emerging trends of hr in banking and insurance sector
TRANSCRIPT
Emerging trends of HR in Banking and Insurance sector
Ashish Rami
Research Scholar-KSV,
Assistant Professor- Rai University,
Ahmedabad
M: 9924519611
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Phaneendra Sai Alluru
Student, MBA II
M: 09662345993
Rai University, Ahmedabad
Abstract:
Banking, financial and insurance sector is playing a major role in the development of Indian
economy. The growing middle class in emerging markets is producing countless new banking
customers. India and China alone accounts for more than a third of the world’s population, so
the potential market for banking and financial services is higher. To keep a pace with
growing BFI industry, firms have to develop innovative ideas and strategies to retain and
motivate the employees. Employees are one of the factors of production and provide a human
face to any firm. The term ‘employee retention’ is closely attached with the trust and
commitment of the employees. It is also related with the perceived sense of security,
satisfaction and recognition of the work force. In the present era, lifestyle of employees is
changing significantly, as a result their working patterns, career cycles and job preference
also changed. Organizations should take care of all the needs of employees in this turbulent
time. Attracting, motivating and retaining employees are the major concerns for the present
business firms. The paper focuses on such innovative HR practices implemented by various
firms to retain, motivate and make him feel comfortable. Many banks are having good
policies for their employees i.e. Citi India have ‘Flexible Maternity policy’, HSBC have
‘Mothers on Board’, Standard Chartered bank provides day care center and ‘colors of joy’
vacation, ICICI’s maternity policy, banks are collaborating with B-Schools for tailor made
banking course with an assurance of a job on completion of the course. ICICI Bank and Bank
of Baroda, Kotak Bank launched a post-graduate diploma in banking and relationship
management in association with Manipal University, in Bangalore. The data is taken from
various secondary sources such as journals, magazines, company websites and newspaper
articles.
Key words: BFI sector, employee motivation, retention strategies
Introduction
Banking and finance sector being most potential industry in the economy of India growing
faster in the present market. For this growth we can consider two reasons one is largest
population and second is fastest changes in the living styles of middle class and lower middle
class people. With this fastest growth we are observing the change in the mind sets of people
showing preferences for their future security and safety. By considering all these things we
can say that the importance of banking and insurance is vital. In these situations it is must for
every banking and financial institution for providing better solutions and services for their
customers. It is only possible when they maintain perfect factors of growth. By considering
HUMAN POWER as one of the main factor retaining human power is more important,
considering and taking these factors under consideration many organizations are
implementing various schemes and policies for retaining human power of their organizations.
In this HR management is playing a vital role mostly in HR management HR Retaining,
training and development is playing an important role in the existence of the organization in t
cut through competition and for increasing competitiveness and also for increasing
effectiveness and efficiency of the organization. Now we are going to give you brief details
about various organizations policies and schemes for this purpose.
If we observe any employee’s psychology we can find some factors which make him
to work comfortably and makes him to stick to that organization. Those factors are
Job satisfactions
Flexible work environment.
Support and facilities.
Training Program.
Bonuses and rewards
Employee communication.
Trust of the employees with the organization.
Team work.
All these factors play an important role in the retention of an employee in an organization. By
considering these factors companies are implementing various schemes for the welfare of the
employee. We can say these schemes are various applications of motivational and retention
theories of human resource management. If we observe various theories of motivation and
retention of human power all these theories are dependent on human psychology as
mentioned. It is must for HR department to study and make the working environment
favourable for the employee. As a part of these studies many banking firms are providing
facilities like flexible working environment. Second important thing for retaining and
motivating employees is support activities for employees these activities includes providing
facilities for their career growth and also providing support for their day to day life and
providing support to make them feel comfortable towards work by making them to feel
relaxed and making them to feel happy. Such schemes and HR policies have been
implementing by various banking firms. Some of such strategies are:
Findings:
Employer faces a lot of direct and indirect cost when employees leave the organization.
