Table of Contents

1 Introduction..............................................................................3
1.1 Purpose of the Study.............................................................3
1.2 Objective.............................................................................3
1.3 Scope..................................................................................4
1.4 Methodology of the Study.......................................................4
1.5 Limitation.............................................................................4
2 Overview and History..................................................................5
2.1 Company Image and Brand Identity.........................................5
2.2 Business Presence.................................................................6
2.3 History of Standard Chartered Bank.........................................7
2.4 History of Standard Bank........................................................7
2.5 History of Chartered Bank.......................................................7
2.6 Standard Chartered Bank: The Merger......................................7
2.7 Standard Chartered in Bangladesh...........................................8
2.8 Acquisition of Grindlays..........................................................8
2.9 Present Status......................................................................9
3 Organization Structure..............................................................10
3.1 Group Structure..................................................................10
3.2 SCB Bangladesh Departments and Units.................................10
3.3 Chain Of Command..............................................................11
4 Strategic Human Resource Management......................................12
4.1 Previous Scenario................................................................12
4.2 Present scenario..................................................................12
4.3 Manpower Planning Procedures..............................................13
4.4 Job Analysis........................................................................13
5 Peoplewise: The Human Resource Inventory System (HRIS)...........14
5.1 What is Peoplewise?.............................................................14
5.2 What are the key changes taking place?..................................17
5.3 How will it be working differently?..........................................17
5.4 What is the new role for the HR organization?..........................18
5.5 What's in it for employees and the Bank?................................18
5.6 What happens if one does not use Peoplewise?........................19
5.7 HR Shared Service Center (HRSSC)........................................20
6 Recruitment and Selection.........................................................21
6.1 Types of Recruitments..........................................................21
6.2 International Recruitments....................................................21
6.3 Local Recruitments..............................................................22
6.4 Methods of Local Recruitments..............................................22
6.5 Selection Process.................................................................23
7 Training and Development.........................................................26
7.1 Identifying Training Need......................................................26
7.2 Types of Training.................................................................26
7.3 Career Development programs..............................................27
7.4 Research............................................................................28

1
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8 Performance Appraisal, Reward and Compensation........................29

8.1 Performance Evaluation Process.............................................29
8.2 The Rating Method...............................................................30
8.3 Reward and Promotion Policy.................................................31
8.4 Consequence of Poor Performance.........................................31
8.5 Evaluation of the Reporting Boss and Job Environment..............32
8.6 Compensation, Benefits and Services......................................32
9 Disciplinary Procedures..............................................................34
9.1 Scope of Disciplinary Policy...................................................34
9.2 Policy Statement.................................................................34
9.3 Investigation.......................................................................35
9.4 Right to be Accompanied......................................................35
9.5 Convening a Disciplinary Hearing...........................................35
9.6 Procedure at the Disciplinary Hearing.....................................36
9.7 Disciplinary Sanctions...........................................................36
9.8 Gross Misconduct.................................................................37
9.9 Confirmation of Disciplinary Decision......................................38
9.10 Appeals...........................................................................39
9.11 Conduct & Performance Issues - Impact on Salary.................40
10 Grievance Handling Procedure..................................................41
10.1 Scope..............................................................................41
10.2 Policy Statement...............................................................41
10.3 Stage I: Resolution of Grievance.........................................41
10.4 Stage II: Appeal...............................................................46
10.5 Stage III: Final Appeal.......................................................48
10.6 Record of Grievance..........................................................48
10.7 Collective Grievances.........................................................48
11 Ending Summary...................................................................49
 3

1 Introduction

An organization requires many things in order to be effective; i.e. a

method for producing a product or service, financial resources, a way of
marketing whatever product or service is created and human resources.
While all of these are important to organizational effectiveness, the only
factor that represents a potential competitive advantage is human
resources and how theses resources are managed. The production
technology, financing and marketing techniques can all be copied easily.
The basics of managing people can also be copied, but the most effective
organizations find unique ways to attract retain and motivate employees.

That is why; Strategic Human Resource Management is one of the most

important elements of People or Human Resource Management. It is the
process by which organizations anticipate future staffing need and plan to
ensure that the correct number and type of employees are available when
they are needed. HRP is concerned with the flow of people into, through
and out of an organization.

Standard Chartered Bank is one of the pioneer organizations in

Bangladesh that maintains a comprehensive HRP system. With a presence
of more than 50 years in this country, this company has set a certain
standard of how make the optimum and efficient use of the existing HR.

1.1 Purpose of the Study

This report has been prepared in response to the task assigned by Prof.
Dr.Bronwyn Betts, Course Instructor of MBA-MOD001230 International
Business course. For fulfilling the requirement above mentioned topic was
chosen.

1.2 Objective

The objective of the study is two fold. One is the fulfillment of the Course
requirement. The other is to gain a practical and thorough understanding
of Strategic Human Resource Management through practical analysis and
examination of an existing HRP system.
 4

1.3 Scope

The study mainly focuses on:

The organizational structure of SCB.

The concept of Strategic Human Resource Management.
Importance and use of Human Resource Inventory System (HRIS) in
HRP.
Acquisition of Human Resource by the Bank.
Training and development of HR.
Performance evaluation and related reward system.
Existing Disciplinary and Grievance procedure.

1.4 Methodology of the Study

The information of the study is a combination of primary and secondary

sources. The HR Department employees and some general employees
were interviewed and for secondary sources, company website, some
manuals and regulation handouts of SCB were consulted.

The report followed a logical and sequential approach. The second and
third parts mainly focus on the history and organizational structure of the
bank. The fourth and fifth part explains the HRP procedure and the use of
an HRIS in SCB. In the next part, the acquisition of personnel is discussed
by going through recruiting and selection procedure. Part seven focuses
on training and development and in part eight the performance appraisal
procedure and its relation with the different rewards is explained. Next
two parts talks about the disciplinary and grievance procedures. Lastly,
the report discusses some very important findings and how other business
may be benefited from such practices.

1.5 Limitation

As a bank, in many occasions, SCB authority was reluctant to share their

resources with us. For example the authority was unable to divulge the
details of performance appraisal and the compensation policy of the bank.
 5

2 Overview and History

The Standard Chartered Bank PLC is an international banking group that

is incorporated in the United Kingdom, with its headquarters in London.
The group focuses its activities in Asia, Africa and the Middle East and its
operation is segmented under six regions1:

UK & US
Middle East and South Asia (MESA)
South East Asia
North East Asia
India and
Africa.

Globally, the key resources of SCB include:

A network of over 600 offices in 48 countries.

A staff of about 25,000 people managing assets of around 47 billion
pounds.
Standard Chartered Bank's international businesses in Personal
Banking, Corporate Banking and Standard Chartered Markets are its
special strengths.
Standard Chartered Bank also maintains correspondent relationship
with over 600 banks in 157 countries around the world.

2.1 Company Image and Brand Identity

Standard Chartered Bank is a solid, forward looking and modern bank

with a long record of sound performance. It is discarding its erstwhile
conservative mould and in response to the current dynamic trends in
worldwide financial activities, adopting an aggressive customer focused
banking system. The effort that Standard Chartered Bank makes in order
to portray the Bank as a brand image is very strong and successful. The
bank strives to portray its five core values in its brand image:

Trustworthy
Responsive
International
Courageous
Creative

1
www.standardchartered.com
 6

And the Management of SCB believes that it is the strict adherence to

these core values that make the Organization as one o the most
prestigious bank in the world that its rivals want to emulate.

The bank redesigned its 150-year-old logo in 2003 by bringing in colors of

green and blue. The logo shows the letters S in blue and C in green,
twisted and curled with one another.

The logo of the bank depicts the merger of two banks.

2.2 Business Presence

With its bold slogan Leading the way in Asia, Africa and the Middle
East, Standard Chartered focuses its business activities in the above
three regions. Standard Chartered operates in almost all East Asian and
Asia Pacific markets with the exception of North Korea. Some 60 per cent
of the Group's profits come from the Asia Pacific region.

Hong Kong continues to be of major importance to the Group and

contributes 30 per cent of total profit. With around 80 branches in Hong
Kong, SCB recently registered in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to build
a strong representation in China. Standard Chartered - a note issuing
bank in Hong Kong - is well placed to continue playing an important part
in Greater China's development.

Singapore also contributes a good chunk of profit for the bank, with the
bank holding about 25 branches and its regional center. The recent
acquisition of Paramatta bank in Indonesia shows SCBs intentions to grow
in these markets.

In Middle East and South Asia (MESA), the main profit contributor is UAE.
SCB Bangladesh is managed under MESA region and is placed 2nd in the
region by contribution.

Standard Chartered is the leading international bank in Sub-Saharan

Africa, operating in several countries, the most prominent being Kenya,
Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Ghana.
 7

2.3 History of Standard Chartered Bank

Standard Chartered Bank has a history of about 150 years. The name
"Standard Chartered stems from the two original banks from which it
was founded - the "Chartered Bank" of India, Australia and China and the
"Standard Bank" of British South Africa.

