RESEARCH REPORT ON

ASKARI COMMERCIAL BANK LIMITED

BYMUHAMMAD WASEEM

Graduation

Thesis Submitted To:NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF LABOUR

ADMINISTRATION TRAINING (NILAT),KARACHI

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement ForThe 24-Week Post Graduate Diploma Course

InLabour Administration and Industrial Welfare

(50th Batch) June, 2011

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF LABOURADMINISTRATION TRAINING (NILAT)

University Road, Karachi.

APPROVAL SHEET

Certified that the study entitled, “Consumer preference Research Report Comparative Analysis of Oil Marketing Companies in Pakistan” was carried out by Mr. Muhmmad Waseem under my supervision and fulfills the requirement prescribed by National Institute of Labour Administration Training (Nilat), Karachi.

Noor-ul-Hadi Deputy Director/Research Advisor

NILAT, Karachi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

All praises and thanks to Almighty Allah. The Lord and Creator of this

universe by whose power and glory all good things are accomplished. He is also

the most merciful, who best owed on me the potential, ability and an opportunity

to work on this project.

I am grateful to my respected teacher Noor ul Hadi who has guided me in each

and every step of this project. Indeed, without his kind guidance I may not be

able to even start this project. May ALLAH give him the reward, which he

deserves. I am also grateful to all those members who are related to ACBL.

EXECUTIVE SUMMERY

The Research Report of Askari bank based on to practically experience the

Human Resource Practices studied in our Post Graduate Diploma of Labour

Administration & Training, especially to thrash out the training and development

practices followed at ACBL. As, now days, there is a tough competition in the

banking sector of Pakistan, so this forced us to do competitive analysis of the

main topic (training & development) to gain a complete understanding of the

concerned HR Practice, and also to give valuable recommendations to the

ACBL, for this I have selected the main competitor of ACBL, i.e. Bank Alfalah. To

proceed with the project we have visited Head Office of ACBL and Saddar

Branch (Rwp) of Bank Alfalah. We have tried to note down all the practices

followed in these banks at best according to our knowledge but as the Head

Office and Training Center of Bank Alfalah is situated in Karachi, so the

information gained from the competitors of ACBL is very brief and concise.

This project is sequenced as firstly with the Introduction Of The

organization and telling the purpose and scope of the study. Including the

Hierarchy of the Bank and the HR- Department. This proceeds with the Findings

of the Project, which summarizes the HRM practices followed in ACBL and a

detailed elaboration of Training and Development practices in ACBL. Next

chapter covers the Competitors Analysis followed by some Recommendations

based on the analysis of the project.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 .INTRODUCTION

1.1.HISTORY

1.2.MISSION STATEMENT

1.3.SERVICES PROVIDED BY BANK

1.4.AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENT

1.5.BRANCH NETWORK

2.ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND HIERARCHY

2.1 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

2.2 HIERARCHY OF HR DEPARTMENT

3.HRM PRACTICES FOLLOWED IN BANK

3.1 PLANNING

3.2.RECRUITEMENT

3.3 SELECTION

3.4 TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

3.5 COMPENSATION

3.6 PPPERFORMENCE MANAGEMENT

4.TOPIC OF STUDY DURING INTERNSHIP

4.1. TRAINING

a. HIERARCHY OF TRAINING

b. AREAS OF TRAINING

c. WHO NEED TRAINING

d. TRAINING NEED ASSESSMENT PROCESS

e. TRAINING METHODS

f. EVALUATION OF TRAINING PROGRAMME

4.2.EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT

a. ON JOB DEGREE AND CERTIFICATIONS

b. ASSESMENT CENTRES

c. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

d. EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAME

5.ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS

a. COMPETITORS ANALYSIS

6.RECRUITEMENT AND SELECTION PROCESS

6.1.RECRUITEMENT

6.1(a) INTERNAL SOURCES

6.1(b) EXTERNAL SOURCES

6.2 SELECTION

6.2(a) INTERVIEW

6.2(b) ORIENTATION

6.2(c) CONFIRMATION

7.SWOT ANALYSIS

8.CONCLUSION

9.RECOMMENDATIONS

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Brief History

Askari Commercial Bank Ltd. (ACBL) was Incorporated in Pakistan on October

09,1991, ACBL commenced its operations in April 1992, as a public limited

company, and has since expanded into a nation-wide presence of more than 50

branches, handled by the human capital of more than 1600 employees and has

lowest turnover in Pakistani Banking Sector.

The Bank is listed on the Karachi, Lahore & Islamabad stock exchanges and the

initial public offering was over subscribed by 16 times.

