LONG VIEW PAYING ATTENTION TO RETENTION Strategies for keeping your best staff can take many forms and are not just about the money, say experts I n recent years, employers have come under growing pressure to retain staff as the motivations for walking out the door have increased. A combination of factors such as an increasingly competitive marketplace, a change of values exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and increasing career expectations have all combined to raise that pressure. A December 2022 report by management consultancy McKinsey said: Motivators to stay in the job include flexibility, meaningful work, and supportive co-workers factors that have grown in importance for Europeans during the pandemic. In treasury, there are plenty of elements determining whether staff stay or leave. Franois Holzman, partner and treasury and commodities leader at EY, says the firm has identified numerous factors that can help talent retention, as well as what can happen if those factors arent present. Focusing on organisation and people when assessing triggers in its Target Operating Model for Treasury, EY found that training programmes, career opportunities, international exposure and innovation were all motivators for staying in an organisation. Smart working solutions preferably the more flexible, the more differentiating and the more attractive were also a factor. More broadly, EY identified diversity, equity and inclusion, corporate social responsibility actions, work and personal life balance, access to C-Suite and decision-makers, and brand quality, as important factors for retention, says Holzman. Not just money Such a broad set of considerations clearly demonstrates that retaining treasury talent is about so much more than money. Alexander Ilkun, a consultant in treasury technology and risk management, who worked in treasury roles at GE and Moodys Corporation, says that reasons for staying could be cultural or personal as much as financial, although he believes financial incentives still play an important role. In all cases I can think of, people didnt just move for money, Ilkun says. While it may have been an important consideration, there were other things the new jobs were offering in terms of career advancement or personal growth as, longer term, its non-financial aspects that will be more impactful to ones career. Money will follow. They moved to learn even more, while pursuing their career goals and keeping their own interests at heart. As a manager, I feel its important to express genuine interest in what people want from their careers to look for opportunities to give them what they want to grow professionally and not hold back on 16 ISSUE 1 2023 treasurers.org/thetreasurer TT ISSUE 1 23 pp16-19 Talent.indd 16 23/02/2023 09:10