These expenses consist of headhunting a fee, advertising cost, loss of time and productivity,
experts’ fees, training and development expenses to new employers, work imbalance. Apart
from these costs, company loose goodwill and important/confidential information of policy
and project. So it is necessary for organizations to retain the employee. The contemporary
innovations are started in the field of training, compensation, retention, performance
appraisal, global HR, stress management, e-HR, recruitment and selection. Many new
strategies and HR practices are executed to retain and make the employee satisfy in the
organization.
HDFC, Axis, HSBC:
These banks make it mandatory for an employee to take 15 days continuity leave in a year
wherein the employees are encouraged to spend days with their family for which the entire
expenses are borne by the company. They also provided precise training and workshops to
employees which in general are organized outside the purview of office. RBI (Reserve Bank
of India) also offers flexi-time to its officers to get better employees‟ Work-Life Balance.
HCBC bank:
Attracting employees in HSBC by equal opportunity employer:
HSBC is an equal opportunities employer. They do not discriminate on grounds of age,
gender, colour, race, ethnicity, language, caste, creed, economic or social status or disability.
Being the world’s local bank, they value the diversity of the markets in which we operate.
Diversity is central to HSBC’s brand image and is an integral part of our “managing for
growth” and people strategies. They recognize that having a workforce that broadly reflects
the composition of the local communities in which we operate places us in a unique position
to understand and respond to the needs of our customers. Thus use diversity as a competitive
differentiator, both in employment and in customer markets. Diversity initiatives and
programmes are driven by Diversity committee which comprises senior executives from
across the company. Whilst the Committee focuses on a broad range issues, its main areas of
focus are:
Gender
Disability
Underprivileged
- Gender
A number of affirmative actions have been taken by the bank, and will continue to be taken,
to support gender diversity. These include maternity, paternity and adoption leave, flexible
working hours, late night transportation and much more.
- Disability
Certain categories of job have been identified as suitable for physically challenged
individuals, such as phone banking operators in our call centres (for movement impaired
only); data processing staff (for movement and hearing impaired); telephone operators in
HSBC pan India (for visually impaired).
- Underprivileged
HSBC categorise “underprivileged” as being orphans and destitute individuals. They assist
individuals by tying up with NGOs such as Future Hope and SOS Children's Villages to
provide short-term training internships. The internships are targeted at those graduates who
will gain most from exposure to the banking industry. After their training, they are eligible to
apply to join the bank (or any other entity) on a temporary or full-time basis and will be
considered for employment based on merit and availability of suitable vacancies.
BANK OF BARODA:
Opportunities for employees:
Bank of Baroda focuses on its employees, offering a career rather than just a job. Various
initiatives are in place to groom employees throughout their life cycle.
A best-in-class new hire on-boarding program.
The program spans 6 months for officers and 2 week for clerks. The program for officers
consists of classroom training sessions, covering basic aspects of operations, credit and forex,
and comprehensive branch rotations which take you to a variety of branches of various types
(like Rural/Semi Urban, Urban/Metro, advances-focussed). Apart from taking care of the
functional on-boarding of newly hired officers, the bank also carries out a cultural on-
boarding exercise, providing various forums for new hires to interact with senior
management.
Carefully crafted career path policy:
The career path policy in the bank ensures a rich variety of exposures in areas like operations,
credit, forex, and administration/facilitation for all officers joining the bank. It ensures that
over time, all officers are wholesome, holistic bankers. The policy also ensures a growth
track for all employees in the bank.
Baroda Academy - a state of the art internal training system
Baroda Academy currently has 1 apex body, 1 technical training center, and 13 Zonal
Training outfits. A comprehensive talent management system to groom future leaders of the
bank: The bank carries out an annual talent management exercise to identify and groom
future leaders of the bank. Candidates identified are provided with specialized training in
areas like communication, business development, and people development, and special
forums are created for them to benefit from leadership lessons shared by stalwarts in the
industry and within the bank. The bank also provides long service awards to give recognition
the employees for their continued service.
Wide range.
Apart from salary, Bank also offers various employee benefits like medical coverage
(including walk-in walk-out facility at select centres) for self and dependent family members,
LTC / LFC facilities, Holiday Home facility at various centres across the country,
concessional staff loans, etc. Further, for officer staff Bank provides residential quarters,
wherever available or leased housing accommodation facility.
