SBI launches fresh HR initiative

The country’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), today launched a new programme, Citizen SBI, aimed at attitudinal change and transformation of its employees through a series of human resources activities.

The project which was designed by Illumine Knowledge Resources over the last 18 months will be implemented across all SBI staff over the next 2 years.

“The project has four stages, the first of which, namely citizen orientation was launched today. The other three stages are customer fulfillment, market engagement and a vision programme, especially aimed at the senior management of the bank, senior management citizenship,” a bank official said.

SBI, which had launched project “Parivartan” in 2007 - a 100-day programme to increase communication skills of its managers, sees the new project a extension of the previous one.

The 2007 project, which within an year after OP Bhatt took the reigns of chairman, was also aimed at stopping SBI’s falling market share.

Since the global financial crisis broke out post September 2008, SBI’s market share in both deposits and loans has increased substantially.

“Citizen SBI project seeks to bring behavioral transformation by seeking more active role from the employees. The consultant has identified facilitators who will train the staff over the tenure of the project,” the official said.

SBI, which currently has more than 2 lakh employees is aiming to increase its work force by anther 15,000 by the end of the current financial year.

It will recruit about 11,000 clerks and 3,000 probationary officers in 2009-10. The bank will also recruit from management institutes for specialised activities like treasury operations.

“In the last 3-4 years, we have recruited 50-60 graduates from management institutes every year. This year also we will recruit similar number from those institutes,” the official said.