training and development program of askari bank
TRANSCRIPT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
All thanks to Allah Almighty, the benevolent and compassionate, who blessed us with the power and
capabilities with the help of which we are able to successfully complete our task. It is our pleasure to
also thank those people who made our report possible. We feel ourselves indebted and highly grateful
to honorable Sir Ahmer Rafi to enhance and polish our skills and knowledge under a qualitative
supervision. We are also thankful to the Floor Manager Mr. Abdul Jabbar and HR manager Mr Abdul
Jabbar Fida of Askari Bank Ltd. for his help and providing us necessary material which was required.
We are thankful for his encouraging response and guidance to make our report as a real learning
experience. We are grateful for all we have learnt from him.
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OBJECTIVE
We, the students of BBA (Hons) 18B have analyzed the Training and Development
program of Askari Bank and how it has helped the bank to meet competitive challenges.
Training and development plays a key role in helping companies meet these challenges.
So do so company needs to train employees and there are certain factors which make the
organization to develop their employees. By doing this project we gain the knowledge
about what is happening outside in the corporate world and how they are giving training
facilities to its employees to gain a competitive advantage.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary…………………………………………………….. 4
Introduction of Organization…………………………………………… 6
Educational Opportunities……………………………………………… 9
Need Assessment……………………………………………………… 12
High Leverage Training…………………………………………………16
Strategy of the Organization…………………………………………… 21
Model of the Training Department…………………………………….. 25
Hierarchy of the Organization………………………………………….. 26
MTO’s training…………………………………………………………. 27
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Askari Bank recognizes its employees as the prime asset and the key contributors to the
performance of the Bank and places great emphasis on the attraction, development, motivation
and retention of its employees.
Human capital of the Bank is given the highest value in the aim to achieve our mission of being
the Bank of first choice. Accordingly, the Bank’s focus remains on employee development
coupled with improving the ambiance through regular reviews and refinements of processes and
work environment thereby ensuring its dynamism and robustness and keeping the spirit of its key
guiding principles and policies.
Therefore, employees’ professional development is one of the key elements of our human
resource strategy. To keep abreast with technological development and other advancement,
human capital enrichment through extensive in-house and external training is indispensable.
Training goals are determined in the light of well defined training needs assessment (TNA)
procedures as envisaged in the overall strategic plan of the Bank.
Training & development team of the Bank continue its pursuit for quality training to the Bank’s
staff in line with the approved training policy. During each year, various training programs are
conducted for Bank employees through in-house training academies at Rawalpindi, Lahore and
Karachi, and external training facilities both local and international. The bank remains
committed to provide ample opportunities for in-house and external trainings that will enable our
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employees to improve their skills and professional competence. These academies conduct
workshops and operational skill development clinics in the disciplines of domestic banking
operations, IT, credit & finance, international trade, risk management, service & attitude,
management & communication, and on other diverse subjects including series of Leadership and
Team development programs for senior management of the Bank. These courses are conducted
by professionally skilled qualified faculty aided by industry experts.
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INTRODUCTION
VISION
To be the bank of first choice in the region.
MISSION
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 our stakeholders, and contributing to
society.
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SUMMARY ABOUT THE ASKARI BANK
An important player in Pakistan’s financial services industry, Askari Bank is now leading the
way to the most modern and dynamic banking in the country.
Incorporated in October 1991, Askari Bank commenced its operations in April 1992, and has
since expanded into a nationwide presence of 150 branches, including 14 dedicated Islamic
Banking branches connected online and supported by a shared network of over 2,670 online
ATMs covering all major cities in Pakistan supports the delivery channels for customer service.
Askari Bank also has an Offshore Banking Unit in Bahrain.
ASKARI BANK is the leading private sector bank in Pakistan, delivering quality service through
innovative technology.
In the success story of ASKARI BANK, one of the most important factors, apart from its
dynamic management and prudent approach, is the QUALITY of its SERVICES, which gives it
a great edge over its competitors. ASKARI BANK has always strived to facilitate its customers
by introducing various high quality hi-tech services for the first time in Pakistan.
Askari Bank is proud of it’s pioneering role in providing the most modern and technologically
advanced services to their customers. Knowing their customers and their needs is the key to their
business success. Their products and services are as diverse as their market segments.
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Technology has played a pivotal role in meeting customer expectations, particularly with respect
to the speed and quality of services.
