OCBC Bank utilizes a proactive approach to talent management that has helped the company achieve a competitive advantage. The financial institution is considered one of the best banks of the world. Currently in Singapore one of every two businesses has a bank account with OCBC. The organization uses various development strategies that help increase the knowledge of the workers, while at the same time keeps the staff motivated. The bank gives the employees the chance to create their own career paths. They also structure a three-year development plan for each individual employee. Continuous training is provided to the workers through the OCBC Learning Academy. Learning is achieved using technologies such as virtual classrooms and e-learning tools. The utilization of job rotations allows workers to gain new skills on the job. Another positive attribute of job rotation is that it increases job satisfaction (Jusko, 2011). The upper management staff also takes time to mentor young employees.
The opportunities for growth and focus on human development that OCBC provides differ a lot from the way a past employer of mine managed its human resources. The company I worked for in the past provided very poor training to its employees and there was a lack of developmental opportunities. New employees received only three days of training. After that they were expected to start working with minimum supervision. The company did not help college students pay for their tuition, nor did they provide development opportunities in-house. In contrary to OCBC Bank the company did not believe in the use of job rotation. New skills and capabilities were never learned in the workplace since employees were given the same job tasks. New job vacancies were rarely ever filled in-house, instead the company preferred to recruit outsiders that sometimes were under-qualified in comparison with the candidates that applied from those positions from the firm. Three of the advantages of promoting your own employees for job vacancies are cost savings, flexibility, and higher production (Nye, 1989). The learning curve of an outside recruit would be much slower than giving the job to a person that already knows the corporate culture of the organization.
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OCBC has emerged as one of the most successful banks in the world due to the fact the company placed importance in developing its human capital. The human capital of an organization is its best asset. Unlike other banks, the employee turnover of OCBC is low because workers are motivated to achieve a higher level of performance by the managerial staff. Loyalty is rewarded by the company. The training the workers receive helps them immediately in their new roles as the bank is constantly rotating its staff. It is important to provide training at a more strategic level (Tonsing, 2011). Employees that demonstrate talent are given growth opportunities within the firm. The superior talent pool at the bank enables the organization to achieve greater customer service, marketing capability, and improved relations with investors and other stakeholder groups.
The approach to talent management and development of OCBC worked tremendously within the banking industry, but its strategy is not universal and may not work well in other industries. For instance, in the mining industry workers have low levels of education and are expected to work physically demanding jobs. These workers would benefit more from financial productivity incentives than from training and development as a motivating factor. A lot of corporate environments would benefit from using similar development practices as OCBC. OCBC Bank in 2017 continues to place immense importance in human development. Two changes in their practices is placing greater focus on work-life integration and improving their relationships with worker unions (“Sustainability”, 2017).