2.3 History of Standard Bank

The "Standard Bank" was founded by a Scot, John Paterson in 1862. He

immigrated to Cape Province in South Africa and became a successful
merchant before founding "The Eastern Province Herald" which is still
published today. He saw great trading possibilities between Europe and
his adopted country, and together with local business interest he founded
the bank.

2.4 History of Chartered Bank

The "Chartered Bank" was established in 1853 by a Royal Charter granted

by Queen Victoria of England. The main person behind the Chartered
Bank was another Scot, James Wilson who had also started "The
Economist" still one of the most eminent publications today. He foresaw
the advantages of financing the growing trade links with the areas in the
east, which no other financial institution was doing at that time.

2.5 Standard Chartered Bank: The Merger

The two banks expanded and prospered with time and decided to merge
in 1969. On January 30, 1970 the new shares of the Standard and
Chartered Banking Group Limited were listed in the London Stock
Exchange. The original building of the Chartered Bank at 38 Bishopgate
was demolished in June 1980 and new headquarters of the Standard
Chartered Bank PLC was opened on the same site by Queen Elizabeth II
on March 20, 1986. Becoming stronger after the merger, Standard
Chartered Bank embarked upon serious expansion in Europe and the
United States, The Standard Chartered Merchant Bank was built up from a
number of acquisitions made during the 1990s. In the last thirty years,
Standard Chartered Bank has experienced continuous growth, which led
to its becoming one of the top 100 listed banks in the world. It was also
 8

judged the best bank in the Asia-Pacific region in 1993 and 1994 for its
rate and excellent service.

2.6 Standard Chartered in Bangladesh

The Chartered Bank started operating in Bangladesh in 1948, opening a

branch in Chittagong. The branch was opened mainly to facilitate the
post-war reestablishment and expansion of South and Southeast Asia.
The Chartered Bank opened another branch in Dhaka in 1966, where it is
still headquartered. After the merger of the Chartered Bank with the
Standard Bank in 1969, the Standard Chartered Bank took up a program
of expansion. It increasingly invested in people; technology and premises
as its business grew in relation to the country's economy. In 1993, there
was an organizational re-structuring, which led to a substantial expansion
of the Bank's business.

Bangladesh is under the Middle East and South Asia (MESA) region, with
the controlling office in Dubai. Its correspondent relationship with Sonali
Bank, the largest bank in Bangladesh, gives its customers access to all
major centers in the country. Standard Chartered Bank's worldwide
network facilitates convenient connections with foreign trade and
remittance business. Standard Chartered Bank's branch banking license
in Bangladesh allows it to offer a full range of banking services.

2.7 Acquisition of Grindlays

Standard Chartered Bank has taken advantage of the expansion

opportunities. Buying Grindlays from ANZ now propels it from number five
to number one among international banks in India, with some choice
extra footholds in the Middle East.

At 1.3bn U.S dollars, it is hard to complain that Standard Chartered has

overpaid. The financial ease is less compelling for ANZ shareholders, as
there are advantages to getting out of a strategically peripheral business.
This acquisition of Grindlays Bank has added 6000 employees and 4
countries to Standard Chartereds existing network of 27,000 employees
and 570 offices in 50 countries.

The end result is that Standard Chartered, which went into the 1997
Asian Crisis with strong business in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia,
emerges with additional core markets in India and Thailand.

The deal has made Standard Chartered the largest foreign bank by assets
in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and the second largest in Sri Lanka and
the United Arab Emirates. The bank had been seeking to expand in the
 9

region since the end of the Asian economic crisis, and has finally become
successful in its expansion.

The primary goal of the integration is to combine the best of both

companies, and put right people in the right jobs on the basis of fairness
and equitability.

2.9 Present Status

Standard Chartered is the largest foreign bank in Bangladesh with almost

70% of the foreign Bank market share. Not only in Bangladesh, it is also
the leading bank in most of the South and Southeast Asian and African
countries. At present SCB has 608 staffs and 18 branches with 24 ATMs. It is also
the only foreign bank with presence in 6 cities (Dhaka, Chitttagong,
Sylhet, Khulna, Narayanganj and Bogra)
 10

3 Organization Structure

Almost all the senior level managers and unit-head have two reporting
bosses:

One country line manager and

One group line manager.

For example, the Head of Consumer Banking of Bangladesh will report to

CEO of Bangladesh and the Head of Consumer Banking of the MESA
Region.

3.1 Group Structure

As mentioned earlier, SCB divides its area of operation into six regions.
These six regions have their regional headquarters which are under the
control of the London office. For example, Bangladesh, being in the MESA
region, is under the control of the regional center in Dubai, UAE.

3.1 SCB Bangladesh Departments and Units

Structurally the bank has two divisions: Business and Support. The
Business Division consists of three departments

Consumer Banking: This department deals with individual deposits

and loan services, credit card services, branch networks, credit and
collection etc.

Corporate Banking: This department deals with company deposits

and loan services, trade services, financial institution services.

Treasury: This department deals with money market investments,

foreign exchange services, corporate sales, syndicated loans etc. The
structure and products of this department will be discussed in detail in
the later part of this report.

There is another department named Group Special Asset Management

(GSAM) which deals with risky assets such as defaulted loans.

The Support Division consists of the following departments

Operations: This department deals with the processing activities of

the business departments.
 11

Finance: This department deals with the financials of the organization

and reporting.

Human Resources: As the name indicates, this department deals

with the people of the organization.
Administration: This department ensures the smooth running of the
organization by providing logistic support, etc.

Legal and Compliance: This department deals ensures compliance

with the local (country) and group regulations.

Corporate Affairs: The corporate affairs department deals with issues

like social responsibility, sponsorship etc.

Credit: This department is responsible for credit rating and approvals

of corporate clients.

IT Services: This department ensures the smooth running of the huge

SCB information network and security issues.

3.2 Chain Of Command

Standard Chartered Bank in Bangladesh follows a hierarchy pattern of

command. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the country reports to
the Regional Manager, South Asia. All other Departmental Heads at the
head office report to the respective regional heads. A Manager or Senior
Manager reports to the Divisional Heads. The respective Branch Managers
or Branch Sales and Service Managers (BSSM) are responsible for the
performance of their unit. Each branch is organized functionally along line
divisions with some support facilities and the manager assigns tasks to his
/ her subordinate personnel and supervises their performance.
 12

4 Strategic Human Resource Management

Human Resource Planning (HRP) is one of the most important elements in

a successful HRM program. HRP is the process by which an organization
ensures that it has the right number and kinds of people, at the right
place at the right time, capable of effectively and efficiently completing
those tasks that that will help the organization achieve its overall
objectives. As a service organisation, this is even more important for SCB,
for Human Resource is the key element in its business. The top
management realised it early on and went one step ahead when they
integrated IT with the existing Management prowess. SCB maintains a
global network of HRP through an IT based Human Resource Information
System (HRIS) known as Peoplewise.

Standard Chartered Bank has had a separate HRM department from the
late 1980s in Bangladesh. From the chart it can be seen that, it is a
rather small department based in its HQ in Dhaka and the bank doesnt
have any HR personnel positioned at unit level. This is mostly due to
Peoplesoft which will be covered in Chapter 4 of this report.

4.1 Previous Scenario

To keep up with the human resource planning requirements, Standard

Chartered Bank previously maintained a HRIS (Human Resource
Information System) called the PeopleSoft which was maintained in
Singapore. PeopleSoft kept all the information about all the employees
currently working and also who had previously worked in this bank. It was
an online database maintained by the principal offices of the bank in
different countries. It stored basic information about all its employees.
These information include each employees recruitment date, personal
information, academic and employment record, training undertaken,
performance appraisal, career track record, future potential, career
aspirations etc.

4.2 Present scenario

Human Resources, Bangladesh has transformed into e-HR Bangladesh

with the help of Peoplewise on Tuesday, December 14, 2004. Peoplewise
is a comprehensive people management and organizational learning
solution system. It is an HR and training re-engineering project.
Launching Peoplewise is part of an HR initiative to empower both
employees and mangers in managing their transactional HR activities,
 13

giving HR Relationship Managers more time to play a greater strategic

role in the businesses than before. Thus HR information is now available
at fingertips.

4.3 Manpower Planning Procedures

This planning of human resource in this bank is done to check the

standing of the current human resource. It first formulates a plan (called
a capacity plan), prepares a budget to accommodate the change in
human resource composition and hires accordingly. Since Standard
Chartered Bank offers a high salary and a very healthy corporate
environment to the employees, it obviously gets people of high calibre
and can afford to select from them. This greatly reduces the margin of
error in selecting the right person. Those who do not perform up to the
expected level, they are given adequate training through coaching.
Further bad performance leads to offloading. Offload is the termination
mode when a low performer is asked to resign.