Askari Bank has fully automated transaction-processing systems for back-office support. The
branch network is connected on-line real-time and customers have access to off-site as well as
on-site ATMs, all over Pakistan. This includes not just establishing and maintaining technology
infrastructure for providing operational support to all units of the Bank, but also encompasses
introducing latest state-of-the-art technology-driven products and service delivery systems, such
as ATM networking, Internet Banking, Mobile ATM, Credit Cards, Debit Card, Prepaid Card,
utility bills payment through ATMs & Internet which have brought about cost-effectiveness,
timesaving and safety.
It is also a matter of satisfaction that ASKARI BANK has been the first bank to introduce PTCL
and WAPDA utility bills payment electronically through ATM and Internet on an Online-Real-
Time Basis. For the first time in Pakistan, they have introduced Mobile ATMs to provide
banking facilities at the doorsteps of their customers. Askari bank’s mobile ATMs first in the
banking history of Pakistan, now four in number, continue to serve customer needs.
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HEIRARCHY OF ASKARI BANK
9
OG3
Officer grade 3
OG2
Officer grade 2
OG1
Officer grade 1
AM
Assistant manager
Manager
AVP
VP
SVP
EVP
SEVP
PRESIDENT
Training refers to a planned effort by an organization, banks and companies to facilitate
employees learning of job related competencies. These competencies include knowledge, skills
or behaviors that are critical for successful job performance.
Askari Bank conducts the training program of the selected candidates, group of employees
which is conducted by the Training wing in alliance with Human Resource (HR) and other
related departments.
An organization should provide some educational opportunities to their employees, so that their
performance get improve and organization can get competitive advantage.
Askari bank is also providing its employees some educational opportunities. Some of them are
explained below…
1. Through training programs:
Askari bank is providing their employees with good training programs that are of many
types like:
Mandatory training
This training is compulsory for all employees when they get hired, not a single employee
can skip this initial training, and this training is of 3 days that is must for newly selected or
hired employees.
Planned training
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As we can understand from its meaning of “planned”. This is scheduled training which
HR decide while taking major decisions that we have given these trainings to our
employees at this and this level. For example mandatory training which is compulsion.
Unplanned training
These are trainings which organization has to provide at the stage when any new
technology is adopted or any new product have to be launched. That is not in regular
schedule but due to need we will provide to our employees at any period of time.
Pressure points
There are some pressure points due to which problems get occur in Askari bank and for
take over these problems bank conduct some training programs. Some reasons for these
pressure points are as follow:
New products
New jobs
Customer requests
New Technology
Poor Performance of Employees
Lack of Skills in Employees
His Boss Identifies Him For Training
Employee Himself Asks For Training
New Services
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Training programs created spontaneously by analyze competitors
Askari bank at some time conduct some training programs after analysis that what
competitors are following training programs, to take competitive advantage. Askari bank
is providing such training to their employees so that they can compete in market. They set
benchmark and try to build better training programs as compared to others. In Pakistan
Askari and Allied bank are on top in providing standard training programs.
2. Learning through self study:
Self study in Askari bank is allowed but bank didn’t do any favors to employees like if any
employee want to go on leaves for study , bank do not pay him for that leaves.
3. Learning through job rotation:
Askari bank is providing employees an opportunity to learn by rotating or altering their
current jobs. From one department to other they are rotated in this way employees can
build many capabilities regarding to other jobs as well and can do multitasking. Branch
managers are compulsory transferred from one branch to other.
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NEED ASSESMENT
Every organization has its own training process. Askari Bank basically provide training by firstly
looking at the very basic step that is assessing the need for training.
Need assessment refers to the process of assessing the need that either the employees need
training or not and in which field and of what kind of training do they require and what their
main problems which can be resolved through training. Need assessment is the first step in the
instructional design process and if it not properly conducted the whole purpose of providing the
training may go wrong which means that results would come out to be null.
Need assessment methods:
At Askari bank two techniques are used for the purpose of doing a need assessment which are
Observation; done by first line managers and peers.
Interview; done by middle management and top management.
Who does need assessment?
Because the goal of need assessment is to determine whether a training need exists, who it exists
for, and what tasks need to be trained, it is important to include managers, trainers, and
employees in the training process. At Askari bank the need assessment starts at the very basic
level. Firstly and most basically the need assessment is done by the first line managers. They
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observe their employees and look for if any job requirements are lacking or missing or if there
are any severe issues that the employees are facing regarding their jobs or if there are any severe
issues that occur at the team level or organizational level. Also the peers make observations of
any problems that are occurring in work, they report about these problems to the managers. All
the issues are firstly tried to resolve at the very basic level.
