Inrtoduction – The success of a dynamic banking institution depends largely on the quality of services rendered to the clients. The quality of banking service depends on the quality and accomplishment of Human Resources Division of the bank and also on the quality of its staffs. Success in the banking sector requires efficient and maximum possible service out of the employees if the bank. A bank for proper functioning needs to identify the current and future human resource need through the manpower planning. The recruiting authority of any bank should be careful in selecting the right person for the right kind of position.

 Recruitment procedure follows evolving an appropriate manpower planning approach in a particular period of time in determining the movement of an organization from a particular position to the desired position ensuring the right number and the right kind of people at the right time. While doing the manpower planning to work out the optimum requirement of manpower, Southeast Bank’s growth objective as well as expansion plans are taken into account.

 1.2 OBJECTIVE

The main objective of this project is to analyze the recruitment procedure of Southeast Bank Limited on the basis of its existing Recruitment Policy of the Bank in order to show how a private commercial bank recruits its employees for different positions. The objective of this project is also to find the effectiveness of the recruitment procedure of the bank.

 1.3 METHODOLOGY

Both primary and secondary sources of data were used towards the completion of this project. The main primary source of data was the interview with the top-level management of the bank who are in charge of the Human Resources Division. Some lower level officers and staffs of the department were also interviewed regarding some vital information.

But secondary data were more important and useful while doing this project. The secondary sources of data that were used are the Employees Service Rules of the bank, manpower planning procedure and other documents related to human resources division. Books, magazines, articles and etc. were also used.

 1.4 SCOPE

 The scope of this project is only to determine the recruitment procedure of Southeast Bank Limited. The recruitment procedure in this project covers recruitment only for the banking staff.

 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE

 By doing this project, it will help to understand how a private commercial bank recruits employees according to its needs and what the policies for recruiting. This project will also help to know the work of the Human Resources Division in a more vivid manner.

The company will be able to know what the drawbacks and lacking that they have in their current recruitment policy and procedure and what are the ways by which they can adopt in order to improve their recruitment process which will enable them to select the best human resources for the Bank.

1.6 LIMITATIONS

 i.            Human Resources Division is a vast area and in order to gain knowledge regarding this department the time allocated in the internship is not enough.

 ii.            In was not possible to concentrate only on the project part during the internship program because other duties and responsibilities should also have to be done.

iii.            All the data are not available while doing this project. The bank, like any other organization has some confidential information regarding their strategies and policies that are not disclosed to everyone.

THE HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT OF SOUTHEAST BANK LIMITED

The Human Resources Division is one of the most important parts of any organization. This is the department that deals with the whole manpower planning of the organization and without proper manpower planning an organization will not able to work in a smooth manner. So, it is very important for any kind of organization to have a good solid Human Resources Division.

The formal Human Resources Department (HRD) of Southeast Bank Limited helps to introduce fair and consistent Human Resources Management (HRM) policies and practices throughout the organization to deal with its present and potential workforce. This department is one to the most important and busy department of SBL. This division plays a vital role in the staffing part of the management strategies of the Bank as well as complying with all the aspects of HRM.

The division is headed by a Vice President and sub-headed by an Assistant Vice President. Altogether approximately 22 employees works under the supervision of the two heads of the department. These employees have a very friendly relationship between them and work hard towards the betterment of the Bank. Most of the employees are very much suitable for the kind of job they are performing in this department which helps the Bank to be more efficient.

The functions of this department are described as follows:

Recruitment, Selection and Placement: The major function of HRD in every organization is to recruit and select personnel according to the needs of the company. In the same manner, the major function of this department is recruitment and selection of manpower. This is done according to the rules and regulations of the Bank. This function is the post-recruitment procedure of the Bank. After every employee is recruited, he/she joins the HRD of the Bank from where they are transferred or placed to the required or vacant position where they are needed.

Training and Development: The Bank gives utmost importance in training to build up quality manpower at each and every level. It regularly organizes various training courses at different training institutions. Among these institutions, Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) is one of the most important institute where most of the employees of the Bank are send to get training on different banking issues and topics. The employees who are send to these institutes are basically the fresh and lower level employees of the Bank to get he basic knowledge about general banking functions.

