The Hindu Business Line : New gen banks say churn is welcome

Ask new banks if they are walking away with manpower from old private banks — and you get a different perspective. No, they are not necessarily getting everyone they want only from the old banks — they often get them from each other. In their case, employees quit and join other new banks or foreign banks. So, the problem is universal.

Interestingly, no one in the new banks is complaining. There is a part-resigned acceptance of high attrition as a fact of life. And some see positive merits in a certain amount of regular churn.

For instance, Mr K. Ramkumar, General Manager, Human Resources, ICICI Bank, the largest private bank in the country, says, "A 20 per cent attrition rate is in fact good. There are other sectors such as couriers and BPO where the attrition rate is higher than 50 per cent — but they are still growing."

Mr Gautam Vir, Managing Director, Development Credit Bank, now considered a new-generation bank, admits, "We have hired from YES Bank, Centurion Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Kotak Bank. We have reduced our attrition rate. We do not hire from old private sector banks."

According to Mr Neeraj Jha, HDFC Bank spokesperson, "HDFC Bank has hired about 7 per cent of its recent recruits from co-operative banks. These recruits, along with others, come to us because of growth opportunities, wider geographical as well as functional responsibilities, besides brand value."

Mr Ramkumar says, with some fervour, "Many of us seem to be operating on the premise of an old stable economy with 4 per cent growth, when only so many jobs could be created. Now you have 10 per cent growth. That means more jobs, higher salaries and eventually attrition too."

So what should banks do? One, they need to live with attrition. Mr Ramkumar says China has had this for the last 15 years. Secondly, he says, "Set up finishing schools. Invest in training. Make people employable." "Twenty years ago, we had the luxury of allowing someone to become productive 3 years after joining. Now he or she has to start delivering within 90 days," he says.

Beyond English

Thirdly, he says, "Give up this obsession for English-speaking recruits. There is good talent available in rural and semi-urban areas. You don't need English-speaking bankers there. It is enough if they can speak the local language." He says ICICI Bank is walking this talk — it has gone to a tribal college in Orissa to invest in their curriculum and also offer placement.

To be continued