Q. What has made people think that the government sector is less efficient as compared to private sector? Is it a myth or reality?
A. There is no job security in the private sector which makes the employees run day and night to perform. There is a lot of security and comfort in the public sector, so enhancing the productivity of employees becomes a challenge. The public sector have to depend more on psychological factors to get continuous performance from their employees. However there are systems and processes in public sector domain to ensure continuous performance of their employees.
It is not that the people in public sector do not work. In the public sector, we find 20 per cent people who are self-motivated and doing extremely well. Almost 60 per cent people can be moulded and the rest of the 20 per cent are mischievous and try to undo the work done by others and instigate them not of work. To push those 60 per cent people towards productivity is a huge challenge for HR executives. Hence, a quick promotion system, transparent system, placement system, training system and cash incentive schemes are some of the key areas that need attention to ensure the employees are motivated psychologically to be productive and efficient at work.
Q. HR function in public sector has not attained specialised professional status like it has in private sector. Do you agree?
A. I do not think so. It is perhaps not very scientific. I think greater HR management is needed in public sector rather than private sector. The key performance drivers have to be invited in the system to spur the productivity of the public sector. For instance, performance appraisal system in terms of incentives or overseas training have to be carefully built to give recognition to the employees who perform well.
The expenses incurred by HR in private sector are not questionable and this is where the major difference lies. In public sector, areas of investment and expenditure have to be clearly defined and made transparent. I think private sector has more liberty to give incentives that public sector does not. This is where people can say the private sector is more advanced on HR front. We cannot spend 20-25 crore on employees welfare without defining, whereas private sector has this luxury.
Q. How do you plan to make HR in government banks vibrant?
A. We are doing a lot of things and I personally believe in training because what you cannot do otherwise, you can do that through training. It is also in our capacity to do as it does not involve high investment. Through training, we can cover more staff and provide better orientation on various aspects of banking and behaviour. This will lead to a turnaround in the organisation.
Overseas placements is also one of the incentives given. Training can be provided to a lot of people that will help people in moving forward. Moreover, having periodical conferences, involving people in brainstorming sessions and interactive workshops will make a huge difference. This is one part where HR in public sector is expected to be more vibrant.
Secondly, we are trying to make performance appraisal system more open by introducing half yearly or quarterly reviews where the supervisors would tell their subordinates how they will be ranked, the expectations and the ways to improve their performance. This can help the organisation improve productivity. Thirdly, the improvement can also be brought by handling the disciplinary cases appropriately.
Q. To what extent does HR play a role in increasing the efficiency in public sector organisations?
A. HR is certainly the most important function. Unless the organisations have transparent placement policies, system of rewards and recognition, system for nominating overseas training; there will not be any trust in the management. Without trust, people will be reluctant to work, so all these things have to be done through a well defined and transparent HR system. The fact that every good performer has something better to look forward to can only be facilitated by the HR.
Q. What challenges do you personally see when it comes to solving issues in the public sector?
A. The challenges are staggering as organisational policies have to be defined looking into philosophy of the organisation and things that are workable for the employees. Managing the huge workforce and communication on a large scale is a challenge.
Q. Modern banking is getting increasingly complex and skill intensive. Do you think the current pool of talent is ready to take new age banking challenges?
A. They are ready, but the problem for government banks is that the senior and expert bankers will be retiring in a few years. New generation employees have got promotions in quick succession so they are not backed by enough experience to assume senior roles.
Q. How difficult or easy is it to shift gear from vanilla banking to multi-specialised banking?
A. It is already happening. Public sector banks have now started to take people in various specialised groups. It is not that we are only taking the vanilla bankers and asking them to do all kind of work. We are taking specialists and have the freedom to hire experts on a better payroll, which is another model that the banks are adopting.
The management trainees till date have proved to be an intelligent lot coming into these banks. They are also capable enough to shift to various specialised departments, understand everything and work in various positions and places. So, public sector banks are gearing up for the challenge.
Q. Tell us about the recent developments of HR in government sector banks?
A. Department of Financial Services (Ministry of Finance) has taken several steps and introduced certain amount of transparency in the system by defining the period of service that will make people eligible for promotions. They have designed a PMS system and are bringing similar practices across all banks to remove the barrier of variation in experience. Government has been doing a lot to maintain parity.
Q. What would you advice when it comes to improving the efficiency and productivity?
A. It needs a transparent system of postings and promotion, fair and employee-friendly HR practices, which is in the process of being established. Another thing is to move the customers away from the counters with the help of latest technology like ATMs, passbook printers, cash deposit machines, internet banking so that rush on counters may reduce and the quality of service improves to certain extent.
Q. What are the government sector banks doing to be better service providers?
A. They are doing a lot of things like adopting latest technology and the customers already know the quality of services being offered by government sector banks.
