Human resource management (HRM) has long been overlooked in the corporate sector in the country where a small section, comprising mostly the multi-national companies was practicing the same.With the growing realization of proper HRM in the corporate sector, it has grown into an important activity. Now the head of HRM is an important member of the senior teams of any thriving business.
The banking sector of Bangladesh has grown from a few institutions primarily involved in deposit acceptance and trade finance into a complex multi player markets where large number of commercial banks, financial institutions and specialized banks are operating with various products and activities.
The banking has become a complex activity within the financial market linked directly and indirectly with an over-all national growth and its impact as an integral part of regional segment of a global banking environment.
Almost every bank and financial institution is involved in various functions in a day's job and thus requires a highly effective team and appropriate manpower to run the show. Corporate goals are translated into viable realities and profits only with human element that play their due role in achieving the desired results.Thus even the high automation in the recent time would require proper man behind the machine to make things happen.
This idea has been realized by top managements in progressive banks. Like many other organized sectors, banking requires multi layer manpower for its various requirements of professionals and support staff. The range may require reasonably even educated security guards on the one end and a highly educated and trained professional as head of corporate finance at the other.
This sector basically put more emphasis on consumer and house finance and personal loans, etc. banking has turned itself into a more market-based business where banks have expanded their reach more to customers' door steps in a big way making banking more practical.
This has further highlighted the need for proper deployment of man-power to run banks efficiently Personnel departments were primarily engaged in approval of leaves, handling of staff loans, issuance of show cause, conducting disciplinary enquiries and termination from service.
Recruitment was a routine function and was done in a mechanical way to hire people with specific educational background irrespective of their real value to the institution. Success stories of large banking companies have been evident of the fact that HRM is quite different from management of physical assets. Human brain has its own peculiar chemistry.
Its strong sensory and decision-making capacity has to be greatly emphasized by the employers. The work forces constituting all levels of employees are constantly thinking in many dimensions. On the one hand it is the assigned duty and task they are to perform and for which they are paid by their employer, on the other they think of their long run goals and objectives.
By no means, their brains can be controlled to think beyond the current situation of employment. Managing this educated, skillful and trustworthy work force is not an easy job. A few of the current challenges faced by the banking industry in terms of human resource management may be the following:
A time-consuming and hectic job is to hunt the right talent. It's just sitting by the river and waiting for the right fish to catch. Higher the professional value of the vacancy, tougher is the search. Identifying the right stuff followed by negotiation is the element which makes the job tough for the employer.
Banks are keenly interested to fill up two types of breads of professionals. Ones who are outstanding professionals with high job hopping attitude - these are those who come in - work for some time and then leave for better prospects. Others are those who are keenly picked-up, trained and are somehow retained to be developed as future management within the bank.
Management trainees are a growing popular phenomenon where freshly qualified business graduates are engaged by banks and a certain percentage of these well equipped professionals stay back within the organization to grow into the footsteps of senior managers. Few years back, banking jobs was being apparently lucrative for many attract a large number of candidates against advertised vacancies in media creating a large data base management problem.
Numbers of applicants are being the same but the meritorious are looking for the Government job, especially after the implication of National pay scale of 2015. Besides, the reputation of banking job is being decreasing day by day because of the practice of the banking activities of our country.
The most difficult agenda of HRM across the banking sector is to retain the right people. Sudden growth of retail banking and other services has put pressure on HR mangers in banks to engage more professionals within shorter span of time thereby attracting manpower in other banks on attractive packages has made the job market very competing.
A bank in a normal course invests time and money to hire and train the appropriate work force for its own operations. This ready-made force is often identified and subsequently picked-up on better terms by others.Everybody in the bank wants to work in the preferential department, preferential location, city of his own choice and boss of his liking.
An administrative deviation from any of these results in lowered job satisfaction. Although hiring is normally based on regional requirement matching the area of activity with that of employee's nativity yet other elements like appointment in the department of choice and preference makes the job of HR manager quite challenging. Lack of job security is the main cause of dissatisfactions, especially for the employees of Private Commercial Banks in Bangladesh.
Smart banks have realized this need and have taken steps to keep their work force motivated through proper encouragement like man of the month awards, repeat get-togethers, conferences, sports events, dinners, company sponsored travel, reunions, etc.
This is the way employees create a feeling of belongingness. So, more and more initiatives must be introduced to find out the most efficient employees for the Banking sector to regain its lost glory as early as possible. It should be the great challenge for the HRM of the private commercial banks because at present most the recruitments are the choice of Board of directors without considering the efficiency and academic success of the applicants.
Sk. Shamim Iqbal is
serving in R&D Division of First Security Islami Bank Limited after obtaining MBA (Major in Banking) from
University of Dhaka