INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN RESOURCES AT ABI

Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.

Vince Lombardi

The ABI Financial Group endorses unreservedly the foregoing quotation.  For this reason, our recruitment and selection process seeks to identify individuals who can commit to the pursuit of our core values as well as the specific organizational goals and objectives.  Once such persons join the ABI Team, we dedicate our time and effort to retaining our team members by continuously striving to maintain and augment their initial commitment.

To learn more about the process for joining the ABI Team or the various initiatives that have been introduced to foster commitment, we invite you to explore our Career Page.

 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT

Succession Planning

The ABI Financial Group is committed not just to today’s success but to securing the future success of the organization, its staff and its customers.  For this ambition to become a reality, the organization must cultivate and maintain a cadre of leaders who are equipped to deliver optimal results in the short, medium and long-term.  This requires a significant investment in our human resources.

One of the principal investments in the current and future leaders of the ABI Financial Group is our Succession Planning Initiative.  Through this innovative programme which was launched in 2005, employees from all levels of the organization who have been identified as having leadership potential are enrolled in an intensive training programme consisting of monthly lectures and discussions as well as one-on-one coaching sessions for those participants who have attained or are projected to attain managerial status within two to three years.  In addition to the traditional management topics such as leadership, strategic management and human resource management, other areas of focus include network-building, mentoring, image management and project management.

Employees interested in enrolling in the Succession Planning Initiative have the opportunity to apply to the organization’s Education Committee through an annual competitive placement process.

Redefining the Way We Work

Over the past few years, a number of initiatives have characterized ABI’s thrust to realize optimal productivity by redefining the way we work: -

1.       The Training Officer designed a comprehensive orientation programme that served to introduce new recruits to the “ABI way”.  Topics covered include the Bank’s vision, mission and core values as well as standard operating procedures.  All new employees are required to complete this orientation programme.

2.       Emphasis has also been placed on existing employees as ABI launched its tuition reimbursement programme whereby employees who secured enrollment in tertiary education programmes with distinct value-adding potential were given the opportunity to apply to the organization’s Education Committee for this benefit.  In keeping with the organization’s commitment to excellence, staff are reimbursed based on their academic performance – i.e. 100% tuition refund  for an A; 75% refund for a B; 50% refund for a C. 

3.       Organizational Behaviour has shown that it is the behaviour that gets measured and rewarded that gets done.  This realization was at the root of ABI’s decision to design and implement a Balanced Scorecard.  Corporate goals have been cascaded down to the level of departmental – and ultimately – individual goals which form the basis of evaluating job performance.  This system enables each department to identify its specific contribution to the organization’s success.

Recognizing the veracity of Albert Einstein’s assertion that the significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we used when we created them, ABI decided to introduce a sales and service culture within the organization.  Drawing on the model developed by US-based Omega Performance Corporation, ABI has introduced a comprehensive sales and service delivery model which requires all employees to participate in such programmes as Developing Teller Excellence, Establishing Customer Relationships, Developing the Winning Sales Team, Leading the Winning Sales Team, and Consumer Lending.