ACBL is principally engaged in the business of banking as defined in the Banking

Companies Ordinance, 1962.As at December 31, 2002, the Bank had total

assets of PKR 70.313 billion, with over 250,000 banking customers.

ACBL has a Correspondent Bank Network in more than 95 countries with about

167 banks. ACBL is the only bank with its operational Head Office in the twin

cities of Rawalpindi-Islamabad, which have relatively limited opportunities as

compared to Karachi and Lahore; this created its own challenges and

opportunities, and forced us to evolve and outward-looking strategy in terms of

our market emphasis. As a result, ACBL developed a geographically diversified

assets base instead of a concentration and heavy reliance on business in the

major commercial centers of Karachi and Lahore, where most other banks have

their operational Head offices.

1.2 MISSION STATEMENT

To be the leading private sector bank in Pakistan with an international presence,

delivering quality service through innovative technology and effective human

resource management in a modern and progressive organizational culture of

meritocracy, maintaining high ethical and professional standards, while providing

enhanced value to all our stakeholders, and contributing to society.

1.3 Services Provided By ACBL

Askari Mortgage Finance.

Askari Business Finance.

Askari Personal Finance.

Askari Travelers Cheques.

Askari Master Card.

Askari Bank's Cash Management Service.

Askari Car Leasing.

Touch n Pay (Utility Bills Payment).

1.4 Awards and Achievements

ACBL has recognition of achieving the following firsts in Pakistani banking;

First Pakistani Bank to offer on-line real-time banking on a countrywide basis.

First Bank with a nation-wide ATM network.

First Bank to offer Internet Banking services.

First Bank to offer e-Commerce solutions.

Different institutions and magazines have also awarded them at different

occasions, some are;

“The Best Bank in Pakistan” by the Global Finance magazine for the years 2001

& 2002.

“Best Consumer Internet Bank” award for Pakistan by Global Finance for the

year 2000.

“Best Presented Annual Accounts” awards for 2000 and 2001 from the Institute

of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan and the Institute of Cost and Management

Accounts of Pakistan,

Prizes from the South Asian Federation of Accountants for “The best Presented

Annual Accounts” for the financial sector, in the SAARC region.

1.5 Branch Network

The system of Regional and Area offices has been introduced since 1999 for

effective supervision and control of branches. The Bank's branch network has

been divided into 4 regions:

North Region Central Region.

South Region West Region.

Under this system the Regional heads have the primary responsibility for

business development, profitability, productivity, operational efficiency and credit

quality.

Words of President and Chief Executive - Kalim-ur-Rehman;

“Assets make things possible,

People Make things happen

2.1 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF ASKARI BANK

President

Commercial & Retail Banking

Chief

Regional Business

Chief Regional Marketing Managers Branch Managers

Corporate Investment

Banking Group Chief

Corporate Head North&

Corporate Head South

Special Assets Management

Chief

H.R.M.Group Chief

Regional GM H.R.M.

Operations Group Chief

Risk Management Group Chief

Audit Inspection Group Chief

Regional Operations Chief

Regional Compliance

Chief

Operations Department of

the Region

Branch Operations Manager

Branch Credit Officer

Credit Department of Region

Regional Risk Management

Chief

Area Audit Chiefs

2.2 HIERARCHY OF HR DEPARTEMENT

Currently there are 17 employees working in HR-Department of ACBL.

These are positioned on the basis of following hierarchy.

Reporting

Operating Grade 1Operating Grade 1

Junior OfficerDivisional Officer

President

HR Head

Assistant Vice President - HR

Operating Grade 1

Operating Grade 2

Operating Grade 3

Junior Officers

3. HRM PRACTICES FOLLOWED IN ACBL

This section includes a summary of the HRM practices followed in ACBL and a

detailed study of Training and Development.

The most important Division at the Head Office is responsible for human

resource management, including planning, recruitment, staffing, training &

development, compensation, performance management, employee relation and

evaluation. The Division also handles matters relating to administration that

proves an integrative linkage (34) between HRD and Administration.

Different practices are briefly summarized as follows;

3.1 Planning: -

HR Department is responsible for an effective HR planning (16) regarding

demand and supply of employees and forecasting for these practices.

Forecasting Employee Demand: -

Employee demand at ACBL is derived from following factors;

Internal Growth:-

i. Opening a New Branch.

ii. Setting up New Technology.

iii. Changes in Customer Demand.

iv. New Services.

Forecasting Employee Supply: -

HRD at ACBL ensures the employee supply on following basis;

Transfers.

ACBL transfers its employees from one branch to other branch with

in the same region, especially whenever a new branch is opened.

Internal Movements .

Internal movements, which include promotions and rightsizing, are

a part of supply.

Rotations .

