No more also-rans: PSBs turn hiring magnets

Tired of the always-on corporate grind and its toll on the work-life balance, a new generation of youngsters is looking at India's public sector banks

Before the economy opened up, public sector bank (PSB) jobs, especially as probationary officers, were much sought after by educated youngsters. Then the allure seemed to vanish after multinationals and the homegrown information technology (IT) sector, not to mention a slew of new-age, tech savvy private sector banks, beckoned the best and the brightest with unheard of pay and perks.

But looks like things have come full circle. Perhaps fuelled by awareness about the tiresome, always-on corporate grind and its toll on the work-life balance, many are now looking at India’s public sector banks with fresh eyes. The benefits are many: decent pay, work-life balance, career growth prospects, job security, and even unheard of perks like subsidised housing in big cities.

And after a gap, the PSBs too seem to be enjoying the attention and recruiting in droves. Deccan Herald talked to cross-section of bankers and industry stakeholders to find a vibrant hiring environment, despite the many constraints straining the sector.

Vijaya Bank, which has the highest number of branches in Karnataka, has plans to hire 1,924 people across various cadres. “Out of the total, 1,200 will be officers, and the remaining will be clerical staff. We are also hiring specialists such as chartered accountants (CA) directly in scale two, besides specialists in IT, security, Hindi officers and law managers,” said Vijaya Bank Managing Director and CEO Kishore Kumar Sansi.

At present, a total of 13,364 employees work for Vijaya Bank. When asked about the bank’s strategy to attract good talent, Sansi told Deccan Herald that being a public sector bank, and the restrictions imposed by the Supreme Court, its hands are tied when it comes to attracting the best.

“We have to put our requirements to the Mumbai-based IBPS (Institute of Banking Personnel Selection), which is the centralised nodal agency for recruitment. Few years ago, we used to do campus recruitment from management institutes, but now the matter is subjudice, and we are not able to do campus recruitment. We have already requested the Ministry of Finance to hasten up the process,” he informed.

“IBPS conducts a written test and the interview process is also done by them. However, for the CAs, it was our own initiative. So we have invited applications directly and to that extent we had the leeway to attract the best talent. We are planning to hire 20 CAs in the managerial cadre,” Sansi said.

Recently, PeopleStrong co-founder and CEO Pankaj Bansal was quoted as saying that hiring in the banking sector is expected to grow by 25 per cent this year.

Public sector lender Syndicate Bank looks set to confirm this. It has plans to hire close to 5,000 this financial year.

“We have plans to train them in different segments, especially MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises). We also have large and mid-corporate segments,” the bank’s executive director R S Pandey said. What is challenging is mentoring new people, he said. Both the clerical and office staff will be hired in equal numbers at Syndicate Bank, which has 29,000 employees at present.

State Bank of Mysore (SBM) is another player in the field, with plans to hire 2,150 more in the current fiscal year. SBM will hire 725 clerical staff, 625 officers and 800 subordinate staff.
Bengaluru-based public sector lender Canara Bank will hire 2,000 officers and 2,500 clerks. As on March 31, 2015, Canara Bank had 53,900 employees and SBM had 10,193 employees.

Flexibility in posting

When it comes to posting, banks are quite flexible. “There is no such policy that restricts a new employee from being posted in his/her hometown. But we feel that in the first two years, if you can rotate the new recruit across different stations, and give them exposure, the person becomes more confident. Progression becomes stagnant if he/she is posted in his/her home town,” said Vijaya Bank’s Sansi, adding that the bank provides HRA to those who are posted in different cities.

When asked about the pay package being offered by SBM, Managing Director Sharad Sharma described it as attractive with certain fringe benefits. “An employee joining as an officer may get promoted to top executive position within a span of 18-19 years in his/her career. Some of the officers are given an opportunity to work in offices abroad in key areas,” he said.

At present, banks are seeing interest from engineers, MBAs and MTech graduates for probationary officer (PO) jobs. “I see engineers getting inducted in the clerical cadre. We really feel happy to groom them, and they become a good asset to the bank,” said Sansi. 

“They feel their future will be bright in the banking profession. The turnaround in our profession is interesting. There are lots of movements from other sectors,” he added, and said at the officer level, they will get HRA.

“In Mumbai, they get a flat which would otherwise come at a huge cost. We have announced an average wage hike of 15 per cent. Moreover, DA (dearness allowance) keeps improving every quarter, depending on the inflation,” he said.

According to Canara Bank Officers Association General Secretary G V Manimaran, “Banking jobs are safe and the attrition rate is just 15 per cent.” A senior official from Syndicate Bank informed that around five to 10 per cent from IT sector join banks. “Though the salary is not as high as in IT, job security and ample scope for growth attracts them,” the official said.

(With inputs from Uma Kannan)



“I see engineers getting inducted in the clerical cadre. We really feel happy to groom them, and they become a good asset to the bank.”
Kishore
Kumar Sansi
Vijaya Bank MD and CEO


“An employee joining as an officer may get promoted to top executive position within a span of 18-19 years. Some officers are given an opportunity to work in offices abroad in key areas.”
Sharad Sharma
SBM Managing Director


“We have plans to train them in different segments, especially MSMEs (micro, small & medium enterprises). We also have large and mid-corporate segments.”
R S Pandey
Syndicate Bank
Executive Director


Look who’s hiring

Vijaya Bank: 1,924 this year, of which 1,200 will be officers
Syndicate Bank: 5,000 more this year
State Bank of Mysore: 2,150 more this year, of which 625 will be
officers
Canara Bank: To hire 4,500 this year, of which 2,000 will be officers
And many, many more…


The lure of the five-day workweek

Uma Kannan

The five-day workweek could be another draw for youngsters looking at public sector banks for jobs. Just a few days ago, a deal was finalised between the public sector bank (PSB) employees and officers with the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), according to which, PSBs will remain shut on all second and fourth Saturdays. IBA has now initiated steps to get clearances from the Reserve Bank of India and the Government of India. Once finalised, all branches of public sector banks will remain shut on the second and fourth Saturdays from July 2015.

PeopleStrong Co-Founder and Business Head Kiran Kumar says the five-day week will attract potential recruits to an extent. “Banking jobs are always lucrative, and with this one, employees get a work-life balance. It’s definitely a big relief for employees, and also PSBs need to bring in fresh blood,” he said.

General Secretary of All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) C H Venkatachalam said, “Due to the increasing workload and stress faced by the bank staff, and the need to work beyond normal working hours in many branches, there has been a demand for a five-day week. In this settlement, it has been agreed that second and fourth Saturdays will be full holidays and remaining Saturdays will be full working days. This has been received well by the employees.” He added that this would attract new recruits too.

However, HiRePro CEO Rishi Das and Hem Securities’ Equity Research Analyst Vineeta Mahnot feel that there will not be much impact on banks. “On the one hand, public dealings, transaction processing, among others will be enhanced on full-working Saturdays, i.e the first and the third, and on the other hand, it will be halted on the Saturday holidays.

There may be some relief for employees on alternate Saturdays, thereby increasing their efficiency. Further, public sector undertakings have been the all-time favourite workplaces for the Indian citizen so far. People prefer to work with public sector undertakings since they feel assured of permanent and riskless job, keeping full faith in the government,” Vineeta said.

Rishi Das chipped in, “Many engineering and MBA graduates sit for PO exams. Public sector, including banks, pay well at the entry-level. The growth prospects and stability in the banking sector attract them.”