ICICI BANK:
Flexible maternity policy:
ICICI Bank provides its employees a Six months of paid maternity leave that can be extended
by taking leave without pay on a need basis; 36 days of paid child care leave each year for
mothers or single fathers till the child attains the age of 2 years and 180 days of leave for
employees undergoing fertility treatment.
For its part, Citi India has a unique 'Flexible Maternity Policy', where women officers are
entitled to avail of maternity leave of 180 days in three different options. Besides Citi and
ICICI, a clutch of big global banks aim leaves initiatives and policies specifically at new
mothers.
Educating employees:
ICICI with Manipal University has started a bank for employee training and development
apart from business in banking. The main motto of this organization is to train employees
with real and world class infrastructure. This organization is providing a training of six
months in banking for their employees. This training includes class room training and
practical training. This program develops the confidence levels of employees by making them
aware of new technologies and advanced training methods and present trends in the market.
BANK OF AMERICA:
Being a nation with the policy of Live for today the spending of money on purchases is very
high in American countries, but from the past decade the consciousness towards the health
and other got increased with the increase in the awareness the spending of the money towards
these got increased. According to this service sector banks and other paying high amounts of
incentives and following policies for employees’ health care. They are applying this policy
for retirees also. They are offering these policies for certain extent for retirees who need these
policies.
BANK OF MELBOURNE:
Considering employee as a main centre for the organization, Bank of Melbourne is providing
many facilities for the employees. They are providing facilities that can be designed by their
employees own. They are concentrating mainly on the organizational well being with the
employee well being. This figure mentioned below will give you the detailed description
about the benefits for the employees for retaining them.
(Source: http://www.bankofmelbourne.com.au/about/careers/benefits)
Figure: Bank of Melbourne- our benefits.
The benefits shown in the above figure are described below:
Reward for hard work:
Hard work, the important factor from the employee for the organization apart from the
corporate citizenship makes organization to be productive. Considering this factor as an
important one organization is recognizing this from the employee and they are offering many
benefits. Bank of Melbourne rewarding their employees for their hard work. The benefits
from the bank are:
Employee Share Plan:
Melbourne bank as a part of Westpac’s organization shares can be allocated to eligible Bank
of Melbourne employees, every year, providing certain Westpac Group performance targets
are met. The Employee Share Plan (ESP) is a reward scheme that provides eligible
employees with the opportunity to become a Westpac shareholder for the first time, or to add
to their existing shareholding.
Salary sacrifice:
Eligible employees of bank of Melbourne have an opportunity to have an opportunity to have
certain benefits such as vehicles, airport lounge membership and superannuation
contributions as pre-tax items. This can be a great way to increase employee’s disposable
income and better manage your finances.
Superannuation policy:
This is a policy which helps employee at the time of retirement. Melbourne employees are
able to choose their own superannuation fund or the default Bank of Melbourne staff fund
which offers a wide range of investment options that include specialist fund managers and
insurance cover at wholesale premium rates. Staff superannuation is professionally managed.
Benefits include online access to account information and investment switching, a wide range
of investment options, competitive fees and a member help line. Conditions apply to some of
these benefits.
Family benefits:
Professional life and personal life these two are important for any employee. These two must
be separated with a minute link between these things. Recognising this link as an important
factor, Bank of Melbourne is providing facilities for their families also. The benefits are as
follows:
Thirteen weeks paid parental leave and additional unpaid parental leave.
Flexibility in how parental leave is taken, over a two-year period.
Grandparental leave to support the critical role of Grandparents in the care and
development of children.
Free information on childcare, family care and eldercare services.
Opportunity to return from parental leave on a part-time basis until your child starts
school.
To celebrate a new addition to the family of an employee, bank will kick off the new
baby’s savings account with a $200 gift.
Also, in difficult and challenging times, Bank of Melbourne makes confidential
counselling services available to you and your family at no cost.
Third Party Benefits
Bank of Melbourne employees and their families can enjoy a range of lifestyle benefits from
our external partners including:
Discounts on movies and entertainment, including concerts and sporting events
Discounts on communications and internet access
Discounts on health insurance and green products
Discounts with online shopping providers
Special rates on holidays, car rental... and many, many more
Benefits of banking with Bank of Melbourne
Bank of Melbourne employees can access a range of banking benefits, including:
Special employee deals on home loans, credit cards and personal loans.