Standard Chartered Bank also carries out Succession Planning. This

goes on as an automatic process to ensure that whenever an employee
moves up in the hierarchy ladder, there is someone to fill in the vacant
place. The senior manager or the unit head carries out a succession plan
to pave his career path with the help of the HRIS which shows the list of
potential candidates for the position.

4.4 Job Analysis

While the HRIS is concerned with telling us what individual employees can
do, job analysis is more fundamental. It defines the job within the
organisation and the behaviours necessary to perform these jobs. Job
analysis obtains information to develop job description & job specifications
and to conduct job evaluations, these, in turn are valuable in helping
managers identify the kinds of individual they should recruit, select and
develop. This also provides guidance for decisions about training and
career development, performance appraisal and compensation
administration.

In such instances the job analysis used in Standard Chartered Bank is

known as Hay Method. The Hay Method of job analysis is based on
weights given to a job on the basis of the job dimensions present for that
job. The Bank maintains a job description for each job and a job
specification for every employee and based on these it conducts job
evaluation. The job evaluation process is quite spontaneous; it is not done
on a timely basis, but rather whenever a new post is created or the
 14

incumbents job volume is increased, job evaluation is carried out. The

latter paves a way for the incumbents career movement.

5 Peoplewise: The Human Resource Inventory System

(HRIS)

Human Resource Planning begins by developing a profile of the current

status of human resources. Basically this is an internal analysis that
includes an inventory of the workers and skills already available within the
organization and comprehensive job analysis. From a human resource
planning viewpoint, this input is valuable in determining what skills are
currently available in the organization. It can act as a guide for
considering new pursuits for the organization ad take advantage of
opportunities to expand or alter the organizations strategies. This report
has value I other personnel activities, such as selecting individuals for
training an executive development, for promotion and transfers.

5.1 What is Peoplewise?

The Standard Chartered Bank is moving towards a new way of working

that is smarter and more efficient, with leading people process supported
by a state of the art HR information system - Peoplewise. Peoplewise is
SCBs branded HR/OL management system that allows managers and
employees to help themselves with basic HR/OL information and perform
automated HR/OL procedures. It is made up of 3 softwares, namely:

Peoplesoft HRMS
Saba Learning Management System and
Web Charter, an organization chart generator.

Employees with Individual ID (Peoplewise ID) and password can access

their individual and team HR related information. Followings are the
information relating self-services that an individual employee can access
form the Peoplewise:

My Benefits: Under this tab one can get the benefit summary of
his/her own service. S/he can also apply for the group share schemes
such as International Share Save (ISS) from here and can time to time
monitor the overall share status and also revise the scheme from here.
Individual employee benefits contain the following types which can be
updated or revised by the central HR policy makers depending on the
tenure of the employee.
 15

No Types of Description Coverage or

Benefit Participatio
n
1 Medical Each permanent employee Family ( Wife
is entitled to the medical and Children)
insurance policy of ALICO
and gets all the medical
benefits embedded in it as
soon s/he successfully
completes his/her provision
period.
2 Accident/ Group Personal Accident This policy
Disability AD/D Policy Cover the accident stands for
and disability benefits. In twice the
case of permanent salary of the
disability Bank will pay a individual
package of Taka 25 lacks to
the employee.
3 Life and AD/D This is covered by the life/ This policy
disability insurance. The stands for
Bank will pay family each twice the
employee who expires salary of the
during the tenure of his job individual
a minimum of Taka 50
lacks.
4 Sick Each employee is entitled
for sick leave of consequent
60 days (maximum). And
Female employees can get
maternity leave up to 4
months.
5 Vacation 33 days annual leave and
one monthly Rotational Day
Off (RDO)
6 Gratuity After completion of 3 years
of service
7 Provident Fund After completion of 3 years 5% on
of service earning
8 Personal Loan 6 times of
monthly basic
9 Housing Loan After completion of 3 years 72 times of
of services monthly gross
 16

10 Car Loan 30 times of

monthly gross
11 Petty Loan Festival Loan (3% annual 1-month basic
interest) or Tk 1500

My Expatriate Benefits: Over here employee will get information of

the benefits relating overseas visits as part of the Learning and
Developing programs (LDP).

My Leave: Employee can monitor and revise their annual/ sick leave
strategy under this tab. All sort of leave request as well as enquiries
are accommodated over here.

My Move: Employee can look for internal jobs (within SCB) and
submit their CV here.

My Organization: Employee can have all sorts of information about

the organization, his/her career interest and development programs
here.

My Pay: Claims for Variable allowances, compensation history are filed

and retrieved over here. Employee can also acquire his/her monthly
pay slips and apply for salary increase from here.

My Performance: Overall performance history of individual is listed

here and employee can also note his/her noticeable performance
summary/ achievement over here.

My Personal Details: Academic qualifications, add/delete

dependant/beneficiary, address, career Interest, contact number,
email addresses, emergency contacts, marital status, languages,
previous work experiences, personal overview and passport details,
payroll account, update dependant/ beneficiary details can be posted
and retrieved from here.

My Reports: self service reports can be initiated and viewed over

here.

My System Profile: Profile and other pertinent information relating

the system (Work Station) for which the employee is responsible are
updated and revised here. A list of authorization for different system or
components of database that I he/she access is updated and reviewed
here.
 17

5.2 What are the key changes taking place?

The changes fall into 3 categories as follows:

New processes: New global people management processes (for

example, covering learning and development and recruitment) have
been developed involving streamlining, standardization and
benchmarking against best practices. Services and local responses will
still remain flexible and responsive to local restrictions and regulatory
requirements and customizations will reflect these circumstances.

New HR Management System, Peoplewise. Peoplewise provides

manager and employee self-service giving access to people and
employment-related data. Peoplewise will also give access to a state
of the art Learning Management System with e-Learning capability.

New ways of delivering HR support to the business. HR

transactional work will be increasingly carried out at the HR Shared
Services Centre in Chennai freeing up time for in-country HR to work
directly with the business.

5.3 How will it be working differently?

Implementing employee self-service and manager self-service (ESS /

MSS) functionality through Peoplewise, allows people to undertake
routine transactions from their desktops e.g. enrolling on a learning
activity, requesting leave or raising a job requisition.

Peoplewise will provide information that is more accurate, more

accessible and available in more depth, to support decision making,
e.g. Webcharter (organization charts covering all levels within the
Bank), 'always current' HR policies and forms.

Peoplewise will enable people to carry out eLearning - just-in-time,

just-enough learning at your desktop or from a Learning Centre.

Valuable processes such as development discussions with team

members or managing training budgets are also made easier.

Managers will generally be carrying out the same tasks as they did
before the launch of Peoplewise but in a technology-enabled, smarter
way. The new structure, systems and processes will enable people
management activities to be undertaken faster and better.
 18

5.4 What is the new role for the HR organization?

Country HR will be coordinating local business HR needs, delivering

global people processes and working with managers and staff on their
people management issues. In partner with Group HR Organizational
Effectiveness, to formulate and deliver business and HR strategy and
act as senior business partners.

HR Shared Services Centre (HR SSC), set up in Chennai, supporting

employee and manager self-service (ESS/MSS), processing centralized
administration and monitoring HR effectiveness.

5.5 What's in it for employees and the Bank?

Introducing a new system, new people processes and new ways of

working for everyone will be challenging and at times painful. However,
the benefits will be significant for employees, managers, the HR
community and the Bank as a whole:

Employees: They will have ownership of their personal data - it will be

individuals to view and to keep up-to-date. They will also have access
to more information, such as organization charts for all levels within
the Bank and 'always current' HR policies, through the user-friendly
Peoplewise. They will be able to enroll on learning activities and quickly
view and apply for internal jobs, on-line. Access to learning activities
and training information through Peoplewise will help them take more
responsibility for personal development in partnership with manager.

Managers: As a manager one will have access to more in-depth

information, more quickly, such as internal and external labor market
data and complete organization charts, helping one with decision-
making. Reporting capability is improved through the availability of on-
line reports e.g. team details and team learning and development
activities.

These changes will also support the employees and managers through:

Reduction in HR bureaucracy and improved HR service delivery.

Ability to complete people transactions without HR intervention.
Increased efficiency and effectiveness of process cycles, e.g.
recruitment through:

On-line budgetary information enabling decision making

 19

The automated screening process significantly reducing

screening time.
Candidate profile and evaluation data is readily accessible on-line
to help make selection decisions.
Managers determining candidate offers within guidelines
Sending welcome kits to new hires to reinforce SCB's image as a
preferred employer

The Bank as a whole: The benefits to the Bank as a whole are also
impressive. Thos are:

Using global, standard processes allows HR to consistently apply

leading edge best practices. In contrast, there are currently
pockets of excellent practice within some mediocrity and much
inconsistency.