Under the Executive Development Program (EDP) of the Bank, mid and upper level employees of the Bank are selected to take part in International Training Programs, Seminars, Workshops etc. organized by different well known financial institutions and others. These Executives of the bank are send to different parts of the world like USA, England, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India and other countries.

Manpower Planning: This is one of the most important and major work of the Human Resource Department. The whole efficiency and proper distribution of human resource to each and every department of an organization is carried out by this division. So it is very important that the manpower planning of any organization is up to the standard. This department plans, distributes, organizes all the activities related to manpower of the Bank. One of the most important job of this department is to forecast the need for manpower for the coming year and update the need of manpower position of the Bank all the time.

Performance Appraisal: Another important activity of the HRD is appraising performance including setting out standards, assessing the employees’ actual performance relative to the standard and providing feedback to the employees with the aim of motivating them to eliminate the problems that they have and to perform better in the future.

Employees benefits and facilities: Different kinds of benefits and facilities for the employees of the Bank are maintained by the HRD as per the written rules and regulations of the Bank. Some of the benefits that are given to the employees are

  Bonus

  Provident Fund

  Gratuity

  Maternity Benefits

  Medical Facilities

  Loan Facilities

  Superannuation Fund

  Lave Fare Concession

  Leave Encashment Benefits

Records of Employees: The record of each and every employees of the bank are kept and updated by this department. This is because this department looks after the manpower of the bank and deals with the promotion and that is why it is necessary to keep all the record of the employees from joining the bank till retirement or resignation.

Approval/Processing of Leave: The processing and approval of all kinds of leave of each and every employee of the Bank is done through this department and all the leave record of the employees are also kept by the HRD.

Advertisement and Press Release: This division also manages the different press releases, promotional activities, business activities, donations and etc of the Bank.

Disciplinary Actions: By this it means that the HRD has to look after all the matters that are related to the discipline of the Bank. Like it has to take actions regarding illegal absence, bad behavior, illegal works and etc. It is the work of the HRD to take the necessary steps and decisions regarding those illegal issues that take place from time to time.

Reporting to the Board: The HRD also prepares the Board Memo and reports to the Board regarding related matters.

Maintenance of Service Rules: The division maintains and ensures the proper utilization of the Employees Service Rules.

ORGANOGRAM OF THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT

RECRUITMENT POLICY OF SOUTHEAST BANK LIMITED

Recruitment Procedure

1. All appointments to the service of the Bank shall be made by direct recruitment as per recruitment policy / criteria or by promotion as may be approved by the Bank Management / Board of Directors from time to time.
2. Recruitment procedure follows evolving an appropriate manpower planning approach in a particular period / year in determining the movement of the Bank from a particular position to the desired position ensuring the right number and right kind of people at the right time.

Qualification for Appointment

No person shall be appointed in the service of the Bank:

(1)               If the applicant is not a citizen of Bangladesh provided that this may not apply in the cases of employees engaged abroad or in the cases where the Board has allowed specific exception.

(2)               Unless a qualified medical practitioner (approved by the Bank) has certified the applicant, to be mentally and physically fit for service.

(3)               If the applicant has been dismissed removed, or services have been terminated for reasons reflecting his or her non-integrity, dishonesty or immorality.

(4)               The age limit of the applicant should be within the range of 18 to 30 years. Candidates age limit may be relaxed at the discretion of the management / Board.

Recruitment criteria /policy for fresh entrants:

Criteria for appointment of all categories of employees shall be determined by the Bank Management / Board of Directors from time to time.

The Bank shall give priority consideration for recruitment of fresh graduates ready to accept challenges of banking career.

Marks distribution:

The distribution of marks to be followed by competent authority or selection committee is as follows:

1)                  Education                                            24 Marks

2)                  Interview Performance                       36 Marks

3)                  Written Test                                        40 Marks

Total               100 Marks

(a) Education

The distribution of the educational achievements on the point basis is as follows:

(CGPA 3.00 or above)33

(CGPA 3.00 or above)2^nd2222

(CGPA 2.75 or above)22

(CGPA 2.75 or above)3^rd1111

(CGPA 2.50 or above)11

(CGPA 2.50 or above)

(b) Written Test

According to the Grading/marking policy, each candidate has to appear for a written test.

