One in four Gen Z employees quit financial services in past year – KPMG

One in four Gen Z employees left financial services in the last year, according to KPMG’s UK Financial Services Sentiment Survey. 

Almost half (49%) of financial services leaders said they saw more Gen Z staff leave in the past 12 months, with the banking sector reporting the highest number at 54%. 

The survey covered the views of over 150 financial services leaders, who estimated 26% of Gen Z employees left their businesses in the past year. 

Nearly a third (31%) said keeping Gen Z talent was harder now than five years ago.

Financial services leaders gave several reasons for why Gen Z employees were leaving. 

The most common was a preference for start-ups, with 42% naming this, followed by better opportunities in other sectors at 36%. 

Other top answers included a desire for self-employment or freelance careers (35%), more flexibility or remote working (34%), and relocation or cost of living reasons (34%). 

A poor perception of finance as a career, lack of purpose or social impact, mental health concerns, and office attendance policies were also mentioned.

Karim Haji, global and UK head of financial services at KPMG, said: “The fact that almost half of FS leaders are seeing more young talent walk away from the sector presents a real competitive challenge for financial services. 

“The sector needs young talent to bring diversity of skills, experience and thinking. 

“Gen Z employees are clearly signalling a desire for more autonomy, variety and entrepreneurial experiences.”

Haji added: “The challenge for FS firms now is how to create an entrepreneurial experience for a social media generation in a heavily regulated environment.”

Most firms (96%) said they were taking steps to keep Gen Z employees. 

Popular actions included more flexible working policies, such as term-time contracts or flexible hours (52%), improving engagement and feedback (49%), and boosting mental health and wellbeing support (47%). 

Mentorship, better onboarding and early career training, and adding more purpose-driven projects or environmental, social and governance (ESG) integration were also common. 

Haji said: “While financial services firms are investing in retention strategies, our data shows a disconnect between what Gen Z wants – an entrepreneurial environment – and where firms’ efforts are focused – flexible working and wellbeing. 

“Office presenteeism gets a lot of airtime, but the reality is that most FS firms have made strides in offering flexibility that goes far beyond remote working, whether that’s staggered hours, flexible contracts or better wellbeing support. 

“That’s to be applauded, but alongside that FS firms must keep pace with the changing values and expectations of young talent.”