Bank salaries have been the highest for many years. From 2005 to 20011, after which the first place was occupied by representatives of the tobacco industry, and from 2016 – IT professionals. At the end of this year, banks fell to 12th place in the ranking of average net salaries in Romania

“Today’s youth are sophisticated, highly informed and well-documented, have access to a vast number of sources of information, and are much more selective than in the past. They are particularly attracted to more dynamic and innovative areas, and the banking sector is no exception in this regard, explains Iryna Kubinsky, head of personnel, culture and organization at Raiffeisen Bank, in a discussion about how attractive the banking environment is today.

“Most of the innovation in the banking sector comes from areas like fintech, we’re not really a leading industry in that area of ​​innovation,” she says in a discussion with HotNews.

Photo: Iryna Kubinska, head of personnel, culture and organization, Raiffeisen Bank. Photo source: Raiffeisen Bank

We involve young people in the recruitment process, including from faculty ranks. To have a measure of the staff structure, for example, in October 2022, about 10% of employees were young people from faculty banks, under the age of 23. The starting salary level is specific to the entry-level position, but the career growth opportunities of both the bank position and the salary level must be considered.

The evolution of the net salary in the banking system during 2018-2022

Over the last 3 years, the number of Raiffeisen employees has increased by 2%, despite the difficult pandemic and post-pandemic labor market, which shows the bank’s intentions and plans in Romania and shows that we are an attractive employer in the country’s banking market.

• At the level of the entire banking system, 51,435 employees work in the country (compared to almost 72,000 in 2008), and the number of branches has decreased to 3,663

The impact of remote work on staff engagement, morale, team cohesion

Working from home has both positive and negative sides. We recommended one day in the office per week and gave teams autonomy in managing their work. If the “doses” of working from home/office are right, then the morale is excellent, the engagement and cohesion of the teams increases, says the HR manager of Raiffeisen Bank.

There are exceptions when the tendency is to abuse work at home, Kubinska believes, adding that, in her opinion, this is psychologically unhealthy. “Working at home has its drawbacks, we all need balance from this point of view as well. We want to stay as close to family as possible for as long as possible, but we are social creatures and always enjoy meeting colleagues. It’s all about balance. And we also found that the concern not to expose colleagues to the pandemic and the hybrid program adopted now had a positive effect on the morale of colleagues,” explains Kubinsky.

How much can be advanced in the bank

We have a period of one year during which we evaluate the employee’s performance, after which he can be accessed and subsequently enter the selection processes for vacant positions, depending on his personal interest in career development and compatibility with the profile he is looking for, says Kubinsky. The bank annually allocates about 2 million euros for staff training, she adds.

What are the current requirements for post-pandemic and pre-pandemic candidates?

Demands generated by the pandemic related to flexibility of the work system, full remote/hybrid way of working, greater emphasis on work-family balance (work-life balance), flexibility of the work program in the sense of differentiating the work interval with different start times of the program , to avoid traveling during very congested times in terms of traffic. I can also add to the list of conducting interviews exclusively online.

Human resource management based on old hierarchical rules, bureaucracy and control is no longer effective and must be replaced by models that are much more flexible and operational. The approach to projects is also changing: with creative, adaptive, gradual achievements and quick implementation. Teams have a high degree of flexibility, autonomy and decision-making authority. Companies are becoming warmer, perhaps more people-oriented, more inspiring.

From 2018 to 2022, the average net salary for the most in-demand positions in banks increased by 4-46%.

The smallest increase was for financial analysts, and the largest for credit analysis specialists, according to data from Undelucram.ro. The most sought-after jobs in banking are financial analyst, customer relationship manager (customer manager), branch manager (branch manager), credit analyst (credit specialist/credit analyst) or banking services consultant (banking consultant services).

Salaries for these positions range from 3,300 to 7,000 lei, while in 2018 they ranged from 2,310 to 5,470 lei.

Average salary values ​​for the five most in-demand banking jobs are according to data provided by Romanian workers who wrote anonymously on the Undelucram.ro platform:

Average net salary for the most in-demand banking jobs in 2022:

• Financial analyst – 4,900 lei (+ 4% compared to 2018)

• Communications manager – 4,750 lei (+ 37% compared to 2018)

• Branch manager/branch manager – 7,000 lei (+ 28% compared to 2018)

• Credit analyst/credit specialist/credit analyst – 3,640 lei (+46% compared to 2018)

• Banking services consultant – 3,300 lei (+ 43% compared to 2018)

Average net salary for the most in-demand banking jobs in 2018:

• Financial analyst – 4710 lei

• Customer service manager/customer service manager – 3,460 lei

• Branch manager/branch manager – 5,470 lei

• Credit analyst/credit specialist/credit analyst – 2490 lei

• Banking services consultant – 2310 lei