No duplication of effort and improved efficiencies, reducing

headcount and costs.

Clearer roles and responsibilities within HR make it easier to

measure the extent to which HR is providing the business with the
support it needs.

5.6 What happens if one does not use Peoplewise?

Peoplewise is an integrated HR Management System. This means that the

data held in Peoplewise is used to support processes, such as benefit
administration and payroll, to name but a few. If one does not update
ones personal details they will be out of date. Other implications include:

Every time the Bank writes to his address it will be incorrect and
he/she will not receive the mail.

If he doesn't update personal data such as marital status, this will not
be reflected in benefits, such as health insurance. He/she may not
therefore, get all the benefits he is entitled to.

Global reports will not be accurate he/she may contribute to

inaccurate management information.
 20

He will miss out on learning and development opportunities by not

knowing what are open to him.

As a manager:

It will be slower to kick start recruitment of new employees.

He will not be able to transfer or promote members of his team.

If an employee transfers to another part of the Bank and manager

doesn't carry out the transfer process in Peoplewise, payroll will not
know that the employee has transferred and he will continue to
incur the costs for that employee.

It is therefore vitally important that employees and managers become

confident using Peoplewise, regularly update their personal data and carry
out the necessary transactions, in order that all related processes work
efficiently.

5.7 HR Shared Service Center (HRSSC)

Another important change is the set up of HR Shared Service Center

(HRSSC) in Chennai, India. The Bank has set up HRSSC as part of the HR
structure going forward. HRSSC will carry out the majority of
administrative HR work. It will also be the Bank's source of information on
all aspects of HR and practices. The Call Center will be available during
working hours for all countries using Peoplewise to answer any questions
and queries on HR issues, including how to use the system. Country HR
will then focus on partnering with businesses on their HR needs,
delivering global processes, as well as coaching managers and employees.
Peoplewise will help SCB outrun their competitors and lead the way in
Asia, Africa and Middle East.
 21

6 Recruitment and Selection

Successful HR planning enables the organisation to identify its human

resource need. Once these needs are known, company goes through the
recruitment and selection procedure to acquire the right kind of people.
That is why, recruitment follows HR planning and goes hand in hand with
the selection process by which organizations evaluate the suitability of
candidates for various jobs. Without accurate planning, organizations may
recruit the wrong number or type of employees.

6.1 Types of Recruitments

Due to its prestigious corporate image, high compensation & benefits and
opportunity to build and international career, jobs under SCB are highly
sought after. But, SCB follows a comprehensive Recruiting & Selection
procedure it varies according to the job. The bank uses both internal and
external sources of local and international job market.

6.2 International Recruitments

International recruitment includes the recruitments of:

Graduate Associates: Graduates Associates are recruited form

any country. These job demands superior qualification and thereby
highly sort after. Every year two to four persons (Fresh/newly
graduated) are recruited and they are placed on a two year long
graduation program. In this tenure they are trained in different regions
of the Group. They are also sent for attachment in different
departments and branches of the bank for different tenure on rotation.
Gradates Associates are perceived to be the future leaders of the bank.
 22

After their graduation they are appointed as Assistant Manager/

Manager.

Mid or senior management: This process is only applicable for

experience existing employees of SCB on completion of certain
duration of service. Any such employee can express his/her intention
for an overseas appointment through posting respective CV in the
designated section of the Peoplewise. If the qualification matches
against any vacancy within the SCB group, the person is appointed
through a thorough selection procedure. Top and mid level
appointments fall under this category.

6.3 Local Recruitments

Bulk of the management personnel of SCB in Bangladesh comes from the

local sources. This source can be again internal and external. SCB doesnt
rigidly follow any Promotion from within policy. So besides promoting
existing managers, mid or top level managers are also hired from outside
the organization. Local recruitment can be done by the HR department or
it can also be outsourced. But local recruitments normally deal with base
and mid level executives. Local recruitments are also done by two
different sectors. All the Full Time Employees (FTEs) are recruited by the
local HR. Contractual employees / support staffs are recruited by HR as
well as out sourced organizations. Contractual staffs are not eligible for
any benefits. According to their job, there are two types of recruitments,
they are:

Permanent employees: Employees who are directly related to the

operational activities and is supposed to hold responsible of day to day
duties are recruited as permanent or full time basis. They are initially
placed on provision for 3 months and after successful completion of
this tenure their job is confirmed.

Contractual / outsourced employees: Employees who are needed

to execute ground level operations such as direct marketing of
products, customer services, data entries, call processing etc. are
normally recruited through outsourced organization. But experience
and skilled support staffs are directly recruited by the HR on contract
basis.
 23

6.4 Methods of Local Recruitments

There are quite a number of formal recruiting methods used by this bank.
Those are:

Newspaper Recruitment Advertising: this method is used by the

SCBs HR department for appointment at management and executive
level.

Employment Agencies: MRK Consultants is an agency

(headhunting agency) that deals with finding the right person for a
job. Standard Chartered Bank employs this agency for helping them
recruit the right people in the senior management level. It is not
always that this bank uses this agency for their recruitment. Whenever
a critical post is to be filled and the bank is facing problems in finding
the right person, the agency is employed. it finds and pre-screen
applicants, referring only those who seem qualified for further
assessment and final selection.

Internship program for fresh graduates: The bank also checks the
educational institutions for fresh graduates. Prospective candidates are
offered internship program and on successful completion of the
program, only deserving interns are offered suitable appointment.

6.5 Selection Process

The selection process in Standard Chartered is some what different than

other multinational organizations. There are two different sets of
mechanism for different types of recruitments:

Local Recruitment: SCB uses number of selection devices to gather

information about applicants. These devices are used sequentially, in a
multiple-hurdle decision-making scheme. Candidates must do well on
an earlier selection device to remain in the running and be assessed by
later devices. The different steps are:

Initial Screening: This is usually carried out by the HR department

by going through the candidates CV or resumes. Screening is
conducted based on the elements like education, work history and
skills.

Written employment test: Test is conducted by the HR

department on the related subjects.
 24

Comprehensive interview: Successful candidates in the exam go

through this interview and it is conducted either by the HR or the
respective department. The interviews are always structured and
each interviewer uses an interview sheet and grades the candidate
based on motivational level, communication skill, confidence, how
he handles difficult situation etc.

Reference checks: Background Investigation is another important

check the employer undertakes; it includes talking to colleagues,
the referees- former employer, to make sure whether the
information given by the candidate are true. This check is done to
know more about the candidates interpersonal skills, performance,
the position he was in etc

Physical examination: The last step includes the physical

examination part and the psychological test to make sure the
candidate can cope with the kind of pressure that he/she may have
to undertake.

International recruitments: Like local recruitment, the international

recruitment process of SCB follows number of steps.

Graduate associates: At the end of each year fresh graduates are

invited through job circular posted in websites, newspaper etc. the
selection steps are:

The initial selection tests are held in form online Computer

Aptitude Test (CAT) over the Internet. These series of tests
are extensive psychological and numerical tests.

Next in line is a formal employment test taken by the bank

that includes a written test and a performance simulation test.
The performance simulation test is termed in-box simulation
test. This is an on-desk test in which the manager is given a
number of tasks in a box and he is monitored to see which job
he gives the most priority.

Another selection device that Standard Chartered Bank will

undertake from next year is the Assessment Centre. It will
consist of a panel of senior managers who will asses each
candidate separately. The candidates will be brought together
and given a project to work with and a comprehensive
assessment is done focusing on their interpersonal skill,
leadership qualities, presentation style, motivational abilities etc.

Next three steps are similar as the local recruitment, i.e.

comprehensive interview, Reference check and Physical
 25

examination. If the interviewee is being interviewed for the

position of unit head, he will be interviewed in Dubai usually by
the CEO himself.

Finally, after a candidate has been chosen he is given a

Realistic Job Preview (RJP) - an idea of what the job would
be like. Usually, during the interview and before the final offer is
given, the candidate is briefed about his job. Besides, Standard
Chartered Bank provides a comprehensible written job
description that clarifies any other point that the candidate may
wish to know about his job.

Mid or senior management: For International recruitment, HR

department asks for application internally through Global
broadcasting of job circular through emails. And rest of the selection
process is more or less similar to the graduate associated
recruitment style.
 26

7 Training and Development

Recent change sin business environment have made the HR Training &
Development function even more important in helping organisation
maintain competitiveness and prepare for the future. This is a very
important aspect of HR Planning. SCB conducts training and development
program for many reasons, like:

Orient new hires to the organization or teach them how to perform in

their initial assignment.

Improve the current performance of the employees who may not be

working as effectively as desired.

Prepare employees for future promotions or

Prepare employees for upcoming change in design, processes or

technology in their present position.

