Union Bank of India, headquartered at Mumbai, with a network of over 9200 domestic branches, over 11,600 ATMs and 8216 BC points, serves over 120 million customers, after Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank were amalgamated into itself with effect from April 1, 2020.
Chander Mohan Minocha, Chief General Manager, Human Resources Department, with an extensive experience of more than 26 years of banking in various domains, talks about how the HR vision has become a big differentiator in the industry for his bank.
Union Bank of India emerged as one of the largest public sector banks in India post the amalgamation with erstwhile Corporation Bank and Andhra Bank on 1st April 2020, now with a staff strength of more than 75,000 employees. Chander Mohan Minocha says: “Union Bank of India, with its culturally diverse yet rich and reinforced human resource capital, then embarked on an ambitious HR Transformation project in September 2020 with a vision to be a trend-setter in providing the best employment experience to become the bank of 1st choice. The overall objective of the project was to create the foundation and processes for driving a performance centric culture in the bank and empowering skill sets by creating a talent pool.”
Implementing HR Processes
As part of the project, the bank has revamped and implemented some key HR processes. Minocha explains: “This has been done through digital tools & dashboards which include role allocation, performance management, key responsible areas (KRAs), transfers & postings, succession planning, job family, learning & development and promotions & career development. The bank’s efforts in its HR transformation journey were suitably rewarded when it achieved the first rank in the ‘Governance and Outcome-Centric Human Resources’ theme of the PSB Reforms Index EASE 3.0 for FY 2020-21.”
Investing In Digitization
With the bank having made heavy investments for the digitization of its various HR systems and processes, there was a need to safeguard the same by standardizing these systems and processes. Minocha indicates: “As a result, the bank took a pioneering step by successfully implementing the Human Resource Capital Management System as per the ISO 30414:2018 international standard. Union Bank of India is the first in the banking industry in India to obtain the HR-specific ISO 30414 certification which was published in 2018.”
‘ISO 30414, Human Resource Management – Guidelines for Internal and External Human Capital Reporting’, is the first international standard that provides clear guidelines to help organizations as well as their stakeholders identify the information most relevant for effective business management and disclosure of human capital data. Minocha adds: “The bank’s objectives behind implementing this standard are in alignment with its HR as well as overall business strategy. The bank aims to enter new markets, meet customer requirements, enhance its corporate image, gain market share and improve customer satisfaction. At the same time, the bank aims to improve its HR systems & processes, effectively measure its human capital assets, produce credible human capital reports & analytics and maximize employee contributions for long-term success. The ISO 30414 certification helps the bank adopt better quality management systems to achieve its desired goals.”
Key Focus Areas
During the certification validity of 3 years, Union Bank of India has decided its main focus areas. Minocha lists these areas: “Gradual shift in employee culture and habits through better understanding of the digital transformation in HR; wide communication of the certification process among internal stakeholders; subsequent contribution of employees to process improvement through active involvement; creation of a better and more productive working environment for employees; elimination of duplicate work through standardized processes across divisions within the HR department; improved workforce motivation level and employee retention rate; gradual reduction in internal costs and improved employee RoI & bank’s profitability.”
Good Bank To Work With
Union Bank of India is going from strength to strength by adopting new age digital tools, industry best practices and globally uniform procedures for measuring its human resource pool. Minocha points out: “These competitive practices not only give the bank an edge over its competitors but hold the organization in good stead to scale further new heights in the human resources field. Not only good people to bank with but also a good bank to work with!”