The subject matter of the test will be General Aptitude based along with General Knowledge, Arithmetic and English.

Code numbers will be used to “ensure secrecy” and to avoid “undue persuasion”.

Candidates securing 60% marks in written test will qualify.

(c) Interview Performance

Following will be the breakdown of marking interview:

1)                  Appearance & Personality                              7

2)                  Knowledge in Related Field/Subject              8

3)                  General Knowledge                                        7

4)                  Analytical Ability                                           7

5)                  Communication Skill                                   ——-

                                                            Total               36

——-

Required Educational Qualification for Different Posts:

(1)               For any direct recruitment in the operational cadre as in case of experienced ones, minimum educational qualification requirement is graduation.

(2)               For any direct recruit as in case of fresh candidates minimum educational qualification requirement (if not otherwise stated) is as under:

Post:

(a)    Management Trainee:

1)      The applicant should have BBA/MBA degree from a reputed educational institution with a minimum of 9 points for BBA and 11 points for MBA throughout the academic qualification with no 3^rd (third) Division/Class in his/her academic record.

2)      Minimum CGPA 3.00 or above from IBA/NSU/ or any other reputed/recognized/local/foreign University as may be deemed fit by the Bank Management / Board from time to time.

(b)    Probationary Officer:

1)      The applicant should be at least a Master Degree holder in Commerce, Economics, Statistics, Mathematics, Physics or English from a recognized educational institution with minimum 10 points. No 3^rd (third) Division/Class shall be accepted.

(c) Trainee Asst. Officer (General)

1)      The applicant should have Master Degree from a recognized educational institution.

2)      Minimum 8 (eight) points are required.

(d) Trainee Asst. Officer (System)

1)      The applicant should have a Master Degree from a recognized educational institution.

2)      Minimum 8 (eight) points are required.

3)      The candidate should have sound knowledge in computer.

(e) Computer Trainee

1)      Graduation with Minimum 6 (six) points

2)      The candidate should have Computer Knowledge in PC operation

(f) Cashier Trainee

1)      Graduation with minimum 6 (six) points

(g) Messenger

Minimum S.S.C.

Recruitment Criteria For Experienced Bankers (Lateral Entrants):

As per recruitment policy of the Bank, experienced Executives/Officers may be appointed from time to time, after proper scrutinization of the application received from the eligible candidates. The Management/Board of Directors may directly interview them.

Chapter-16 THE SELECTION PROCESS

A general flow chart of the selection is shown below:

ADVERTISEMENT AND APPLICATION COLLECTION

SORTING OUT APPLICATIONS

PREPARING PRELIMINARY LIST AND ISSUING INTERVIEW CARD

ANNOUNCEMENT OF WRITTEN TEST

COMMENCEMENT OF WRITTEN TEST

LISTING OF APPLICANTS ALLOWED FOR INTERVIEW

TAKING INTERVIEW

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION

PREPARING DESIRABLE CANDIDATES’ LIST

FINAL APPROACH BY THE MANAGEMENT

APPOINTMENT AND PLACEMENT

The steps in the selection process that are followed are discussed in brief :

Advertisement and Application Collection: The bank usually advertise in the daily newspapers for the purpose of external recruitment and also collects CV that are dropped by different individuals regarding job in the Bank.

Sorting out of Application: Applications that are collected are sorted according to the recruitment criteria and the others are rejected that doesn’t fulfill the required criteria.

Preparation of Preliminary List and Issuing Interview Cards: After all the applications are sorted out, the information regarding each and every applicant is inserted in the computer and a database a made combining the entire potential candidates.

When all the information is properly inserted, interview card is issued for every interview in order to call the applicant for the written test.

Announcement of Written Test: The applicants who are sorted out and listed, the interview card are send to those candidates and are informed to sit for a written test.

Commencement of Written Test: The candidates have to appear for a 40 marks written test based on Genera Aptitude along with General knowledge, Mathematics and English. The candidates securing 60% mark in this written test will qualify for the interview. A list of all the candidates will be made who qualified for the interview. In the case of recruitment of experienced bankers, the Management will directly interview them. They don’t have to sit for any written test.

