry, with the remaining 79.8% occupied by men. On average woman received 15.5% in bonuses compared to their male co-workers. Fighting prejudice in the workplace can be difficult when it isn’t always visible, but what is visible is creating fair progression plans for all members of your team regardless of gender.

Being a commercially focussed business, it’s only natural to push Traders, applying pressure to boost performance. There’s a fine line between just enough pressure and pushing too hard especially with power hungry or short-fused management. Checking in with your Traders is essential, creating a safe space to air struggles and concerns without fear of having to present as perfect and eradicating the fear of being let go, for showing signs of ‘weakness’.

Budget allocation and restrictions can be a difficult one to navigate, especially when the instruction comes from the manager upstairs, but there are ways to go around it to attempt retainment. For example, arranging new responsibilities or exposure to additional markets.

Get in touch:

If you’re a Head of Trading or Risk, with plans to secure the best talent for your team over the coming months and feel you would benefit from having a consultative talent partner, let's work together.

For candidates looking to explore their options, get in touch to have a confidential discussion.