Mumbai, May 11: Great Place To Work® India has released its latest report titled ‘People Reality in BFSI – Three Workforce Imperatives’, highlighting a growing workforce readiness and retention challenge across India’s Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector. The study reveals that nearly one in three employees in the sector is currently planning to leave their job, signalling increasing pressure on leadership, talent management and workforce transformation.
According to the report, the BFSI industry is navigating a complex convergence of challenges, including financial volatility, heightened regulatory scrutiny, rapid AI adoption and legacy system modernization. While these operational pressures continue to intensify, organizations are also grappling with evolving job roles, widening skill gaps, employee burnout and slower learning adaptation.
The report identifies three critical workforce imperatives for BFSI leaders to sustain long-term business performance and employee engagement:
- Strengthening leadership capability to balance continuity, compliance and employee care
- Aligning AI adoption with role and skill redesign
- Accelerating learning beyond formal training programs
Balbir Singh, CEO, Great Place To Work® India, said,
“Best Workplaces in the BFSI sector have shown resilience and strategic clarity by redesigning roles and strengthening leadership capabilities. This is reflected in the fact that 89% of employees express positive sentiment, reinforcing BFSI’s position as a leader in growth and talent development. The next frontier for BFSI lies in integrating AI adoption with role and skill transformation.”
The report highlights that leadership behaviours play a central role in shaping workplace culture and employee trust. While BFSI leaders perform strongly on directive behaviours such as hiring, inspiring and communication, they lag in more connective leadership behaviours including listening, thanking and employee development. The study notes that organizations where leaders consistently demonstrate balanced leadership behaviours are more likely to retain employees, improve adaptability and drive discretionary effort.
The research also underlines the growing importance of AI-enabled transformation in the sector. Around 83% of employees expressed positive sentiment toward AI at work, with automation of repetitive tasks and improved efficiency emerging as key benefits. Additionally, one in three BFSI CHROs indicated a high likelihood of implementing AI solutions over the next three years, while 53% prioritised internal mobility and reskilling to address emerging capability gaps.
The study further reveals that learning practices in the sector remain largely reactive, with nearly 70% of employees pursuing learning only when linked to current roles or career advancement. Great Place To Work® India noted that leading BFSI organizations are increasingly aligning learning initiatives with business objectives, career progression and workforce agility to create future-ready talent ecosystems.
The report also examined employee experience trends across various BFSI sub-sectors. Banking institutions recorded improvements in management credibility and fairness, while NBFCs showed signs of frontline pressure impacting discretionary effort. Insurance organizations demonstrated gains in training perception but witnessed declines in employee feedback responsiveness, fairness in evaluation and career growth opportunities.
Alongside the report, Great Place To Work® India announced its prestigious ‘India’s Best Workplaces™ in BFSI 2026’ list, recognizing 75 organizations for fostering high-trust and high-performance workplace cultures.
The Top 25 organizations, listed alphabetically, include:
- Allianz Partners India
- Annapurna Finance Private Limited
- AU Small Finance Bank Limited
- Axis Max Life Insurance Limited
- Aye Finance Limited
- Bajaj Finance Limited
- Broadridge Financial Solutions India Private Limited
- Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company Limited
- CreditAccess Grameen Limited
- DCB Bank Limited
- Edelweiss Life Insurance
- Generali Central Insurance Company Limited
- HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited
- IIFL Finance Limited
- IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited
- MetLife PNB and MetLife Global Capability Center (MGCC)
- Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited
- Niva Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited
- Piramal Finance Limited – Retail
- Pramerica Life Insurance Limited
- Synchrony International Services Private Limited
- Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited
- TVS Credit Services Limited
- Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Limited
- YES BANK Limited
The report concludes that the future success of the BFSI industry will depend not only on technological transformation but also on how effectively organizations redesign roles, strengthen leadership capabilities and build resilient, future-ready workforce ecosystems.