Interview: The candidates who qualified in the written test are the one’s who sit for the interview. The interview consists of 36 marks. These 36 marks are distributed in 5 parts, 7 marks for Appearance and Personality, 8 for Knowledge and Related Field/Subject, 7 for General Knowledge, 7 to test the Analytical skill of the candidates and 7 for communication skills which is very important for any kind of job and for the proper flow of information.

Background Investigation: The candidates who showed satisfactory performance in the interview are again sorted out and then their backgrounds are investigated by contacting their former employer, referees, verifying their educational background shown on their application and etc.

Preparation of Desirable Candidates List: After the backgrounds of the candidates are thoroughly investigated, the most suitable and desirable candidates are selected for the required posts.

Final Approach by the Management: After the list is prepared, a further formality is required. The Management finally approves the list in order to recruit the candidates for the required posts.

Appointment and Placement: This is the final step in the selection process. The successful candidates in the preceding steps are finally offered for appointment. They are formally offered by an appointment letter for the particular post where all the details regarding payment and other things are mentioned. After the candidate accepts the appointment letter, he/she is finally placed in the vacant position of different department or posted to the branches where the recruited person finally starts his/her official duties.

ACTUAL RECRUITMENT POLICY IN PRACTICE

It is very hard to find an organization that follows the exact procedure that is written in the policy. In the same manner, SBL doesn’t follow the exact procedure that is written in the policy guide. The actual recruitment procedure is somewhat different from the written one.

The actual situation of the recruitment is shown in this section.

Determining the need for recruitment: Different division and branches of the Bank determine the requirement of manpower at the beginning of each year by Manpower Planning Process. The required number of employees depends on workload, on the volume of deposits and the volume of business.

 At the beginning of each year, all the divisions and branches of the Bank are asked by the Human Resources Division to provide with a chart that will show the existing situation of the workforce and the required workforce for the particular division and the branches.

An example of a manpower planning chart for the year 2003 of Gulshan Branch is shown below:

SOUTHEAST BANK LIMITED

GULSHAN BRANCH

MANPOWER PLANNING, 2003

DATE: 30-07-2003

On the basis of the above planning, required employees would be supplied either by lateral recruitment or by external recruitment. It may also happen that some employees who are access in other branches may also be transferred to the branch where they are needed.

17.2 Vacancy Factors:

For different levels, different number of posts has to be vacant before the bank Management proceeds for recruitment. For the higher level in the hierarchy, the Bank recruits personnel if 1 or 2 posts are vacant. As the level goes down, the number of vacant posts on the basis of which recruitment is made usually increases. The number, however, is not fixed and changes from time to time.

For example, if the posts of MD, DMD, SEVP, EVP or VP are vacant, persons are recruited in each post only for one vacancy. These posts are mainly filled by promotion from within and if necessary by lateral recruitment.

For the posts of SPO, PO, EO and etc. more than 5 posts have to be vacant before the Bank goes for recruiting new people. These posts are mainly filled by the combination of internal and external recruitment.

For the entry-level posts such as Management Trainee or Trainee Assistant Officer and etc. the Bank goes for recruitment if more then 10 posts are vacant. These posts are filled by external recruitment.

Determining the Source of Recruitment:

The Bank for the purpose of recruitment uses different sources. The source varies for recruiting personnel for different level/posts. Advertisement is generally used for recruiting people for all levels while head hunting is used only to recruit upper level experienced bankers. The sources used by the bank for the purpose of external recruitment are given below:

Advertisement: The use of this source of recruitment is very limited. Advertisement is generally used to recruit min or entry-level fresh entrants and when there is a need for quiet a few numbers of people. But announcement of recruitment for any level/post may be made through advertisement but that depends totally on the decision of the Management. As in advertisement, it is always not possible to give all the details about the particulars that are required for the post, the Management does not encourage it.

Pending CV: This source is the most common course of recruitment especially for the lower level fresh entrants. CVs are collected or it comes to the HRD throughout the year without any announcement as it is a common way for people to get a job in any organization. People who seem to be eligible are called for written test and may be interviewed when there is a need for manpower.

Interns: Interns of the bank are also a source of recruitment. But this type of recruitment is very rare and it only happens when there is an immediate need for people and if the intern is very much efficient and skillful and has prior job experience.