A fee-free transaction account.
Savings on financial products and services including margin loans, insurance and
investment products and financial advice.
Flexible work to suit your lifestyle
Bank of Melbourne support employees looking to change their hours of work. They are also
supportive of those interested in entering a job share arrangement. They are always willing to
help arrange something that suits employee. They encourage employees over 55 years old to
consider flexible working hours if they are interested in extending their career. Conditions
apply to some of these benefits.
Flexible leave options:
Bank of Melbourne provides a range of flexible leave options, which include:
Access to thirteen weeks paid parental leave
Entitlement to unpaid parental leave
Flexibility in allowing employees to take parental leave in separate blocks over a two-
year period
Opportunity for employees to acquire additional leave to cover for childcare in school
holidays, travel, study etc
Entitlement to twelve days personal/carer’s leave each year
Access to study leave
Option to apply for volunteer leave to help the wider community and environment
Opportunity to take career breaks by structuring your salary so you can work for four
years and take the fifth year off with an income.
Apart from these facilities bank of Melbourne offering facilities like:
Applying for another bank: They will refer employees to other bank if they wish to apply
for other banks and also they will recruit employees internally for employee’s career
benefit.
Work related study: Education Assistance Scheme can provide financial help with tuition
costs and registration fees. They can also provide paid study leave. Conditions apply to
some of these benefits.
Volunteer Leave: Bank of Melbourne employees are entitled to at least one day of paid
leave per year to volunteer during normal working hours. Activities that will be
considered for community volunteering leave include volunteering for:
o Charities
o Community organisations
o Community sporting organisations
o Environmental organizations
o Schools
Practices in Financial Institutes:
Human efficiency is recognized as an important factor for the growth of organization
every organization is concentrating on the employee’s efficiency improvement. It is most
important for the organization who is working for insurance sector. If one observes the
various practices in the finance sector we have to go through the various companies like
United India Insurance Company Limited, New Indian Insurance Company, TATA AIG.
United India Insurance Company Limited:
The company believes that learning is a continuous process and it will change the human
tendency towards the work. Recognizing this factor the organization started school of
learning for training their employees. This training includes a curriculum which is practical
oriented and real time experimental. This organization is training their employees by
considering the real time cases what are happening in the present market. The training
includes :
Faculty led sessions
Case studies
Guest lectures
Interactive sessions
Group workshops
Participant / group presentations
Field visits
On the job training.
TATA AIG Life Insurance:
With a slogan of every employee counts TATA AIG is practising a unique practice
for their employees. They are maintaining standards when they are recruiting and placing.
When they got a new employee in the organization they are conducting an induction program
for two days for making that employee to know about his work responsibilities and a buddy
program for perfect training about his job, this program named as “WIN”.
The rest of the practices for employee engagement are:
Annual Celebration – Making employees to celebrate their victory for achieving
their targets organization is making annual celebrations every year where all the
employees meet together and share their happiness.
Employee Town-Hall – This is an event where the top level management meet the
employees and give their views and actions about the growth of organization and
other things.
The Success Matrix - This is a reward program through which the organization will
recognize the employees for their work and they will be rewarded with
reorganizations and citations. The names of the best employees will be displayed on
the “WALL OF FAME” at all branches of the organization throughout the country.
ICICI Lombard:
Recruitment as a main concentration for the growth of organization the ICICI
Lombard is concentrating on recruiting their employees who are perfect for the organization.
They made an agreement with various universities and colleges for recruiting 100000
employees in the next five years and set an amount of 100-120 crores for employee
development.
BHARATHI AXA Life Insurance:
Insurance as a sector which need a circle for its development. Recognizing this BHARTI
AXA Life Insurance is going for a program called ‘EVENT IDEA’ which mainly
concentrates on house wife for their recruitment and making them as a part of their
organization.
And most of the companies concentrating on the recruitment from colleges which are
not business schools also New York Life insurance and Bharti AXA Life Insurance
concentrating on this type of recruitments which will make the potentials come out from
every part of the country.
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