Am I a banker or the SLC examinee? The issue of human resource in banking!

Back in time, the idea of working in a bank had its own aura. The mushrooming finance colleges were evidences of how banking would be the next career choice among the business graduates. Undoubtedly, many graduates seek banking as a career and profession even today. The author has great admiration towards these graduates who choose banking as a profession and those bankers who have worked hard for the banking economy that we have today. However, at this point of the economy, the career in banking seems to be going out of direction.

Remember back in our school days we had to carry heavily loaded bags with two assignment copies for each subject? Remember the dissatisfaction when the 4 o’ clock bell would ring but we had to stay inside school premises for our evening extra classes? Remember cancelling the weekend plans because suddenly one of our teachers thinks it is appropriate to call an extra class during weekend? Remember how the motive of studying was higher grades rather than developing ourselves? All for what? The Iron Gate, as they said. The SLC examination!

Career in banking is moving towards the same direction. As a media person, I have been lucky to visit several CEOs in their peaceful and calm cabinet where he/she often boasts how they have been able to satisfy their customers over time. Luckily, I have also been able to visit the branch offices and head offices of the same banks where employees “who satisfy customers” are not satisfied. I have come across a number of advertisements and promotion schemes that assures prospective and existing clients with a good return. I have also come across employees of the same banks who are not satisfied with the facilities they are provided.

I totally understand. Life cannot be easy always. However, I also think workplace has to be convenient.

Every single time, I visit banks, I often face bankers with their head nodding down and mood swings that come and go over and again. The credit officers are often bombarded with phone calls because of increased interest rate early in the morning. However, interest rate issue is often decided by the executives of the banks and credit officers are just communicating their messages to clients. The employees in CSD have to deal with damaged software or a damaged photocopy machine. As they deal with this issue, half of their working hour goes in vain and the only option they have is overtime. Every job has its own disadvantage however, it is not that job of a banker has to be built on disadvantages.

The bankers are often asked to attend a training ever weekend. However, what banks restrict to understand is the outcome after training. The banks somehow don’t care to understand how the performance has changed pre and post training. Moreover, banks also need to understand it is not the number of training that will increase the employees’ efficiency but it is rather the content and quality of trainings. If a banker is committing his/her Saturday for training, then he/she would desire for a fun filled session rather than a monotonous classes that he/she has been taking throughout the academic life.

The credit officers are often asked to bring in new loans. The same credit officers are also kept so busy in paper works that these officers seldom get a chance to go to the field and bring in new networks to the banks. Although the startups are constantly rising in the country yet credit officers are reluctant to bring the loan proposals to their respective banks. The executives are prepared for new type of loans however, credit officers lack confidence to bring in these new loans.

As we move on to digital economy, the responsibility of banks have increase. The personnel at executive levels are satisfied because of the introduction of a new product. However, they rarely take feedback from the employee who is at the front desk with the customer selling the product.

These issues have one solution- INNOVATION with FEEDBACK.

The worldwide banking economy is moving towards fintech and digitization. However, Nepalese banks are still dealing with the conventional problems. The employees who are supposed to be encouraged to think out-of-the-box are so pressurized that they have to limit themselves within a box like cabinet. The executives are so busy looking out for the issue of interest rates and customers, they seem to have forgotten value of employees. Moreover, the rate of turnover in banking industry is so high due to the same reason.

The new trend that banks have brought in is the trend of meeting targets. A CSD department employee in urban cities is asked to meet certain targets of bringing new client saving accounts. In reality, we all know that this account will be opened by a client who already has an account in another bank. In a sense, the bank is rather increasing its cost of maintaining an account that might not bring in funds. A banking employee will never find new ideas when he/she is chained in the desk to do routinely tasks 24/7. How will an employee come with bigger ideas and bigger solution for banking sector when he/she knows that ideas that come from designated position will only get accepted?

Now, critics might be in favor that until and unless bankers do these monotonous works, they won’t be able to perform after promotion. Why not? In fact, on the contrary, since bankers are involved in such monotonous activities, they become so used to these activities that even after their promotion; they lack the zeal to bring in new products and ideas to the banking arena.

I understand that the banks in Nepal are trying out their best to satisfy their clients. They move with the concept that customers are our kings. However, if the banks treat employees as their kings, then only these employees will serve customers better. In international banking arena, banks have come up with the idea of building an innovation lab. In Nepalese banks, we do have research departments however; the outcomes of these departments are not realized in the face value.

Nepalese banks are in a position today where numbers of branches are increasing and so is the number of employee turnover. If banking experience does not evolve with time, the day will be no far where absence of employees will be a bigger issue than the increased interest rates.