Job rotations are also done with in the departments from time to

time to decrease the monotony and to make up interest in the job. It

is most common for On Job Training (33) of MTOs.

Overtime.

To compensate the workload, most of the employees voluntarily

work over-time at their jobs. As the employees are not forced to

work over-time so they are not paid for this overtime. Sometime the

supervisors also ask their subordinates to work over-time.

Apart from this, there are night shifts working in Electronic

Technology Department (ETD) at ACBL. It is done whenever there

is a workload regarding the making of ATM and Credit cards etc.

Temporary / Contractual .

Temporary and Contractual employees also work in ACBL normally

in ETD who work as Hardware Technicians and Software

Engineers etc.

The same are some times contracted from different Software

Houses.

Other than this all the employee at ACBL is not permanent, most

of them

are at contract (employment at will).

Employee Shortage: -

As ACBL has currently a growth strategy and for that ACBL is opening

five to six branches every year at national level. This makes an employee

shortage for ACBL, but ACBL covers it by hiring in following two

categories.

Management Trainee Officers. (Recruited once in a year)

Junior Officers. (Recruited according to the need)

3.2 Recruitment: -

ACBL recruits both fresh and experienced persons on regular basis to support its

growth strategy. A part from this, ACBL recruits in both categories (MTOs & JO)

as discussed above. For this ACBL uses following internal and external

recruitment sources;

Newspapers.

ACBL advertises the vacancies in popular newspapers, which can

either be in English or Urdu papers according the job and situation.

Website.

ACBL has its own website, where it advertises the vacancies. It

also has electronic data bank where the interested persons apply

for the jobs.

Direct Applicants .

Fresh graduates keep on submitting their CVs to the HR

Department from time to time. HRD selects the effective persons

for interview and tests whenever a job is vacant.

3.3 Selection:

After the recruitment the selection of most reliable and efficient persons is

done at ACBL under the supervision of HR personals. The selection

process at ACBL is sequenced as follows;

I. Entry Level Test:

After recruitment all the candidates have to give an entry-level test.

Test is comprised of, General Knowledge, English, Math, Accounting and

other subjects which might vary according to the caliber of the job. Those

who clear the test are proposed to proceed further for the selection

process and the remaining are short-listed.

II. First Interview:

The selected candidates have to take the 1st interview, which is

conducted by a team of Subject Matter Experts (37) including HR

officials. The candidates are again short listed by the interviewers.

III. Second Interview:

Now the Vice President - Human Resource, again interviews the next

selected lot.

IV. Third Interview:

Finally, Senior Vice President of HR interviews the successful

candidates.

V. Medical Test:

The selected candidates submit their medical reports of the required

medical tests. If a candidate is medically unfit, he or she is given a

recovery period of 3 – 4 months.

3.4 Training and Development: -

ACBL also conducts the training of the selected candidates, which is

conducted by the Training Wing in alliance with HR and other related

departments. The high leverage training (9) is done in two main areas;

Banking (General Banking, Credit Division, Foreign

Trade):

Personality Development:

As hiring is done in two categories (MTO and JO), so because of

the difference in ranking and working methodology, the training needs for

both are varied. Among various training methods, classroom and OJT are

most commonly in practice in ACBL.Other than the training of new hires,

there are more than 50 Refresher Courses for the improvement and

development of current employees.

Employee Development: (27)

Regarding employee development, following approaches are followed by

ACBL;

On Job Degrees and Certifications.

Sabbaticals for Training.

Assessment Centers.

Performance Appraisals.

Employee Assistance Program.

Interpersonal Relationship Development.

* Training and Development is discussed in detail in the next chapter.

3.5 compensation: -

HRD of ACBL has kept its compensation and equity practice confidential.

3.6 Performance Management: -

ACBL has an effective performance management system. HRD in alliance

with the different departments evaluates the performance of employees at

annual basis. For this, Annual Performance Report (APR) of each employee

is made and 3600 feedback (36) is used as a tool for completion of APR..In

APR employees are evaluated on basis of following skills and are graded on

scale of grades starting from A to E, which have different percentages.

Leadership Qualities.

Marketing Skills.

Productivity.

Initiative.

Communication

Job Knowledge.

Technical Knowledge. Etc.

* This is the most important practice of HRD as, the promotions, increase in

salary; training needs of an employee etc. all are dependent on it.

4. TOPIC OF STUDY DURING RESEARCH

During my ResearchI studied the training and development process of ACBL

4.1 Training At ACBL: -

As priory written in the scope of study that ACBL is managing its training

needs from a single Training Center, so it is feasible to elaborate some facts

about the Training Center before breaking the training methodology.