Walk-in Interview: For recruiting upper level and mid level experienced bankers the Bank announces to attend walk-in interviews. It is usually done when there is an immediate need of people and it also takes a very short time. Recently SBL has introduced Islami banking and most of the people who are appointed for these Islami banking branches have been recruited through walk-in interviews.

Head Hunting: Upper level experienced bankers are usually recruited by this source. Bankers from other banks are offered attractive posts with attractive compensation packages because it is very hard to attract experienced bankers from other banks if proper post and good compensation package is not offered.

Recommendations/References: Lower level and mid level fresh entrants are recruited mainly through this source. It is one of the most common and highly used sources in recruiting people for different posts. CVs that are pending and have recommendation are also given more preference than others. Bottom level employees like messengers and Guards are mainly recruited by the help of this source.

Contract and Temporary Basis Recruitment: To accomplish a particular kind of job for a particular period in the Head Office, persons are usually appointed on contract or temporary basis. Such kind of jobs includes Board Auditor, Board Secretary, Engineer, personnel for IT department and etc.

RECRUITMENT IN THE YEAR 2003

This section is covered in order to give the reader a vivid and practical idea of how the Bank actually recruits people for the different levels/posts. Only the banking staffs are taken under consideration, recruitment of the casual staff of the bank is ignored. Recruitment that has taken place till July 31, 2003 is covered in this part.

Recruitment Purpose

Southeast Bank Limited is one of the most reputed local banks in Bangladesh that is serving the people in a very efficient and quality manner. In order to do better and serve the people in a better way, it has to diversify its business throughout the country and introduce more and more new products and services. Therefore it must expand its branches to the main and important cities of Bangladesh where it could do business more and earn a greater profit. It already introduced Islami Banking to two cities in Bangladesh according to the needs of the people.

It has been found out that there is a shortage of manpower in every level/post of the Bank and thus the bank is facing problems in performing its operations in a fluent and efficient manner. So there is need for people in order to compensate the shortage and smooth functioning of the Bank.

As the branches are expanding, business is also increasing day by day and the need for manpower is also increasing simultaneously. In this year some new branches have been opened and more branches are supposed to be opened shortly due to the expansion of business and need of the people. As a result the bank is recruiting quiet a few numbers people in order to balance the need of manpower in those new branches that have already opened and will be opened shortly.

Number of Employees Recruited

 A total of approximately 61 people have been recruited till July 31,2003 in different level/posts. The designation and the corresponding number in those posted are shown below in the table:

Other than this Southeast Bank Limited is going to recruit another 70 people for the post of Management Trainee (MT) and Probationary Officer. Among there 70 people, 30 will be MT and the rest 40 in the post of Probationary Officer. This is the third time that the Bank is going to recruit externally fresh graduates in such a big number by giving advertisement in the paper. They are recruiting these fresh graduates especially to fill the gap that they have and in order to supply manpower to their newly opened branches and the one’s that are going to be opened soon.

Sources of Recruitment

The recruitment that have taken place till July 2003, have been done using different kind of sources. The recruitment of the of the Executive Vice President, Assistant Vice President, Principal Officer and Executive Officer all were done by head hunting. They were recruited from other well-known banks working as experienced bankers.

The Senior Principal Officer was a case of internal recruitment which means that he was recruited from within the bank. He was working as Principal Officer and then he was promoted to the post of Senior Principal Officer.

All the 3 Probationary Officers were recruited by recommendation.

The Officers and the Junior Officers were also recruited as a process of head hunting and they were mainly recruited from well-known Islami banks that are operating in this country and the reason for their recruitment is the introduction of Islami banking branch of Southeast Bank Limited.

Among the Assistant Officers and the Trainee Assistant Officers, 10 were recruited by recommendation and the rest 6 were recruited from pending CVs.

All the Messengers were recruited by references by other staffs of the bank who are relative of those staffs.

5 guards were recruited by walk-in interview, 3 from pending CVs and the rest 2 by references

The 70 fresh graduates that are going to be recruited soon are done by advertisement. 

It has been found that approximately 44% of the recruitment in 2003 had been dome by head hunting. This happened because most of the posts were of higher level and they were all experienced bankers.

