Wooing the Women
Ina one-of-its kind initiative in the banking sector, ICICI Bank has allowed its women employees to work from home. Already, 200 women have enrolled under iWork@Home, for which the bank has provided an office-like environment, with access to an operating system with face recognition safety features. Another initiative, iTravelSafe, is aimed at making women feel safe. This application tracks the location of women employees (subject to their consent) while travelling to and from work. It offers speedy action in case of distress.
These initiatives, launched a year ago, are among the numerous employee-friendly steps the bank has taken in the recent past. In fact, this is one reason women representation at ICICI Bank is a healthy 30 per cent.
“We strongly believe in diversity of thought and freedom to express. We give a lot of respect to employees. We invest in them well ahead of time,” says Senior General Manager T.K. Srirang. In the overall ranking, the bank is among the top 10 Best Companies to Work For.
The bank has built a robust framework for training employees. ICICI Manipal Academy, for instance, trains 2,400 students every year. To help the students learn better, the bank has digitised the curriculum. “Classroom sessions have to be focused on discussion and engagement,” says Srirang. The bank has invested heavily in the faculty. Recently, it roped in Gautam Kaul of Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, for training the faculty. It also has a programme for placement of young faculty members at the bank.
The leadership process, says Srirang, starts from frontline sales officers. Every two years, the bank identifies 500 sales officers for training at ICICI Manipal Academy. These officers come back as frontline supervisors. The bank also runs a young leadership programme under which business school graduates who join as senior officers are sent for a one-year course at the NMIMS University. The bank also runs a leadership mentoring programme for middle-level officers. In the past, the bank has invited achievers such as economist Professor Dan Ariely, tennis player Martina Navratilova and astronaut Jim Lovell to talk about leadership. And the bank walks the talk.