The training center was established in 1999, since then it is managing the

training needs of Punjab, NWFP and AJK region. It also handles the Sindh and

Baluchistan Region in alliance with main branch of Karachi. For Sindh and

Baluchistan, Training camps work to fulfill the needs of the region, this is done 3

– 4 times in a year.

4.1.(a) Hierarchy Of Training Center:

Training Wing is managing the whole process under following hierarchy:

HR and Training Wing make all strategies side by side. The Training Wing

implements these strategies and the result of implementation is reported to HRD,

which is further reported to the President. In the training wing, currently Mr. Riaz

Bungush (VP Training) and Mir Shahid Iqbal (OG-1 Officer) are authorized

trainers / instructors.

4.1(b)Areas Of Training

The training at ACBL is done at two broad areas, which are further categorized,

these are;

I. Banking:

II. General Banking.

President

HR DivisionTraining Wing

Mr. Riaz Bungush (V. P Training)

Mr. Irfan(Grade 3 Officers)

Mr. Shahid Iqbal(Grade 1 Officer)

Credit Division.

Foreign Trade.

III. Personality Development:

Management. (Leadership & Controlling etc)

Marketing and Selling.

Behavior Modeling. (Personality development)

Communication Skills. Etc.

Information Technology training is also given to the related employees

in collaboration with the Electronic Technology Department (ETD).

4.1(c) Who Need Training

The new hires always need training. There are two types of new hires;

I. Fresh Hires: -

Fresh employees are those who have recently completed their studies and

have no or little experience of banking. Such employees need to attend a

formal training session to get aware of banking technicalities. These fresh

selected employees are categorized in two separate parts according to

their posts; hence the training methodology of both differs with each other.

1-a) Management Trainee Officers (MTO)

MTOs are hired only once in a year, and they are selected for

middle level executive posts, so their training is quite complex as

compared to JO’s. After the selection, they have a Theoretical Training

Session of 2 – 3 months followed by On Job Training (OJT) (33) for

further 3 years. The theoretical training session is conducted by the

Training Center, where formal lectures and presentation techniques are

adopted. Whereas, the OJT is conducted at the relevant branch and

department. MTOs get training in all the areas of banking, i.e. General

Banking, Credit, Foreign Trade and Personality Development.

1-b Junior Officers (JO)

Junior Officers are hired according to the needs of different

branches and departments. There work is non-managerial and

clerical in nature, so their training needs are not as complex as of

MTOs. After the selection, JO’s have to attend only a 2 weeks

Theoretical Training Session. They get training only in the

General Banking and Personality Development and not in Credit

and Foreign Trade. No OJT is conducted for JO’s.

II. Experienced Hires: -

Experienced employees are those who have already worked in other banks at

executive posts. Such employees do not need any formal training session; they

are informally trained in their specific area.

III. Current Employees : -

ACBL offers more than 50 Refresher Courses in different aspects of

banking, so that the training needs of current employees are fulfilled.

4.1(d) Training Need Assessment Process

The identification that either the training of current employees is necessary

or not depends on the results of Annual Performance Report (attached in

annexure).

In APR the Training Pressure Points might be the following one;

Poor Performance of Employees.

Lack of Skills in Employees.

Employee Himself Asks For Training.

His Boss Identifies Him For Training.

Other than APR, following are also some of the valid reasons for conducting the

training program.

New Hires.

New Technology.

Internal Growth. (New Branch)

New Services.

Organizational Analysis: (15)

The Head Office supports the training program by providing finance and peer

appreciation. An Annual Budget is allotted to the Training Wing for conducting

the training program.

Person Analysis:

The APR exactly identifies that who needs training, and is it really a training

problem. APR is evaluated by using the most effective tool, 3600

Feedback (36) and APR is checked by the reporting officer and rechecked by

senior reporting officer, so there is no doubt about the identification of the training

need of an employee.

Task Analysis:

The task and duties that require training are also specified in the APR. In the

APR the Boss might recommend the areas of training, or the employee himself

may identify the tasks and duties for which he need training.

Ensuring Employee Readiness

The relevant department of whose employee is requiring a training session

ensures the particular employee that he can learn the task or duty. Further they

also ensure the employee / trainee that it will be beneficial for him and for the

organization both.

Creating a Learning Environment

In OJT, all the branches and departments of ACBL maintain a learning

environment to enhance the training by;

Job Rotation.

Valuing of Employees.

Appreciation Certificates. Etc.

Sharing / Transfer of Training

Informally in all jobs the trained and experienced employees share their

knowledge with the new hires and those employees who are suffering with their

tasks. But in Elec. Tech. Deptt. (ETD) it is done formally by the technicians.

