Wall Street firms tie bonuses, promotions to AI skills, survey finds

Wall Street Firms Now Link Bonuses and Promotions to Employees’ AI Skills

Wall Street’s Embrace of AI Skills in Employee Evaluation

By Nupur Anand

AI Skills Influence Pay and Promotions

NEW YORK, Oct 14 (Reuters) - AI skills are starting to count toward pay and promotion on Wall Street, with nearly a quarter of financial firms tying raises, bonuses or promotions to employees’ proficiency with the technology, a survey showed.

Disclosure and Performance Reviews

Another 30% require employees to disclose their use of artificial intelligence tools in formal performance reviews, according to the survey by Selby Jennings, a financial-services recruitment firm.

Shifting Expectations and Business Impact

The findings point to a broader shift on Wall Street as firms seek tangible returns from their investment in the technology.

Monitoring AI’s Impact on Business Results

"Companies are no longer just seeing if their employees are using AI tools but are also monitoring its impact on output and contribution to business results," Dylan Gomez, executive director at Selby Jennings, told Reuters.

Future Trends in Compensation Tied to AI

"While currently there is no established formula on how much compensation is getting tied to AI usage and performance, we expect this to become more defined by next year," Gomez added.

Formal Criteria and Dedicated Teams

The survey found that 42% of respondents had introduced formal criteria to evaluate employees' AI skills, while 30% had created dedicated teams or roles focused on tracking whether their AI investments were delivering results.

Survey Methodology

The firm polled 500 executives across the finance industry.

(Reporting by Nupur Anand in New York; Editing by Howard Goller)