Employee resourcing strategies in banking sector

Industry Competition & Employee Resourcing

The success of every organization depends on the quality & ability of its employees/human resources. It is same for banking sector. According to Bhatia & Kaur (2021) "adopt proper and purpose oriented training, logical and rational placement, development of healthier attitudes, objective appraisal system, better leadership and development of higher individual/group morale for the development of the human resource at their command"

During past few years Sri Lankan banking sector has experienced significant transformation in terms of digitalization, customer expectations, regulatory requirements & most importantly employee expectations. It is very challenging to navigate in the industry with a confidence as there is high competition in the industry.

Soon after COVID 19 pandemic, inflation of the country resulted increasing high employee turnover of banking sector which is similar to all other industries. Most of the educated & experienced professionals left the country and it impacted banking sector in various ways. In order to mitigate the well experienced employee vacancies banks started to explore latest resourcing strategies mainly to attract, retain, and develop talent while fostering a culture of innovation and adaptability. A strong competition can be seen within banks to banks and as well as banks to other finance organizations.

01 Salary & Other Monetary Benefits

During 2023 to up until now salary had a greater impact on employee resourcing. The main reason was that the rapid increase of inflation & unexpected personal TAX implementation. Further, employee demand is also increased due to high employee turnover. Well experience bankers started to change their employers for better competitor offers. Hence, banks revised their salary packages with attractive other monetary benefits which can attract people from outside an also to retain existing workforce.

02 Talent Acquisition

Banks started head hunting aggressively via several social media platforms, LinkedIn and employee referral programs. Several talent acquisition strategies in banking sector are;

• Employee Branding - Most of the banks strengthen their employee branding by highlighting their culture, values, opportunities to growth and their uniqueness.

• Technological advancement - Comparing to public sector banks most of the private sector banks started to include automated systems for recruitment process such as for screening and initial application submitting for job vacancies to filter & identify the best candidates.

Examples:

• Hatton National Bank (HNB) - The bank has implemented an advanced Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to automate various stages of the recruitment process, from job postings to candidate selection. The system helps in managing large volumes of applications efficiently and enables the HR team to track the progress of each candidate. (Annual Report,2023)

03 Learning & Development

With the technological advancement, most of the banks in Sri Lanka started to turn their interest into digitalization. Continuous learning and development have been essential in the rapidly changing banking sector. 

• Mentoring & Coaching - After recruiting a new staff member either new blood or experience member of the industry, the recruiting bank arranged induction programs or pairing employees with experienced mentors to guide their career growth and provide valuable insights. Further, it also help them to adapt to the new working culture, patterns & most importantly to the new set of policies & procedures.

• Upskilling & Reskilling - Majority of employers believe that the coaching, discussion and job rotations methods are more effective for employee training. So the T&D departments of banks offer training programs to help employees acquire new skills and adapt to changing technologies.

Examples:

• FinTech Training Programme - As Fintech partnerships become more prevalent, banks such as Nations Trust Bank have offered training programs that focus on understanding and collaborating with fintech companies. Employees are reskilled to work alongside fintech partners, learning about new financial technologies and how to integrate them with traditional banking services. (Nations Trust Bank, 2017)

04 Employee Engagement & Retention

Employee engagement is one of the key facts which when it comes to employee retention. Engaged employees are more likely to stay with the organization and contribute to its success. 

• Recognition & Reward Mechanism - Well organized individual and team recognition & reward system can motivate employees to do their best. most of the banks started to streamline their recognition system past few years consist with financial non-financial benefits such as; on time promotions, cash rewards, celebrate employee achievements, internal circulating emails with employee photographs, commendation letters from CEO etc.

• Flexible Working Culture - Soon after COVID 19 pandemic most of the banks started to implement work from home culture, shift base working schedule etc. It helps employees to balance their work and personal life as they are in flexible working hours. It encourages and increased employee efficiency & also effectiveness at the same time.

References

Bhatia, D. K. & Kaur, D. M., 2021. HR Strategies In Banking Sector : A Comparative Study. Jetir, 8(7), Pp. 1-12.

Elegwa Mukulu, N. T. K. & Gachunga, H. G., 2014. Effect Of Employee Resourcing Strategies On The Performance Of Commercial Banks In Kenya.. International Journal of Education and Research, 2(1), pp. 1-20.

Muhammad, G. & Ahmed, N., 2021. Employee Training And Development Practices In Banking Sector- Karachi, Pakistan. Researchgate, p. 9.

Nations Trust Bank, 2017. Nations Trust Bank Creates History With Sri Lanka’s First FinTech Hackathon. [Online]
Available at: https://www.nationstrust.com/media-releases/corporate/nations-trust-bank-creates-history-with-sri-lanka-s-first-fintech-hackathon
[Accessed 24 July 2024]