4.1(e) Training Methods

Among the various training methods, ACBL is using the following methods to

trains its employees.

Class Room Instructions.

The Training Wing of ACBL commonly uses it. JO’s have 2 weeks session

of classroom training. MTO’s have 3 months session of classroom

training, which covers all the three areas of banking.

Followings are the parts of classroom training session.

o Business Games.

o Case Studies.

o Research Topics.

o Written and Oral Assignments.

o Role Plays.

On Job Training (OJT).

It is the second most commonly used method of training in ACBL. Only

MTOs have an OJT session. Job Rotation is the main ingredient of OJT.

Degrees & Certifications.

Other than full time degrees and certificates, ACBL has more than 50

Refresher Courses for current employees to enhance their skills.

Team Learning.

Behavior Modeling.

* Audio Visual Aids and Multimedia are used in the training sessions.

Further, most of the training sessions are conducted in 5 Star hotels.

4.1(f) Evaluation Of Training Program

The Training Wing in alliance with HR evaluates its training program as

follows;

The most important way to evaluate the training program is by checking

the linkage with the objective and goals of the bank / high leverage

training.

By measuring the affects on organization.

By Cost – Benefit Analysis / Budgeting.

By checking the employee reaction.

Evaluation Of Trainees

At the completion of training session, the Training Wing evaluates each trainee in

following ways;

By Pre-test – Post-test.

By testing the employees during the session.

ACBL conducts quizzes and evaluates the written & oral assignments.

Cross Cultural Training

There is an informal cross-cultural training of employees in ACBL for its branch

in Bahrin.

Reward System

ACBL has a reward system for the trainees who perform better during the

training session, which are in shape of;

Appreciation Letters.

Shields. Etc.

* Courses are normally conducted at Five Star Hotels, which are a motivating

factor for trainees.

4.2 Employee Development At ACBL: -

Development of employees inn ACBL is done under following approaches;

A.On Job Degrees and Certifications:

At ACBL every employee is given an opportunity to do extra degrees and

certifications in his field or where he / she is lacking skills.

E.g. MBA- Executive and others.

ACBL has also more than 50 refresher courses in different area of banking and

management. Employees are fully supported at ACBL to take these courses and

degrees.

Sabbaticals For Training:

For refresher courses, which are usually not longer than 7 to 10 days,

sabbaticals are given to the employees. This motivates the employees to take

these courses whenever an opportunity is there.

Assessment Centers:

Leaderless group discussions are occasionally held at all branches

and departments followed by conferences at meetings between

employees and among executives and board on directors on

regular basis, for the whole day, normally after the banking hours.

During training sessions Role Plays are also given to employees,

which help them to develop themselves.

Performance Appraisals:

The most important source of employee development which results

in the promotions, rightsizing, increase in salary, perks and benefits

is done in ACBL with the help of 3600feedback (36).

Employee Assistance Program:

All employees at ACBL are given the opportunity to get themselves

proper training in their desired areas, Employees do an informal

counseling with their supervisors for improvement in their work and

also in career development.

5. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS

Before conducting an analysis of the project, it is feasible to briefly overview the

competitor’s findings.

5.1COMPETITOR’S ANALYSIS

Introduction:

Bank Al-Falah was established in July 1997. Its head office is in Karachi and

bank has 49 branches all over the Pakistan. Bank has one branch in UAE.

Services:

Bank is offering different types of services for its valued customers. These

services are ATM, Online Banking, Home Loan and Car Financing.

Human Resource Department:

Bank has a HR Department who perform different sort of functions. The

department advertises in newspaper for the jobs then recruitment and selection

process occurs. Training and development is major task of HR department.

In HR department there is one Executive Incharge, One Assistant

Executive In charge and personnel managers.

Selection And Recruitment:

Bank advertises in newspaper and candidates apply for the jobs. After test,

interview and other formalities the selected candidates are given six months

training. Every year the bank offers 30 vacancies for the post of MTOs.

The MTO program is a highly competitive and sought after induction scheme, in

which short-listed applicants appear in a written test followed by a panel

interview. Successful candidates then receive comprehensive training in

essential areas of branch banking at the Bank’s state-of-the-art training facility at

Karachi They are subsequently posted at the Bank's prior to their posting at

various branch locations in Pakistan. Preferred educational background for entry

into the MTO scheme includes an MBA degree, MA Economics or M.Com from

reputable Pakistani or foreign institutions with GPA of 3 plus, or equivalent.