7.1 Identifying Training Need

Personnel Development Plan (PDP) is a competency-based method used

to determine the training needs in SCB. It is basically a continuous
process that works by matching the set of skills required (the core
competencies) with the skills of the person holding the position. When
there is a skill- gap, management tries to fill it by training the employee
so that he can fit in and have what it requires to perform competently.

7.2 Types of Training

There is no fixed frequency of training program. On-the-job training is

continuously practised to bridge the skill gap to improve employees
performance in the same post. And when a new job is created, the
position-holder gets attached for 7- 10 days in the particular regional
office to learn how the job is performed there. Different types of training
are:

On Job Trainings: For those in the management level, on-the-job

training includes coaching and understudies assignment, which comes
naturally as a part of the job and are very useful in implementing
succession planning. Job rotation is another type of on-the-job training
practiced in SCB.
 27

Off the Job Training: when on-the-job training is not sufficient

enough and more training is required, classroom lectures and
conferences are two types of off-the-job training programs arranged to
supplement the on-the-training.

Overseas training Programs For training the senior managers,

lecture courses and simulation exercises are undertaken. Key
managers and officers with high potentialities are sent to financial
institutions abroad to attend lecture courses to enhance their mental
faculty.

Simulations: Simulation exercises are given only to those managers

in the IT department (for people holding technical positions).

These training programs are chosen to ensure incur minimum cost. There
is also a time constraint involved here. For every manager in the bank is
very much tied up with his own work and more than a week training
program requires another person to fill the trainees position temporarily.

7.3 Career Development programs

Standard Chartered Bank also has career development program. These

programs are:

Job Posting (internally known as secondment) is an overseas-

posting which is similar to a prolonged training. Here the manager gets
a greater exposure and come back with greater responsibility and
usually join a higher post.

Career Counselling helps the manager to speak out his aspirations

and helps him clear his vision toward his goal.

GDP (Group Development Program) deals with the senior

management in which a group of people is identified as potential. They
cannot be terminated without the CEOs consent and any career
movement for other employees cannot take place without the groups
consent. GDP is administered worldwide and the group chosen includes
people from different countries.

HIPO (High Potential) also deals with senior managers and is like
GDP, but at a regional level. This is not yet practised in Bangladesh.
 28

Junior Watch is conducted in officer level in which the junior officers

with potential are identified to see who is next in line in the career
movement.

Key Retention Staff does not deal with potential people but with the
key people in the bank to keep their motivation level high. These
employees may not be high performers but are key resources for the
business.

Talent Management is the project for next year to be undertaken by

the human resource department. The program will identify the talented
people, the ones who have the potential for certain type of job, and
they will be rewarded accordingly and given a position to match their
vocation.

7.4 Research

Standard Chartered Bank conducts both primary and secondary research

to meet their requirements. Their primary research is mostly associated
with product launching to study the viability, acceptability and the
competition to be faced by the product. In case of secondary research,
the particular department that requires the information carry out the
research. It is usually the staffs of that department, who are appointed to
do the research under the guidance of their senior manager. Interns of
the bank are also sometimes given this task.
 29

8 Performance Appraisal, Reward and Compensation

Performance appraisal is the process by which an employees contribution

to the organization during a specific period of time is assessed.
Performance feedback then lets the employee know how well they have
performed in comparison to the standard of the organization. If used
effectively, performance can improve employee motivation and
performance. Moreover, performance appraisal ensures that the behavior
of the employees is consistent to the organization strategy.

SCB maintains a very comprehensive and insightful performance appraisal

system and it is greatly assisted by Peoplewise. The standards for
performance appraisal are set by the principles of MBO (Management By
Objectives). When a new project is undertaken, new challenges are set to
increase operational efficiency. When these objectives are met, these
become part of the regular job and new objectives are set again. Thus
new objectives are set for new and these ultimately (and in most cases)
become part of the regular operations of the bank and the bank expands
as a whole.

8.1 Performance Evaluation Process

Performance evaluation is done at the end of each quarter. Depending on

the nature and description of day to day operational jobs, each
department sets the job objectives for each individual which is to be
approved by the department head. The assessment process has following
steps:

Self Assessment: At the end of each quarter, individual employees

rates themselves depending on the criterion set in their Job objectives
with the employees describing there individual and group achievements
against each criterion in the performance appraisal form. The objective
statements are termed as SMART Objective statements: Stretching,
Measurable, Agreed, Realistic, Time-Bound.

There are two areas of rating in the performance evaluation:

Attainment of set objectives and

 30

Adherence to Standard Chartered group values.

Individuals have to perform well in both areas. These two areas are
highly supplementary.

Approval by the superior officer: Individual evaluation is than

forwarded to the Line Manager for the approval. Each individual has to
convince their Line Manager to endorse their desired rating. After a
one-to-one meeting with the employee the line manager rates his/her
subordinates with proper acknowledgements from the employee. This
evaluation is than submitted to the Head of the Department. In this
stage the Line Manager has to defend his own assessment of the
subordinate to his boss.

This process is repeated four times a year and the annual increments,
bonus and promotion solely depend on this evaluation. A format of job
evaluation and job objective has been attached in the Appendix B.

8.2 The Rating Method

Employees are rated on the basis of two criterions. They are:

Rating for the attainment of Job Objectives: The rating is done on

a scale of 5 and it is based on the performance in terms of attainment
of objectives. The ratings are as follows:

Rating Performance Statement

1 Exceptional
2 Very Good
3 Good
4 Improvement Required
5 Unacceptable

Rating for the compliance of group value system: Values Rating

Scale Stands from A-D in the five core values that the bank strives
to portray in its brand image.

Trustworthy
Responsive
International
Courageous
Creative

The interpretation of the ratings areas follows:

 31

Rating Performance Statement

A Role models the values

B Lives the values in most situations
C Lives the values in many situations
D Fails to live the values in significant ways

8.3 Reward and Promotion Policy.

Rewards are awarded on the basis of performance. Anyone scoring 1 or 2

on Objectives along with A or B for Value is rated as high performer and
rewarded accordingly. Even if some one gets 1 for objectives but D for
value s/he is not eligible for any reward. Thus both the rating system is
highly independent. But if the performance becomes affected by
unfavourable external environment, the employee may be rewarded
based on the amount of effort put by him.

Financial Rewards: Rewards given by Standard Chartered Bank

include bonus from 30-60% of annual gross income which varies with
the nature of the job at different departments. RSS (Restricted Share
Scheme) is another form of reward allocated only for those identified in
Group Development Program (GDP) and High Potential (HIPO).

Non Financial Rewards policy: Following are the non-financial

rewards:

Promotion: Promotion is a non-financial reward awarded as

recognition of high performance. All the employees in SCB are
organized along hierarchical bands depending on their expertise,
skill and experiences. The remuneration package is totally linked
with this hierarchy of nine bands. The entry level for fresh
graduates is band 9. Thus they are promoted through the
hierarchy of bands depending not only on the competency of the
employee but also depending on the availability of vacancy in the
bank.

Job Rotation and Enrichments: As mentioned earlier, job rotation

and job enrichment programs are also undertaken to motivate
employees to perform better.

8.4 Consequence of Poor Performance

If an employee gets a poor rating, he/she has to be forwarded to the HR

department for counseling sessions. This session is specially designed to
 32

motivate the employee and to find out the causes of his /her poor rating.
After the counseling session, individuals are given 30 days notice to
improve their status. Failure to manifest improvement could result into
termination of job. Since every employee deals with lots of sensitive and
confidential information, HR Department highly discourages sudden
termination of employment.

8.5 Evaluation of the Reporting Boss and Job Environment

A questionnaires named as Q12 consisting of 27 questions is used to

evaluate the attitude of reporting bosses and job environment by each
employee. This report is highly confidential and directly sent to the Group
Head Quarter. For the line manager and the departmental heads, this
rating is influence their individual performance evaluation. In Q12
employees can reflect their grievances or dissatisfactions with their
managers and the specific job environment they are facing. This rating is
also done in a scale of 5 but in the reverse order of the rating system for
assessment of the attainment of objective. This is:

Rating Performance Statement

5 Exceptional
4 Very Good
3 Good
2 Improvement Required
1 Unacceptable

Based on the Q-12 rating, an impact plan is devised to ensure that the
areas of concerns for each department are identified and the performance
improves in the following year.

