eFinancialCareers

Australian retail banks could be about to ramp up their use of contractors, as permanent headcount is frozen or cut back.

In late January/early February we could see a large increase in contracting, says Sharlene Turner, director of banking and finance at Human Solutions Group. “The downsizing currently taking place will increase the workload of staff that remain, but it won’t be long until they become overworked and need help from contractors,” she adds.

A recent Link Recruitment survey of 220 financial services clients revealed that 63% of them would consider using contract, temporary, interim or freelance staff in 2009.

Jason Cartwright, general manager of client services at Link, says respondents gave three main reasons for their interest in contracting: 1) permanent hiring is frozen but work still needs to be done; 2) redundancies have gone too deep and critical positions have not been replaced; 3) contractors are less expensive than consultancy firms in fields such as accountancy and marketing.

Line managers might also take on contractors in Q1 with the hope that they can become permanent in late 2009, when and if headcount pressures ease up. And specific projects should keep contractors busy next year. Top of the list is the Westpac/St George merger which should generate short-term roles during the initial integration period.

Local banks are by far the largest users of contractors. In Melbourne, ANZ and NAB combined use about 10 times as many as the rest of the finance sector, according to Cartwright.

He says contractors predominantly work in operations and processing roles, as well as in other back-office functions such as corporate actions and settlements. Banks also use them in head-office positions, including accounting, finance, HR, IT and audit. “Next year, the regulatory and compliance functions could potentially see an increase in contractors as the finance sector gets to grips with new regulations,” adds Cartwright.

Turner reckons contracting ranks will be boosted in the New Year by bankers returning from London this Christmas. Other potential candidates include those recently made redundant and people who freelance as a career choice, adds Cartwright. “Many respondents in our survey thought the quality of contractors had improved and that they are no longer people who aren’t good enough to get permanent jobs,” he says.