Strong personal character, as well as communication and interpersonal skills are

essential pre-requisites to succeed as an MTO

Training And Development :

Bank Alfalah’s management believes in developing the potential of the Bank’s

employees to the fullest extent. Training & Development Center of the Bank is

housed in custom-built, state of the art facility on the 4th floor of the Head Office

building at Karachi. The center is responsible for providing multi-level high quality

training programmes to all staff members in the following areas:

Consumer Banking Operations

Credit Marketing & Credit Proposals

Credit Administration/Documentation

Trade Finance Operations

Marketing & Selling Skills

Customer Service Skills

Performance Appraisal Skills

Time Management

Personal Effectiveness

It is obligatory for each staff member of the bank to attend at least one training

programme. Wherever the Training Department is unable to provide focused

training for certain groups of staff, reputable external training providers are

invited to fill the gap.

The candidates are given six month training in which theoretical lectures are

given along with different case studies, situations and presentation techniques.

Groups are made to enhance the coordination and team building. Candidates

with different skills and abilities are appreciated for their creativity. During the job

formal and informal meetings are conducted where all employees are free to

speak and they can give different ideas and plans. Employees are encouraged

for continuous learning and bank even send its employees for special training

courses to abroad.

Main Training Pressure Point of Bank Alfalah is also same to that of ACBL, i.e.:

The identification that either the training of current employees is necessary

or not depends on the results of Annual Performance Report (attached in

annexure).

Rewards System:

Employees are given salary of 10000-12000 per month in training session,

after training bank increase their pay and also give them other benefits.

Performance Appraisal:

Each manager submit the report of his subordinates to his boss in which they

evaluate his employees from different dimensions and if audit report of any

branch show negative impact than all types of increments are stopped of all

employees of than branch.

ANALYSIS

Analyzing the Training and Development practice of ACBL and comparing it with

Training & Development of Bank Alfalah, it is concluded that currently ACBL is

effectively meeting its targets, but to encounter with future demands, ACBL

needs to overcome some short-comings in order to maintain and gain

competitive edge, for this we have concluded some recommendations stated in

next chapter.

6. RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION

6.1 Recruitment

Recruitment is the first part of the process of filling a vacancy; it includes the

examination of the vacancy, the consideration of the sources of suitable

candidates, making contact with those candidates and attracting, applications

from them. An organization can never be better than the people it hires and this

is a concept that askari bank firmly believes in. They boast about never

compromising on the quality of its people.

SOURCES OF APPLICANTS:

6.1(a) INTERNAL SOURCES:

Askari bank is well known of being conservative and this can be justified by the

fact that they try their best to fill in any vacancies that crop up by first scanning

their current employees for the required qualifications and experience. According

to the Human Resources Manager they prefer to go internally because

It is considerably less costly than external recruiting.

A present employee is more likely to stay at askari bank than an external

candidate.

The people already working for askari bank are well aware of its culture and

employee demands and thus provides a better understanding for their work.

The organizational policy of promoting from within enhances the employees’

morale, organizational commitment and job satisfaction.

6.1(b) EXTERNAL RECRUITING CHANNELS :

At askari bank external recruiting is the last option. In case a need arises for

external recruitment they meet it discreetly. When enquired on this issue the HR

Manager said that they do not prefer external recruitment because it may have a

negative impact on the work group, cohesion and morale.

Askari bank uses the following channels for external recruitment;

Referrals

At askari bank referrals act as an effective recruitment tool. Referrals are most

helpful in the cases of highly specialized jobs. Employees while recommending

applicants place their own reputation at stake; therefore, they are usually careful

to recommend only qualified applicants. Referrals result in maintaining

consistency in the work force as the people referring their friends would be well

aware of the company culture and environment and would never suggest a

person they know isn’t capable.

Walk-Ins

Another common and effective methods of external recruitment are walk-ins and

write-ins. These methods are quite informal and provide the applicant an

opportunity to sell himself/herself to the organization. This method is very

appreciated at askari bank because it too gives them the chance to hire fresh,

vigilant, determined and confident work force for entry-level jobs.

Management Trainees

Another channel of external recruitment is a management trainee. These training

facilitate market exposure for fresh graduates. Askari bank provides these

recruits with an extensive learning program where they are taught how to handle

dealings in the corporate world and hence mould them into their culture. These

recruits are evaluated after their Researchperiod is over and these appraisals are

filed. Whenever external filling is required these trainees are their first option to

the bank.

6.2 SELECTION PROCESS

THE PROCESS IN IMPLEMENTATIONTHE PROCESS IN IMPLEMENTATION

Job

Analysis

HR Activities

Orientation

Training

Development

Career

Planning

Performance

Evaluation

Compensation

Assessment

Inputs

Selection is the process of assessing the candidates by various means and

making a choice followed by an offer of employment. This process consists of the

following steps. An interview with the HR Manager, the department head and

finally by a panel of executives.

