Overall salary increases in Asia Pacific's financial sector saw a mild rebound this year for the first time since 2014. Despite the stable outlook, recruitment efforts could slow down next year.
Averaging at 5.7 percent across 17 markets, salary increases are 0.1 percent points higher than the 2017 average of 5.6 percent, according to the latest Salary Budget Planning Survey Report (Q3) by global advisory firm Willis Towers Watson.
On average, 16.8 percent of the salary increase budget is being allocated to top performers, which represent 12.8 percent of employees across the region. This implies that for each $1 allocated to an average or below-average performer, $1.44 is allocated to a top performer.
Financials Facing Headwinds
Salary increases in the Financial Services industry still lag behind in most of the markets in the region. The sector has been facing headwinds in a continuously evolving business landscape, particularly due to intensifying competition from Fintech developments, thereby making firms in this sector to be even more cautious with their overall spending.
On average, the 2018 median salary increase in Financial Services is 0.3 percent points lower than the general industry.
Automation, Outsourcing, Upskilling
Despite the stable business outlook, recruitment efforts could slow down over the next 12 to 24 months, as only 27 percent of Asia Pacific organisations plan to add new headcount, compared with 39 percent in the previous year.
Nonetheless, organisations planning to maintain their current headcount increased from 54 percent to 66 percent. As with the previous year, only 7 percent will reduce their headcount. These trends suggest that more organisations are beginning to optimise work through automation, outsourcing and upskilling.