8.6 Compensation, Benefits and Services.

Every employee receives the salary as the compensation. The salary

varies with the seniority, position in the hierarchy of the organisation.
Other services include housing facility, transportation facility (including
car and petrol), loan at lower rate of interest etc. But all of these vary
with the seniority of the employee in SCB.
 33

Other benefits include sick leave, pension scheme, capital accumulation

plan, insurance and Town Hall meeting. Pension scheme includes
provident fund and gratuity (a compensation given for every completed
year). Capital accumulation plan is an international share saving
scheme (stock option) in which employees own shares of the bank.
Insurance facility provides life insurance and medical insurance for
management and medical allowances for clerical staffs. Lastly, the Town
Hall meeting is a different type of benefit, in which all the employees are
treated at the companys expense to a hotel where they all gather in an
informal way to talk about their grievances, plans, ideas etc. Standard
Chartered Bank has no cafeteria compensation.
 34

9 Disciplinary Procedures

Standard Chartered Bank takes particular interest in maintaining a

healthy work environment and that is why discipline comes at the
forefront of the attention. Disciplinary policy provides a formal framework
for issues to be dealt with fairly & quickly. This policy is designed to help
and encourage all employees to achieve and maintain acceptable
standards of conduct, to ensure that all failures to comply with these
standards are handled fairly, consistently, in line with SCBs values and
with due consideration given to all the circumstances.

9.1 Scope of Disciplinary Policy

All SCB employees on the SCB payroll will be covered under this policy.
Contractors/ Agency Staff not on the SCB payroll are not subject to this
policy.

9.2 Policy Statement

Disciplinary policy of SCB has four dimensions, those are:

Employees have a responsibility to familiarize themselves with the

standards of conduct expected by the company, including those set
down in the companys code of conduct, and to operate to those
standards.

Managers have a responsibility to inform employees of any business

specific/local standards of conduct that they are additionally required
to meet.

The prime responsibility for managing disciplinary incidents is with the

line manager. The role of HR is one of advice, consultancy, & technical
reference points.

The Process should not be confused with that for managing poor
performance, which is a separate policy.
 35

9.3 Investigation

Before any formal stage of the procedure is investigated, the matter will
be investigated to establish the facts by an appropriate manager and
following rules are strictly followed:

No disciplinary action will be taken against an employee until the case

has been investigated & discussed with Human Resources Department.

During any investigation, & depending on the circumstances, it may be

appropriate for witness statement to be taken from relevant witnesses.
This should be signed & dated by the witnesses, & the witnesses
should be made aware that their statement is likely to be referred
during the investigation.

If given the circumstance of the case, the manager & HR consider it

appropriate; an employee may be suspended on full pay whilst the
investigation is being conducted. Such suspension will not be
disciplinary action in itself and will be for as short a period as is
practicable. In normal circumstances it should not last more than 14
days.

Suspension can occur at anytime during the procedure. During such

period, the suspended member of staff will be required to co operate
fully with any investigation and to attend interviews. Any reluctance or
delay to do so will be treated as gross misconduct leading to summary
dismissal.

9.4 Right to be Accompanied

Employees have the right to be accompanied & supported if they so

wish, at each formal stage of procedure.

The companions role is supportive, not representative. They will be

permitted to address the hearing and ask questions, but will not be
allowed to answer questions on behalf of the employee.

9.5 Convening a Disciplinary Hearing

If, following the investigation, the manager decides that it is necessary to

conduct a formal hearing; the employee will be given at least 3 working
 36

days notice in writing of the hearing. The employee will be provided with
a copy of the disciplinary policy & will be advised that:

A hearing is to be held under the Companys disciplinary policy.

The nature of the concerns regarding the employee conduct.

The employee right to be accompanied at the hearing.

9.6 Procedure at the Disciplinary Hearing

The hearing will be conducted by the line Manager and facilitated by

HR and a note taker may also be in attendance.

The employee will be given a full opportunity to respond to the issues

being presented.

If an employee fails to attend a disciplinary hearing on two occasions,

without providing a good reason for this, the company will take a
decision based on the information available to it at that time.

9.7 Disciplinary Sanctions

There are a number of sanctions that may be imposed as a result of the

disciplinary procedure. The main potential sanctions are:

a. Formal verbal warning (recorded): If conduct does not meet

acceptable standards, the employee will normally be given a formal
verbal warning. A brief note of the warning will be kept on the
employees personal file .The warning will be disregarded after six
months, subject to satisfactory conduct.

b. First written warning: If the employee is found to have committed

more serious misconduct, or following the issue of a formal verbal
warning the employee continues to fail to meet acceptable standards,
a first written warning will normally be given. A copy of the warning
will be kept on the employees personal file. The warning will be
disregarded after 12 months subject to satisfactory conduct.

c. Final written warning: If the employees misconduct is sufficiently

serious to warrant a final written warning, or despite the issue of a first
 37

written warning the employees conduct is still unsatisfactory, a final

written warning will normally be given. A copy of the warning will be
kept on the employees personal file but it will be disregarded after 24
months, subject to satisfactory conduct. In exceptional circumstances
this will remain on file for longer.

d. Dismissal: If the employee commits an act of gross misconduct or,

despite warning, the employees conduct still fails to reach the
prescribed standards, dismissal will normally result. In the case of
gross misconduct they will normally be dismissed without being
required to work out their notice and without payment in lieu of notice.

When dealing with first instances of misconduct, sanctions a or b will

normally be used, although any sanction may be used at any stage
according to the gravity of the employees misconduct including dismissal.
No employee will be dismissed for a first incident of misconduct except
where there has been gross misconduct.

9.8 Gross Misconduct

The following list provides examples of conduct that the Company may
regard as gross misconduct. Such conduct may result in summary
dismissal, i.e. without the employee being given notice or pay in lieu of
notice:

Dishonesty, theft or fraud;

Acts of, or threats of, violence;
Disregard of safely rules, including health and safety and fire
regulations, as being under the influence of alcohol or substance
abuse, including un prescribed or unlawful drugs, on Company
business or premises;
Communication of confidential information to third parties without
authority, conducting unauthorized business on company premises or
during company time or using company resources, serious breach or
neglect of duty or other action which results or may have resulted in
detriment to the companys relations or standing;
Acting in a manner that is or may be in competition with the Company,
or misuse of the companys products or property (including intellectual
property rights);
Harassment (verbal, written or physical), bullying, victimization or
discrimination;
Serious and/or willful breach of Company or business specific policies
or procedures;
 38

Falsification of records, serious and/or willful breach of industry codes

of practice (including the FSA Code of Practice);
Deliberate or willful attempts to gain unauthorized access to any
information held on computer systems or other record systems of the
company or its associated companies, whether the attempt was
successful or not;
Misuse of company computers, peripherals, networks, emails, intranet,
internet and other communications equipment, and accessing and
downloading & distributing pornographic or other offensive material.
Any misbehavior with or disregard for customers.
Physical assault of his/her superior or colleagues.
Unauthorized absence for more than seven successive days or twenty
intermittent days during one year.
Any act of serious insubordination, or willful failure to carry out
reasonable instructions and
Criminal offences committed outside the workplace which influences
the employees ability to do his or her job or bring the company into
disrepute.

9.9 Confirmation of Disciplinary Decision

All decisions to impose disciplinary sanctions will be confirmed to the

employee in writing. Confirmation will be provided, where possible, within
five working days of the decision. Employees will also be advised:

Of the sanction/stage of the disciplinary procedure which has been

reached.

Of the reason for the sanction being imposed.

In the case of misconduct, of the potential consequences of

further/continued misconduct.

Where the decision is to dismiss, of the date on which the employment

will terminate.

Where the decision is to dismiss, of the arrangements for leaving.

Of the right of appeal against the decision and the name of the person
to whom any appeal should be addressed, and the deadline for making
an appeal and
 39

Of the potential impact of the imposition of a disciplinary sanction on

future salary/bonus reviews.

9.10 Appeals

The employee will have the right to one appeal hearing against any
disciplinary sanction imposed. An employee who wishes to appeal against
a disciplinary decision should inform the person(s) named in the
confirmation of decision letter in writing within five working days of receipt of
letter confirming the decision, stating the grounds for the appeal. And
then:

The employee will be informed in writing of the date time and venue of
the appeal hearing at least 3 working days in advance of the hearing.
Where practical, the hearing will be within ten working days of
receiving the appeal request.

The appeal will be heard by a manager who is independent (i.e. not

involved in any part of the disciplinary procedure, which includes
having any knowledge of the details of the case, nor involved in
imposing and/or authorizing the original disciplinary sanction) and who
is usually a more senior manager than the manager who reached the
original decision. They will be accompanied at the hearing by senior
member of the Human Resources department. The HR Manager
advising on the appeal will not be the same as the HR Manager
advising on the original disciplinary.

The manager hearing the appeal will have the power to reverse or
confirm the disciplinary decision or to substitute a lesser sanction, but
the penalty imposed cannot be increased. The decision of the manager
hearing the appeal will be final.

If there is new evidence that suggests that the employees conduct or

performance is more serious than was contemplated at the original
disciplinary hearing, a new disciplinary hearing should be convened.