6.2 (a)INTERVIEW

The candidates have to appear for an interview first with the HR Manager then

with the department head and finally before a panel. The panel will always

include the head of the department where the candidate is to be assigned if

selected. The presence of at least three officers will constitute a quorum. The

attached quick interview worksheet will be utilized for guiding the interview.

Rejection by more than one panel member will disqualify the candidate from the

employment of the company.

During the interview, it is natural that the interviewers will tell the candidate about

the job. They are however, advised to confine themselves to the realities of the

HR

Planner

RecruitSelection

Process

situation and must not promise more than what the job probably offers, otherwise

in likelihood the company will end up with a frustrated worker who was painted a

more attractive than the actual picture of the job.

The selection interview at askari bank is a formal in-depth conversation

conducted to evaluate the applicant’s acceptability. They are highly popular

because of their flexibility, as they can be adapted to skilled, unskilled,

managerial and professional employees. Interviewers at askari bank allow a two-

way exchange of information: they learn about the applicant and the applicant

learns about them

Following are some of the general questions interviewers at askari bank ask their

applicants:

Why do you want to change jobs?

Why did you leave your last job?

What are your career goals?

How do you consider yourself to be the best person for this job?

Sell yourself in five words.

What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?

Describe your ideal job.

If given a choice what kind of work you would prefer?

Why did you select your college major?

How would you handle a task under stress?

6.2 (b). ORIENTATION

At askari bank the orientation period is two weeks. During this time the

employees are given information about the job, the people around them,

organizational accomplishments and the future prospects of the company.

6.2 (c) CONFIRMATION:

All new hiring will remain on probation for six months. Confirmation as a

permanent employee will be based on the satisfactory replies from at least three

personal references including former employers as shown on the application

form. Usually the most valuable references are from previous employers. Where

necessary personal contact with previous employers should be established.

7. SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS

Network

Network is a major strength ACBL has. ACBL is a Pakistani Bank with the

most extensive and comprehensive global network that open up new

opportunities in near future. Their up graded technological infrastructure is

also important which provides uniform service system across the Bank’s

network that will allow much higher levels of efficiency and customer service

Customer Relationship

The Bank has a distinctive client focus with a view of attaining greater

customer satisfaction. Continual efforts are made by the Bank to revisit

customer needs and for improving customer services. Management continues

to further rationalize Bank’s network with a view of improving efficiency28. The

trust associated with ACBL is also its strength to stand out. The bank

continues to re-engineer processes and centralize functions to make ACBL

services more cost efficient to improve customer response. ACBL

commitment to provide customers with banking facilities of an international

standard and its policies towards modernization helps them gain more

strength.

The survival of a service organization like ACBL is dependent on superior

customer service and relevant products. ACBL strong culture of customer

service and satisfaction reflects ACBL distinctive competence. They value

their customer’s business and want to seek satisfaction. That’s why a very

strong population of 1.5 million users supports them

International Operations

The international operations of ACBL allow it to get benefit from synergies of

countries within specific geographical areas. International operations are

segmented into regional businesses by formation of six major regional

centers viz UK, continental Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia Pacific and

USA.31

WEAKNESES

Promotion

ACBL is not promoting its ATM services which are a major weakness. They

can change their target market or at new target markets through promotion for

example they can promote the uses of ATM such as its use at vacations.

Cash Withdrawal Limit

One of the weaknesses of ACBL ATM is that they have prescribed cash

withdrawal limit for all kinds of customers where as ACBL ATM offers no cash

withdrawal limit. They have cyclic withdrawal limit which allows each

customer to have his own cash withdrawal limit32

Payment Of Utility Bills

There is no facility offered by ACBL for payment of utility bills but it is possible

on NBP ATM.

Transfer Of Funds

No facility on behalf of ACBL ATM is offered regarding transfer of funds

between PLS savings account and current account of same customer through

same ATM card.

Shortage Of ATM’s

ATM’s, despite of ACBL’s extensive and comprehensive network is still

unavailable in many of its branches. Similarly there are some profitable

geographical locations where there are prospects of increased profitability for

example an ATM at Murree means new segment for ACBL.

ATM’s Working

ACBL ATM’s are usually out of work without any notification to customers as

compared to MCB, which advertises in newspapers that a certain machine is

out of order34. Moreover one of their customers also mentioned in a survey

that the machine is out of order mostly at weekends.

OPPORTUNITIES

Use Of ATM as a Credit Card

It can be an opportunity for ACBL to introduce ATM also as a credit card

which will invite a different segment and which will improve profitability. They

can also cut costs in this way.

