HR in Public Sector Banks - Names are Only Cosmetic

(This section 'Between You and Me' is dedicated for articles from our readers. Readers can share their candid views on any subject of their choice. Mr T R Bhat, the author of this article is a well known leader in the Officers' Trade Union movement of the Indian banking industry. He was the President of the Corporation Bank Officers' Organisation as well as the Director on the Bank's board as a representative of the Officers' Organisation.)

My opinion of the general HR (Human Resources) climate prevailing in the banking sector is that there is hardly any HRD policy in the banking sector; what we see is plain ad-hocism. The classic example is their approach to training and retraining. For example, a bank like Corporation Bank does not have its own full-fledged staff training college. In spite of a board decision during 1997-2000, nothing has happened. Several PSBs (Public Sector Banks) outsource their training. The so-called training institutes which provide in-company trainings to new recruits have been floated by former CEOs (Chief Executive Officers) or top executives of PSBs. They use their connections at the peer level to get training batches, charging hefty fees!

The qualified personnel of the HR Departments do nothing more than sanction leave, TA (Travelling Allowance) bills, and medical bills. Hardly any effort is put for substantive issues of IR (Industrial Relations) or for improving the quality of manpower and efficiency. A major reason for the current crisis in the banking industry is failure of the HR Policies.

In 2006, the Independent Commission on Banking and Financial Policy, headed by Mr.S.P. Shukla, former Finance Secretary and Member, Planning Commission and India's representative on GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trades) negotiations had, in a detailed chapter, pointed out the challenges and the strategies to tackle the manpower crisis. As it was a non-official study group, the then government did not bother to look at the recommendations. None of the CEOs looked at the report either. (Eminent central bankers, HR experts, former CEOs, reputed civil servants, academicians and noted citizens had provided valuable inputs to the deliberations of the study group spread over two years.)

To share my own experience in Corporation Bank, during 2006-07, the Corporation Bank Officers' Organisation (CBOO) had commissioned a professional body to study the HR environment in the Bank. After independently studying the facts and interacting with more than 50% of the officers all over India, it submitted its diagnosis and suggestions. We in turn submitted this report to the then CEO. No other trade union had done such an exercise. The CEO remarked: "we get so many reports. How to implement all these?" There was no attempt to understand the issue. One serious finding in the report was the impairment of work-life balance. This is one of the reasons many officers are quitting the banks. And even when they quit, they are not allowed to leave happily!

To sum it up, banks have re-labelled their staff departments. I remember that when I joined Corporation Bank Ltd it was called Establishment Department; then it was renamed Personnel Department. The new name Human Resources Development Dept (HRDD) came later. These changes are just in names and merely cosmetic. The basic attitude, approach and outlook continue to be archaic. The examples I have quoted are tips of the iceberg.

By T R Bhat, Mangalore