Time for consolidation when merger fever hits

Stephen Van Eyk was rather surprised to find himself inundated with job applications after comments on the company’s expansion were published in Money Management last year.

The managing director of Van Eyk Research attributes the rush to consolidation in the financial services industry, sparked by a spate of mergers and acquisitions.

And, it appears, he is not alone in experiencing it.

The rush, it seems, comes in waves. For example, huge redundancies following Colonial's acquisition of Prudential and Legal & General last year no doubt led to a leap in the number of resumes and "feeler" calls received by rival companies.

"We see a jump in the number of people approaching us for jobs from organisations which have just merged or have recently been taken over," says AMP Financial Services human resources executive Rilla Moore.

"This also happens soon after there has been a change in chief executive at a company. That's because people may not like the new culture or they may feel displaced."

While downsizing has rattled job security in the industry for at least a decade, Chris Emery, manager of human resources at Paul Resnik Consulting Group, has noticed far more what he calls "liquidity" in the industry over the past year.

"Any senior role that we advertise gets an enormous response," he says.

"There are definitely a lot of people who are nervous about their positions and they are prepared to look around more."

Even executives at blue chip companies are far more willing to take head-hunting calls than they were in the past.

One reason, according to Emery, is that loyalty is not being rewarded, except in rare cases where companies provide "golden handcuffs".

He says some people view the trend towards consolidation in the financial services industry as a good time to change careers. Others are being pushed from the wholesale side of the market into retail, with a notable swing out of the corporate environment into areas like financial planning.

A large number of senior people are also moving into contracting, while others are looking at consulting roles.

According to van Eyk, some of those making job changes are quite prepared to take a pay cut.

Those hardest hit by consolidation are those in middle to senior management, and particularly those over 45. Those who have been in one place for a long time and those who have not upgraded their skills over the years are also likely to be more difficult to place.

Anne Hatton, divisional manager of financial services at Morgan & Banks, says while increased liquidity in the market appears to be across the board, there seems to be more people looking for jobs in investment banking and retail financial services.

Easier to place, she says, are those aged between 24 and 35 with good academic qualifications and experience. There is also strong demand for anyone with superannuation knowledge and for those who are good at selling mortgages and retail investment products.

To keep their jobs at a time of consolidation, financial experts need to perform better than they have done in the past.

"The days of being able to sit in a company because of who you know and what you know are long gone," says Hatton.

At the same time, some companies are trying harder to keep top quality staff.

They are also retraining much more than they used to in order to cope with changing market demands, and they are increasingly turning to outplacement agencies for help.

However, Hatton believes that much of the fall-out previously expected from consolidation hasn't actually materialised.

"When companies merge, there is usually overlap, but this does tend to get sorted out. A lot of people have been absorbed and integrated," she says.

"There are a lot of people looking at the moment in the market, but it's like a revolving circle. Even though organisations are retrenching people, they are also hiring because their skills base is changing."

Some trends also create new job opportunities, such as an increasing drive by companies to set up their regional headquarters for Asia in Australia, and especially Sydney.

Most players do not believe that the trend towards consolidation in the financial services industry will ease up this year. Indeed, some like Emery expect conditions to only accelerate as the thrust towards global mega merger leads to more activity in Australia.

And, while this may spell severe hardship for some, industry players on both sides believe there may also be some positive spinoffs.

Emery, for instance, views the flood of mature and qualified people into financial planning as a boon for that side of the industry.

In addition, the situation can provide growing companies like van Eyk Research with the chance to strengthen their skills base.

"There are a lot of pretty experienced and qualified people on the market at the moment and we have found that we are able to pick up a far higher quality of staff," says van Eyk, outlining how he recently signed up two highly experienced people after ANZ closed its broking arm.