The result of the appeal will be confirmed in writing, where possible

within five working days. The appeal decision will be final, and the
employee will have no further right of internal appeal in respect of this
disciplinary sanction. The employee will be advised of this when the
appeal decision is confirmed.
 40

9.11 Conduct & Performance Issues - Impact on Salary

Employees who have been subject to action under the Disciplinary Policy
and Procedure will receive consideration for salary/bonus reviews.
However, the fact that disciplinary warnings are in effect may be taken
into account in salary/bonus review decisions, and the employee may not
receive a salary increase or bonus award. The Manager should discuss the
issue with a member of the Human Resources Department and inform the
employee of this as part of the salary/bonus review process.
 41

10 Grievance Handling Procedure

In any organization employees may have problems or concerns relating to

their employment that they wish to be resolved. Standard Chartered Bank
follows a very structured and comprehensive procedure to redress the
grievances of its employees. Every effort is made to resolve any problems
through informal discussion between the affected employees. Where
these issues cannot be resolved informally, a grievance procedure
provides a formal framework for these to be dealt with fairly and quickly.

10.1 Scope

The policy covers all employees who are on the banks payroll. The
Grievance Policy will not be invoked to appeal against sanctions imposed
as a result of the disciplinary policy. Although this procedure may be used
to pursue an allegation of harassment or bullying, there is a separate
policy designed specifically for this, which should be referred to first.

10.2 Policy Statement

Grievances or any other problems arising in connection with work should
be settled quickly and fairly. Each stage of the grievance will be heard
within 10 working days of the request unless there are circumstances
which prevent this. In which case, the employee will be informed.

The Company will endeavor to maintain confidentiality in respect of all

concerns raised, where possible and appropriate

10.3 Stage I: Resolution of Grievance

Employees who have a grievance should put it in writing and send it to

their immediate line manager, copied to Human Resources (HR). Where
the grievance involves the line manager, the matter will normally be
raised with the managers line manager. However, if an employee feels
uncomfortable approaching more senior management then HR may be
approached in the first instance.
 42

The HR Relationship Manager will continue to be involved throughout the

process to offer advice and guidance as necessary and may attend the
interviews if considered appropriate. An investigation will commence, as
appropriate.

Investigation: Before the formal grievance hearing, the matter will be

fully investigated promptly and objectively by an appropriate manager,
who may be assisted by a member of the Human Resources
Department. All other relevant parties, including the employee raising
the grievance, will be called upon to discuss matters surrounding the
alleged grievance. Any investigation will be solely for assembling the
facts, and to acquire any relevant witness statements. Following
points should be considered:

The investigation will not constitute a discussion of the merits of the

case. All employees involved in the grievance process will generally be
made aware that an investigation is being undertaken as soon as
reasonably practicable, unless there are good reasons not to do so, for
example, where there are genuine concerns that this would impede the
investigation.

If, given the circumstances of the case, the manager and HR consider
it appropriate; any or all parties may be suspended on full pay whilst
the investigation is being conducted. The period of suspension will be
kept to a minimum, and in normal circumstances should not last more
than 10 working days. Suspension can occur at any time during the
procedure. A suspension will only be made after careful consideration
of the circumstances and will not be considered as disciplinary action.

Witness Statements: It will not always be necessary to acquire

witness statements. However, where relevant, an appropriate
manager will gather the statements, having given serious
consideration to have suggestions on who should be approached for
statements from the employee raising the grievance and the employee
against whom a grievance has been raised. A manager will not
unreasonably reject employee suggestions for choice of witnesses. The
manager is responsible for ensuring that all relevant facts are gathered
fairly and objectively. Witness statements will not be testimonials. A
member of the Human Resources Department may assist in gathering
the witness statements.

Witness statements will be signed and dated by the witnesses.

Witnesses will be made aware that their statement is likely to be
referred to during the grievance hearing. Witnesses may also be
requested to attend the hearing and a copy of their statement will be
given to the employee who has raised the grievance. Witnesses will be
given reasonable notice when they are requested to attend a hearing.
 43

Evidence given in witness statements, will, wherever possible, be

substantiated by further investigation by the Company.

Only in very exceptional circumstances will a witness remain

anonymous. This would be at the discretion of the business, where a
witness has a genuine and compelling reason for wishing to remain
anonymous. A witness statement will still be taken, although
information, which would identify them, will be blanked out. Their
evidence will be checked and corroborative evidence sought by the
manager investigating the complaint, and they will also attempt to
determine whether there is anything which might add or detract from
the value of the information. All parties must handle witness
statements in a confidential manner.

Employee who has a grievance raised against them: The

employee against whom a grievance has been made will generally be
informed that an investigation is being undertaken as soon as
reasonably practicable unless there are reasons to believe that this
could impede the investigation.

The employee who has a grievance raised against them will be sent a
copy of the Grievance Policy and Procedure or advised where to find it.
The employee should co-operate at all stages of the grievance process
and raise any issues or concerns they have with the relevant manager
or Human Resources.

The employee against whom a grievance has been made will be given
at least 3 working days notice in writing and: advised that a hearing is
to be held under the Companys grievance policy and procedure, given
confirmation of the details of the grievance, (as stated in the written
grievance documentation received from the employee who has raised
the grievance); notified of the date and time of the meeting; & advised
if they are required to attend the hearing as a witness;

The employee against whom a grievance has been made may be

verbally notified of the outcome of the grievance hearing. They will
also be informed of the outcome of the grievance hearing in writing.

The employee against whom a grievance is raised has no right to

appeal against the grievance outcome. If the disciplinary policy is
subsequently followed a right to appeal exists within this process.

Right to be accompanied: Employees raising a formal grievance, and

employees against whom a grievance is raised are entitled to be
accompanied and supported if they so wish, at each formal stage of
 44

the procedure. They should give advance notice to the Company if they
are to be accompanied, and by whom.

Role of the Companion: An employee who is a material witness in

the grievance proceedings will not, under normal circumstances, act as
a companion during the proceedings, and someone asked to be a
companion is not obliged to agree to the request.

The companions role is as follows: The role is supportive, not

representative. Companion is entitled to take a reasonable amount of
paid time off to fulfill this responsibility; to familiarize themselves with
the case; to assist the employee in preparing for the case; to confer
with the employee before and during and after the hearing. Companion
is permitted to address the hearing and ask questions, but will not be
allowed to answer questions on behalf of the employee

Convening a grievance hearing: Following the investigation, the

employee raising the grievance will be given at least 3 working days
notice in writing of the grievance hearing. The employee raising the
grievance will be: advised that a hearing is to be held under the
Companys grievance policy and procedure and given a copy of the
policy if they have not already received one; given confirmation of the
details of their grievance (as stated in the written grievance
documentation received from the employee); notified of the date, time
and venue for the meeting; advised of their right to be accompanied at
the hearing by an SCB work colleague.

The manager conducting the hearing will ensure that they have all
relevant information prior to the hearing, in terms of both the
employee raising the grievance and the employee against whom a
grievance is being raised.

The employee raising the grievance may postpone a hearing once if

the companion is unavailable, or other significant and unavoidable
circumstances arise. Any postponement would not normally extend
beyond 5 working days.

Procedure at the hearing: The hearing will normally be conducted by

the line manager, who will explain the purpose of the hearing, and the
nature of the grievance. A member of the Human Resources
Department will generally attend and facilitate the hearing, and
arrange for a note taker to attend where appropriate.

The employee raising the grievance will be given a full opportunity to

state their grievance.
 45

Where applicable, relevant witness statements can be provided by the

Company either in the form of written witness statements only, or by
the witnesses giving evidence in person, or by a combination of the
two. This will be agreed by the manager and the employee who raised
the grievance beforehand. In the event of a dispute, the manager will
decide which witnesses, if any, are called. Where a witness is
requested to attend in person reasonable notice will be given. A
manager will not unreasonably refuse an employees suggestions for
choice of witnesses.

If applicable, both the manager, employee raising the grievance and

companion will have the opportunity to ask questions of any witnesses.
Witnesses will not be present for the whole hearing. If witnesses are
not called to give evidence in person, and the employee raising the
grievance raises issues or questions regarding the contents of the
witness statement, which the manager considers require further
investigation, then either the witness will be called, or the hearing will
be adjourned so that the manager can put the issues to the witness.
Anybody who has provided a witness statement will ideally be available
at the time of the meeting either remotely or in person to answer any
questions.

Either party may ask to adjourn at any time during the hearing.
Requests for adjournments will not be denied unreasonably. Once all
parties have had the opportunity to state their case, raising any
relevant personal factors, then the manager will summarize the issues
and adjourn the hearing to consider the evidence.

If the employee who raised the grievance is unable to attend due to

illness, then in this exceptional case, and if the employee is in
agreement, a decision could be made on the basis of the written
evidence available, including the employees written submission and
relevant witness statements.

If the employee raising the grievance fails to attend a grievance

hearing on two occasions, without providing a good reason for this, the
Company will take a decision based on the information available to it
at that time.

If circumstances change, SCB reserves the right to change the

manager conducting any stage of the procedure. The employee will be
informed of this at the earliest opportunity.