Approximately 32% of the recruitment was done using references and most of the people that were recruited were of lower level except the post of Probationary Officer. It has been found out that every year the maximum numbers of people that are recruited are by recommendation and not only lower level employees are recruited but mid level employees are also recruited by this source.

15% of the people were recruited by using the pending CVs dropped by job seeker for various kinds of posts. On average every year quiet a number of people are recruited by this source. By using this source, the Bank can select the best CV and recruit the best person for a particular post.

Around 8% of the people were recruited by Walk-in Interview and all of them were Bank Guard recruited mainly for the new branches that are opened in 2003.

Only 1% of the people were recruited by using Internal source that is from within the Bank.

DRAWBACKS IN THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS

While working in the Human Resources Department of Southeast Bank Limited and doing this report, some of the drawback that were discovered are given below:

• Not enough manpower in the HRD and as a result 1 employee have to deal with many works at the same time which ultimately reduces efficiency.
• 1 work is done again and again and as a result the processing time of a simple work takes a lot of time.
• Work is not properly distributed among the employees this means that one work is done by many people.
• Power of delegation is not appropriate. It has been found out that 1 person is doing a lot of work while another person is sitting idle which is hampering the effectiveness of work.
• One of the most important problems in the HRD is that they don’t have enough resources like computers, printers, photocopy machines and other related things that are needed for routine work which are important for smooth functioning of the department.
• Unable to use the right type of software in keeping the records of the employees and other related records of the Bank.
• Pressure of work from other department is often given to the HRD and this ultimately hampers the routine work of HRD.
• Lack of proper utilization of the written policy.
• Not all the policies for recruitment are suitable for everyone that is the policy is not open for all and as a result, many people may not be taken into consideration due to the policy.
• Increasing dependence on references in recruitment can create bias in the selection process and ultimately end up with recruiting the wrong person.
• Lack of trained recruiters is one of the problem for which testing of an applicant during the selection process remains incomplete.
• The Human resources Division does not get the full power or responsibility in recruitment for which the process cannot be done in a systematic manner.
• Inefficiency in the Top-Level management is one of the major problems in the HRD for which the efficiency of the division is suffering seriously.

 RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

Every organization do faces a lot of problems and they must find the right way to deal with those problems. The faster they will be able to solve those problems the better it is for the organization.

The problems that Southeast Bank Limited is facing will not be solved or removed in a short time. It must be solved in a proper and systematic manner in the future course of time. The things that they must do are given below:

q  Every department should do its own job by utilizing its resources in the right manner and should not depend on other department.

q  The work should be properly distributed by the top management who is in charge on the department and should be monitored on a regular basis to see the progress on a particular assignment.

q  The recruitment policy should be revised and formed considering everyone, which will help to allow people to get chance to apply for job who were regretted before.

q  The Management should be strict in following the right policies that are written and if it is done properly than effective result will definitely evolve out of this.

q  The IT department should play a string part in improving and upgrading the computer system of the organization and should assist all the department as well as the HRD in building the correct software to keep the records.

q  More emphasis should be given on the quality of the candidate rather than depending on the references and recommendations.

q  Regular and proper job analysis is a must in order to determine who is appropriate for what purpose and in which place.

q  The recruiter should be experienced and qualified in order to ensure good recruitment.

q  The source from where recruitment is done should be properly selected based on the need of the organization. The right source should be used on the right time in order to ensure good and effective recruitment.

q  Responsibility of the Human Resource Division should be increased in order to reduce recruitment cost, biases and to bring efficiency and effectiveness in the recruitment process.

Right after establishing an organization’s strategic direction and developing an employment plan, it has to turn its attention or has to focus on getting the right kind of people in order to carry on the operations of the organization. Proper recruitment has always been the most important element of success of any organization. If the proper people are selected for the right post, it enhances the ability of the organization to do better in the industry. The process must be given priority and existing staff strength must always be upgraded by making ongoing effort to find the best personnel.

Southeast bank Limited with its current staff structure is doing quiet well but if it does restructure its staff strength then it will face more problems in the future. To be more effective in this sector, the Bank must first determine the optimum number of employees that is needed for the Bank for smooth functioning. It must also choose the correct sources of recruitment. Proper utilization of the Human Resources will ensure long-term stability and better performance of the Bank.