If the problems are big and cannot be resolved at the grass root level, the first line managers then
report the issues to the middle managers. The middle manager then conducts an interview with
the employees regarding the problems or issues to get a clear and closer look at what the problem
really is. Most of the problems get resolved at this stage. However if the problem is still not
resolved then the issue is taken to the top management. The middle managers at Askari then
discuss the problems with the top management who according to the nature of the issue refer to
the Askari training academies. Then according to the suggestions from the Askari training
academies the top management takes the decisions for where and what sorts of trainings should
be provided and to whom should it be provided.
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The Need Assessment Process
Organizational Analysis:
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, 360* Feedback 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 needs 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.
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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 link with the
objective and goals of the bank / high leverage training.
By measuring the effects 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.
Askari conducts quizzes and evaluates the written & oral assignments.
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High Leverage Training
High leverage training is linked to strategic business goals and objectives uses an instructional
design process to ensure that training is effective and compares to benchmarks the company’s,
bank’s or organization’s training programs against training program in other banks,
Organizations and companies.
Askari bank compares benchmarks with other banks (Allied Bank, Alfalah, UBL, and HBL) to
ensure that whether the training is effective and helps in attaining strategic business objectives
which help banks in gain a competitive advantage.
The high leverage training 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 difference in ranking and
working methodology the training needs for both are varied. Among various training
methods classrooms and OJT (on job training) are very common in practice in Askari bank.
Other than training of new hires there are more than 50 Refresher Course for the
improvement and development of current employees.
Traditional Training
Traditional Training is a focus on an acquisition of knowledge, skills and abilities. Askari bank
also provides Traditional Training. In banks traditional training is training for newly inducted
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officers to cover all aspects of banking. In traditional training approach, training is seen as a
series of programs or events that employees attend. On-the job training refers to new or
inexperienced employees learning through observing peers or managers performing the job and
trying to imitate their behavior.After attending training program employees are responsible for
using for what they learned in training on the job.
Who needs Training?
The new hires always need training. There are two types of new hires.
I. Fresh Hires
Fresh employees are those who recently completed their studies and have no or little
experience of banking. Such employees need to attend a Formal Training session to get
aware banking technicalities. These fresh selected employees are categorized into two
separate parts according to their posts, hence the training methodology of both differs with
each other.
a) Management Training Officer (MTO)
MTO’s are hire only once in a year as they are selected for middle level executive posts, so
their training is quite complex as compared to JO’s
b) Junior Officer (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
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MTO’s. After the selection JO’s have to attend the 2 weeks Theoretical Training Session.
They get training only in General banking and Personality Development, 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 banks at executive posts. Such
employees do not need any formal training session they are informally trained in their
specific area.
III. Current Employees
Askari bank provides more than 50 Refresher Courses in different aspects of banking, so
their training needs of current employees are fulfilled.
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Who Controls Training Purchases?
Training academy, Human Resource, Senior Management, Trainees and Training Department
controls the training purchases.
Who Provides Training
In banks most training and development activities are provided by
Trainers
Managers
In-house consultants and
Employee experts
Who is in-charge of Training?
Training and development can be responsibility of Professionals in Human Resources, Human
Resource Development or Organizational Development. Askari Bank may also have entire
functions or departments called Human Resources (HR), human Resources Development (HRD)
and Organizational Development (OD) who provides training and development.
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Human resource Development (HRD) refers to the integrated use of training and development,
organizational development and career development to improve group, individual and
organizational (banks) effectiveness.
Training is not restricted to specific employees it is open to all the employees. Askari bank is
also trying to give training to all the employees to raise efficiency and standards of performance.
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STRATEGY OF THE ORGANIZATION
Internal Growth
The main strategy which Askari Bank follows is the Market development and innovation.
They achieve this strategy by giving new and innovative ideas which distinguish them in the
market and these factors help them to grow successfully. They give the training and develop a
culture of team building so that they work together to build a strong culture.
Training according to their strategy
Askari Bank basically provides trainings on different issues for betterment of its employees. Like
they give
Cultural Training
They give training to their employees to make their employees well about their culture and how
should the employees have to behave in the organization and they do so, so that everyone can be
aware about the culture and everyone follow the same culture. How they should behave with the
customers so to promote their culture.
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Development of organizational culture that values creative thinking and
analysis
They basically give freedom to their employees to give their ideas and allow them to speak for
different issues so that innovative ideas can be brought and organization can bring creativity.