Technological Improvements

Various technological improvements may lead to success for ACBL

If ACBL opens up its deposit box facility for customers it can heavily increase

its profitability. If implemented this opportunity can be a competitive

advantage as well.

ACBL can also implement the conversion facility for example if the ATM receives

the request for payment of amount in dollars then it should pay the customer in

Dollars.

They can make ATM more attractive and enjoyable place to come rather then a

bossy, bore environment. To provide customer’s with an enjoyable event

whenever they visit the ATM they can change their machine styles, have

variations in colors and add audio instructions following the transactions.

As Internet and World Wide Web usage continues to increase ACBL should

extend it’s exploitation of this market by acquiring and merging with companies

with specialized technological expertise. Although this expansion is costly they

should exploit this strategic niche and take advantage of this opportunity in

external environment.

In order to increase their market share ACBL should expand its ATM network. By

opening ATM sites where it can target new market sis essentially good for

competition as well it is profitable. They can look out for any sick units that are

not as profitable as the ones intended to be opened.

Improving customer focus

ACBL’s commitment to making substantial investment in technology (planned

expenditure of USD 20-25 million over next three years) to provide customers

with banking facilities of an international standard is an opportunity for making

technological improvements in this business.

Illiterate People

Illiterate people are also an opportunity for ACBL in regarding this service . ACBL

can serve these people by giving instructions in Audio and in Urdu. They can

also have instructions written in Urdu on card or even they can have a display in

Urdu. They can increase their target market, market share and profitability.

THREATS

Economic Environment

Economic environment is a major threat to ATM’s success .For example in

2000 when the government embarked on an economic revival plan with a

complete task of resource mobilization, GDP growth and poverty alleviation in

a different economic environment with continued international sanctions.

During the year domestic demand though improving still remained weak and

fiscal constraints did not allow the government to increase development

expenditure and boost demand.37

Political/Legal environment

Law and order situation has a direct impact on how frequently or how many

people use ATM. Also legal obligations also hinder/pose threat to ATM

availability. For example there is a rule that he two ATMs should be at least 3

kms away from each other. If there are strict regulations on this policy then it

is a threat to ATM availability for example there is an ATM in Melody and also

at Aabpara so it is important that legal environment is positive and firm

enough to pose threat to Bank’s activities.

Expense Base

The expense base will be a major threat to the ATM because it will impact the

need to spend in order to modernize ACBL’s customer interface. Expenditure has

to be incurred on Branch rationalization and computerization. This expenditure is

essential, given poor infra structure at Branch level resulting from years of

underinvestment. Because 90 million is sufficient money to invest to open an

ATM there should be a strong expense base to support the expansion of ATM

8. CONCLUSION

Organizations exist when two or more people work towards achieving common

goals. An organization can never be better than the people it hires. Hence we

have to get the best to be the best because the performance of the employees

reflects the company’s image and standing in the market.

Out of the three M’s i.e. Man, Money & Machine, probably the human dimension

is of the utmost importance. Hiring employees is not the sole objective rather the

primary goal is to devise a tool that can help the organization attract, maintain,

retain and motivate them enough to give their best to the organization. Training

and development is therefore the first step towards success. Better the quality of

the employees better the performance of the company.

An organization’s ability to meet the training and development challenges

provides an opportunity to make significant contribution to the company. With

better quality people executing the company’s operations the HR department can

create a competitive advantage for the company.

0 9 . Recommendations

After analyzing the Training and Development practice following

recommendations are made;

To fulfill the Training Needs of the more than 50 branches of ACBL, it

needs to decentralize its Training Centers and should open a new Training

Center for Karachi Region.

For time being to share the burden of Training, more instructors should be

hired for the Training Wing.

Like Bank Alfalah, wherever the Training Department is unable to provide

focused training for certain groups of staff, reputable external trainers are

invited to fill the gap, ACBL should also outsource trainers in such cases.

New performance measurement approaches like, Management by

Objectives (MBO) and Productivity Measurement & Evaluation System

(ProMES) should be adopted to make the results more accurate as the

bank is in growth stage.

In 3600Feedback method, there are chances of errors due biasness and

halo-factor. To avoid this error, ‘Rater Error Training’ and ‘Rater Accuracy

Training’ should be given to the employees.

Regarding Development, Myers–Briggs Types should be applied to

enhance the employee development process.

If possible, bank should arrange externships for some employees in other

reputable banks, to bring up new ideas and more accuracy in ACBL.

Mentoring program should be started to excel in the training of employees.

Distance Learning is also required to adopt, untill a new training center is

opened, especially for the branch in Bahrin.

HRM Information System (HRIS) should be implemented in the Head

Office, which should be further connected with all branches for more

efficient working of HRD, especially with the Bahrin Branch of ACBL.