Confirmation of Decision: The grievance hearing will be re-convened

on the same day or as soon as possible after the hearing (or normally
within five working days of the hearing if further investigation is
required) and the employee who raised the grievance will be informed
clearly of the decision. Where it is not possible to re-convene the
 46

hearing, the manager will inform the employee of the decision by

telephone/other appropriate communication method. The employee is
responsible for advising their companion of the decision, if they wish
to.

The employee who raised the grievance will also be informed of their
right to appeal. Although the employee who raised the grievance will
be notified, if appropriate, that further action will be taken, for
confidentiality reasons the exact nature of this action may not be
stated.

The employee against whom a grievance has been raised may also be
verbally notified of the outcome of the hearing. They will also be
informed of the outcome of the grievance hearing in writing. The
employee against whom a grievance is raised has no right to appeal
against the grievance outcome If the grievance is upheld/supported,
the Company will take appropriate action.

Where it is evident that the investigation or hearing shows that, for

example, a disciplinary procedure will be followed it is normally
expected that the initial grievance hearing would be completed and
then the disciplinary process can commence. Any employee disciplined
as a result of the grievance procedure will have the right to appeal
within the Disciplinary Procedure.

If the grievance is not upheld, or it is found that there is not enough

evidence to support any further action, the manager will confirm that
no further action will be taken. If the allegation is deemed to be
unfounded then all documentation relating to the investigation and
hearing will be destroyed.

10.4 Stage II: Appeal

Stage II of the procedure occurs where the grievance cannot be resolved

via Stage I. Employees will state the reasons for their appeal in writing
and normally send it to their line managers manager within five working
days of receipt of the letter confirming the decision. This letter should be
copied to their immediate line manager and Human Resources (HR).
However, if an employee feels uncomfortable approaching more senior
management then HR may be approached in the first instance. HR will
notify the employee against whom a grievance has been made that an
appeal against the grievance decision has been lodged, if it is appropriate
to do so. The employee raising the Stage II appeal will be informed in
writing of the date, time and venue of the appeal hearing at least 3
working days in advance of the hearing. Where practical, the hearing will
 47

be within ten working days of the appeal request. The Stage II hearing
will be heard by a manager who is independent (i.e. not involved in any
part of the grievance or hearing, nor involved in making and/or
authorizing the original decision), and who is usually more senior than the
manager who reached the original decision (normally the immediate line
managers manager). They will be accompanied at the hearing by a
member of the Human Resources department, who was not involved in
the original hearing and who is usually more senior than the original HR
person involved.

The Stage II hearing is not intended to repeat the detailed investigation of

the original grievance hearing. It will focus on specific factors that the
employee feels may have received insufficient consideration. It will
concentrate on the grounds for appeal stated by the employee in the
Stage II appeal letter.

The manager who made the original grievance decision may be required
to explain the decision either at the appeal hearing or in writing. The
manager hearing the appeal will be able to reverse or confirm the
decision.
The Stage II hearing will be re-convened on the same day or as soon as
possible (or normally within five working days of the appeal hearing if
further investigation is required) to inform the employee who raised the
grievance of the decision. Where it is not possible to re-convene the
hearing, the manager will inform the employee of the decision by
telephone/other appropriate communication method. The employee is
responsible for advising their companion of the decision, if they wish.

The employee who raised the grievance will also be provided with two
copies of the summary notes of the hearing, one of which should be
signed, dated and returned to Human Resources as confirmation of
receipt and as confirmation that this is a true and accurate record. If
they disagree with the notes of the hearing they should write to the
member of the Human Resources Department who attended the hearing,
stating precisely how their recollection of the hearing differs from the
summary notes. If there is mutual agreement on the changes a revised
copy of the minutes will be placed on file. Otherwise, both documents will
be placed on the employees personal file.

Although the employee who raised the grievance will be notified, if

appropriate, that further action will be taken, for confidentiality reasons
the exact nature of this action may not be stated.

The employee against whom a grievance has been raised may also be
verbally notified of the outcome of the hearing. If appropriate, they will
also be informed of the outcome of the appeal hearing in writing. The
employee against whom a grievance is raised has no right to appeal
against the grievance appeal outcome.
 48

If the grievance appeal is upheld/supported, the Company will take

appropriate action. Where it is evident that the investigation or hearing
shows that, for example, a disciplinary procedure will be followed it is
normally expected that the initial appeal hearing would be completed and
then the disciplinary process can commence. Any employee disciplined as
a result of the grievance procedure will have the right to appeal within the
Disciplinary Procedure.

If the appeal is not upheld, or it is found that there is not enough

evidence to support any further action, the manager will confirm that no
further action will be taken.

10.5 Stage III: Final Appeal

Stage III of the procedure occurs where the grievance cannot be resolved
via Stage II. The procedure is the same as for Stage II, although the
following points should be noted: The decision of the manager hearing the
Stage III appeal is final. The Final Appeal hearing will be heard by a
manager who is independent (i.e. not have been involved in any part of
the grievance or hearings, nor involved in making and/or authorizing the
original decisions) and usually more senior than the manager involved in
the Stage II hearing. They will be accompanied at the hearing by an
independent member of the Human Resources department, who is usually
more senior than the HR person involved in the Stage II hearing.

10.6 Record of Grievance

All the documents and materials related to the complete grievance

procedure will be recorded and preserved in HR personal files.

10.7 Collective Grievances

If more than one employee has a grievance with regard to terms and
conditions, the same procedure may be substituted, if appropriate, and
the group will be represented in the hearing by a representative
nominated by the group. All other grievances would normally be held on
an individual basis

Note: This policy and procedures are not contractual and do not form part
of terms and conditions of employment.
 49

11 Ending Summary

Standard Chartered is the largest foreign bank in Bangladesh with almost

70% of the foreign Bank market share. It is the part of Standard
Chartered Bank PLC, an international banking group that is incorporated
in the United Kingdom, with its headquarters in London. One of the
secrets of its success is its comprehensive Human Resource Planning
(HRP). SCB is a perfect example of optimum use of existing Human
Resource through proper planning, implementation and monitoring.

Among the six global regions of SCB, Bangladesh comes under the Middle
East and South Asia (MESA) region. The organization structure is a bit
different, for almost all the senior level managers and unit-head have two
reporting bosses; one country line manager and one regional line
manager in Dubai. Since the beginning in 1948, over the years, the bank
has gradually expanded its operation in Bangladesh and at present it has
more than 600 employees working in its 18 branches stationed in six
cities of the country. But, interestingly SCBs HR Department at its HQ in
Dhaka consists of only four officers and there is also no HR personnel
employed at unit level. Yet the banks profit is increasing every year and
it has established itself as one of the most attractive employers in
Bangladesh.

So what is the secret of this success? As mentioned before it is a system

of HRP. But at the centre of this HRP remains a fully automated, internet
based Human Resource Inventory System (HRIS) Peoplewise. The key
features of Peoplewise are:

It paves the way for a truly paperless and efficient HR.

It offers countless benefits, including faster management information

systems, standardized HR processes and e-learning capabilities.

Through Employee Self Service (ESS), any employee will be able to

update selected personal details, make requests on-line and take more
responsibility for own learning and development. Each employee
remains update4d about individual performance and companys
requirements.

Through Manager Self Service (MSS), Managers will be able to view

information about their staff on-line and approve requests. It allows
the managers to take a more proactive people management approach
through quicker and more independent decisions about team
members.
 50

With the proper support of Peoplewise, a successful HR planning enables

the organisation to identify its human resource need and that also makes
the recruitment and selection procedure quite easy. SCBs recruitment
and selection policy is quite flexible and it uses both internal and external
sources for recruitment. For external sources besides the local market it
also explores the international job market. The selection procedure uses a
multiple-hurdle-decision making scheme, i.e. candidates must do well on
the earlier selection device to remain in the running and be assessed by
later devices.

SCB conducts training for both the new entrants and existing employees
with a view to maintain or improve efficiency and adapting to new system
or technology. The common training methods are on-the-job, off-the job
training and development. Good performance in training is duly rewarded

The bank maintains a very comprehensive and insightful performance

appraisal system and it is greatly assisted by Peoplewise. The assessment
is mostly self-assessment system, but it needs to be approved by superior
officers at different levels. The two dimensions of assessment are
attainment of predetermined job objective and adherence to the group
values. To be considered as a high performer, one needs do well in both
the sectors. Performance appraisal is directly related to financial reward
and non financial rewards like promotion.

The disciplinary and grievance handling procedure of SCB is quite

comprehensive and follows logical steps. The main objective is to
maintain a very employee friendly, healthy and equitable working
environment.

In conclusion, it can be easily said that Standard Chartered Bank has

established a Human Resource Planning system that is congruent to the
dynamic and information based business environment of twenty first
century. In a country where population is considered as a major problem,
this could set an example of efficient people management. A thorough
study of the system could greatly benefit other business entrepreneurs of
Bangladesh.