Technical competence in job
Employees are given technical training so that they can well manage all the technical issues and
can deal the problem in time.
Manager training in feedback and communication
Managers are provided training to improve their skills for giving feedback in time so that issues
can be resolved and there could be no delay and training to improve their communication skills is
also given so that they can better interact with the people.
Conflict negotiation skills
Employees and managers are also given training for the management of conflicts so that they can
better tackle the problems.
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Types of Training
Askari Bank give training to their employees according to their position that to which employee
they are going to give training and the pattern and time of training is then decided. Askari bank
gives following kind of trainings to their employees.
1- Employee Orientation
When new employees are hired, Askari Bank design orientation programme of 1 day. In
which they tell their employees about the organization and its mission and vision.
2- Leadership Training
This training is basically given to the senior employees because they are leading their juniors
and have to guide them.
3- Product Knowledge Training
This training is given to the employees for the knowhow of the product so that they can have
full knowledge about each and every product or packages which will be helpful in dealing
with the customers and they can also better make their customers about the organization and
its unique offerings.
4- Safety Training
This training is basically linked how to save oneself at the time of any mishap not proper
training in given but they are given the demonstration of how to react and do things.
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5- Problem Solving Training
This training is basically given to the senior employees or the leaders of the organization.
Like this type of training is very important for the manager so that he can better resolve all
the issues related to the employees and customers as well.
6- Team Building
This training is also given to the leaders of the organization so that they can boost the spirit
of team building and co-operation among employees so that their performance can be
enhanced which is useful for the company as well.
7- Soft Skills Training
In this training employees are being taught how to deal with the customers and answers and
resolve their queries softly without being rude or harsh to them.
8- Software Training
Bank gives software training to the employees previously there was a software named
UNIBANK that Askari bank was using but now they have implemented a new software
FLEXCUBE and they are giving training to the employees so that employees will perform
better.
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Model to Organize the Training Department
There are different models which organization follows according to the structure of their
organization. But when we talk about Askari Bank, it basically follows.
Faculty Model
In faculty model experts of the related department provide training to their employees.
So the organization follows this model to train their employees. They basically have hired
experts outside the organization who basically train the employees from different
departments. Each department has its expert trainers to train the employees and it better
guide the employees and these experts are hired only for the training purpose and are not
from inside the organization.
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Soft skill
Training
Equipment
Training
Leadership
Training
Product
Training
Director of training
Management Trainee Officer Training
MTO’s are hire only once in a year as they are selected for middle level executive posts, so their
training is quite complex as compared to other employees.
After the selection they have a Theoretical Training Session of 2-3 months followed by On the
Job Training (OJT). The theoretical training session is conducted by Training Centers, where
formal lectures and presentation techniques are adopted. Whereas OJT is conducted at the
relevant branch and department. MTO’s get the training in all the areas of banking i.e.
General Banking
Credit
Foreign Trade
General Banking:
Giving training to the employees about the general banking includes how to handle accounts
opening and closing, how to deal with the customers, cash handling, knowledge about the cheque
books, remittances and clearing.
Foreign Trade:
Training on foreign trade includes how the foreign currency related transactions are done
through the bank. And how it is facilitated.
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Credit:
Credit knowledge includes the training on the loan procedures its basis and factors which are
involved in lending a loan.
It’s a one year training which have 3 modules as named above. There is a one month class
training which are held three times in a year and there is also 3 months On the Job Training at
different branches as allotted to the MTO’s. During this training they are given different
assignments, presentations, and there is also a Mid and Final exam. During training sessions
Role Plays are also given to employees, which help them to develop themselves. And in the end
of this training a comprehensive Viva is also arranged to see that whether the MTO has the
sufficient knowledge of what has been taught throughout this training. Poor performance in
Viva will delay the promotion of that employee up to 6 months or it can be one year.
Personality and Employee Development:
Development of employees in Askari is done under following approaches;
A On Job Degrees and Certifications
At Askari every employee is given an opportunity to do extra degrees and certifications
in his field or where he / she have lacking skills.
E.g. MBA- Executive and others.
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Askari has also more than 50 refresher courses in different area of banking and management.
Employees are fully supported at Askari 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.
Courses are normally conducted at Five Star Hotels, which is a motivating factor for trainees.
Reward System
Askari bank has a reward system for the trainees who perform better during the training session,
which are in shape of;
Appreciation Letters.
Shields. Etc.
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CONCLUSION
The well planned and well designed training program of Askari bank is its strength. All
employees at Askari bank 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.
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