Banking was once the backbone of not just the stock market, but stable employment. Today it’s more of a revolving door, with only 23% of banking employees feeling genuinely engaged at work. This is a figure that has slipped further due to a few reasons, with regulatory pressure being one concern, along with the fact that younger workers now treat banking as a stepping stone. But more than that, the culture and communication are being eroded due to new arrangements.
The engagement crisis in banking
The numbers paint a somewhat sobering picture, with half of banking employees now classified as retention risks as engagement levels track well below the financial services average. But statistics alone obscure the real problem, which is that banking attracts two distinct workers. One group sees banking as a career, perhaps as compliance specialists or relationship managers, while the other sees it as a paycheck or a brief stop en route to fintech
Burnout only compounds the issue. Post-pandemic hybrid chaos left many branches understaffed and pretty demoralized. Frontline workers who were used to serving customers directly feel increasingly disconnected from strategic decisions made in head office. They hear about regulatory changes, new product launches, and branch closes relentlessly through the grapevine rather than from leadership.
The communication breakdown
The irony is, of course, that banks have become way more distributed at precisely the moment they’ve clung hardest to centralized communication. Traditional channels like email and monthly newsletters were designed for desk workers.
This fragmentation is self-reinforcing. When employees feel uninformed, they feel undervalued, and now two-thirds of hybrid finance workers say they would leave if forced back to the office full-time. Yet despite that, many report feeling more disconnected than their office-based peers.
This contradiction can be explained by the absence of cohesive communication.
Rethinking employee engagement
The solution requires abandoning the broadcast mentality because engagement cannot be imposed solely from the top anymore; it must flow both ways. Banks need platforms that allow employees to comment and contribute—not just receive.
Pulse polls and a space for feedback are what need to be baked into everyday culture. Tools like an employee app from Netpresenter help push notifications to employees when they’re critical, and the two-way functionality of comments and discussion threads helps create conversation and engagement.
This consolidates news and shortcuts to key systems so banking can bring back some centrality to their communication, only it’s bi-directional this time. Retention will improve once the branch manager sees their team engaging with company. Everyone wants to be not just seen, but heard.
Speed also matters, particularly in banking where delayed compliance alerts or misunderstood policy changes can create immediate risks. By delivering information quickly and more uniformly, including the offshore workers, can squash those gaps in compliance.
In order to solve the engagement and retention issue in traditional banking, they must first fix their communication. Technology alone solves nothing of substance, as poor communication and a lack of culture with sophisticated tools doesn’t bring people together. But the right tools, used with intention, can help banks treat remote employees as part of a unified organization.
