Different Aspects of Employee Motivation in Sri Lankan Banking Sector.

Over the years the need to increase productivity and efficiency in the work place or any organization has led to increasing academic interest in the area of motivation (Muluka, 2014). There is no doubt that most of the growth in any organization comes not from mysterious market forces, but rather from the employees (Muluka, 2014). Keeping the employees motivated can be the most challenging aspect of running an organization for any Human resources department and managers as well. While necessary steps to stay competitive in this trying macro –economic climate are necessary, an organization’s most important asset, human resources, are taking a real hit (Muluka, 2014).

It has been shown, argued and proven that unless individual staff are motivated to make sufficient use of the potentials found in them during the employment process, they may not achieve the level of performance that is desired from them (Morris, 1998).

For a staff to be motivated, he or she has to perceive that his or her needs and wants are being met. Thus, the satisfaction of the staff represents an indispensable dimension of the motivational process. Different Aspects of Employee Motivation are practiced by the Sri Lankan banking sector because a satisfied individual would certainly contribute positively to the realization of the organizational goals and objectives while a dis-satisfied staff may only not contribute but can even act in such a way that the realization of such goals and objectives could be completely destroyed. To enrich the findings here I present some extraction from annual report 2019 of some prestigious banks in Sri Lanka.

       Sampath Bank PLC

“Being a bank, our human capital, Team Sampath, is our most valuable asset, for it is they who are entrusted with delivering the Sampath Value Proposition to the customer and in doing so also tasked with realizing the Bank's goals and objectives. Hence, we continue to systematically invest in developing our employees to ensure they stay connected to the Bank’s core purpose”. Bank have identified four material topics deemed critical in managing our human capital and have put in place a Material Topics Employee Engagement Talent Acquisition and Management Training and Development Employee Relations Overall Human Resources Policy Recruitment and Selection Policy Performance Management Policy Training and Development Policy Industrial Relations Policy Employee Relations Policy Reward Management Policy Employee Welfare Policy Grievances Handling Policy Employee Transfer Policy Leave Administration Policy Sports Policy Developing Employee Capabilities Enhancing Employee Productivity Strengthening Customer Orientation Building Employee Relations and Employee Engagement Focus Areas comprehensive policy framework with the aim of developing a reliable, well-trained and highly-capable workforce that the Bank can leverage on, to execute its strategy and continue to stay ahead of peers.

" The bank continue to systematically invest in developing our employees to ensure they stay connected to the Bank’s core purpose”

·         Developing Employee Capabilities

·         Enhancing Employee Productivity

·         Strengthening Customer Orientatio

·         Building Employee Relations and Employee Engagement 

       Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC

Driving the value creation model is the workforce, also referred to, with the utmost respect, as the Human Capital. The latter term is meant to acknowledge that employees are a resource that needs to be meticulously nourished; just as strong team creates value for the Bank and its stakeholders, the Bank, in turn, is mindful of delivering value to our team.                 The people are tasked with achieving the Bank’s vision and embodying and representing our strong customer-focused culture. Employees execute the strategy

which essentially involves delighting the customer and maintaining operational excellence. Employees are at the heart of legacy of success and future strategy.

In this rapidly changing environment, bank believe that upholding recognized standards and principles for labor practices, human rights and occupational health and safety is vital. Bank strive to ensure safe and fair working conditions and practices, and to create an environment that allows our employees to flourish. In this respect, bank see the efforts at enhancing productivity and profitability as entirely compatible with employee well-being. Centralization, automation, and digitalization enable the Bank to become cost-efficient by facilitating our growth while maintaining current staff numbers. But they also provide many benefits to the working experience of employees by delegating mundane, repetitive tasks to RPAs and making operational processes more streamlined. This reduces the demands and pressures on our people, enabling them to work more efficiently and productively; and in turn, staff fatigue and exhaustion is reduced, while enabling morale and motivation to remain high. And in line with this increased emphasis on employee well-being, for the first time we provided staff with the facilities of external counselors. Bank believe that in the fast-paced business context of banking, promoting mental health is paramount.  The Bank remained committed to the principles of equal opportunity irrespective of gender, age, race or religion in all our processes from recruitment to career development and progression. In addition, the Bank continues to ensure that the ratio of basic salary and remuneration of women and men across all locations of operation and all employee categories remains equal.

  

        Hatton National Bank PLC

“Being a service organization, we rely heavily on our people, for it is our human capital that delivers our value proposition to the market and drives our strategy for the benefit of all stakeholders of HNBF. It is why bank is striving to create a diverse and inclusive environment for employees, where they can find the opportunity for personal and professional growth to allow them to reach their potential. Bank’s first priority is to be fully compliant with all applicable labour laws in Sri Lanka as well as to uphold the UNGC principles on labour”. Bank respect the individual’s right to be a part of an association or group as long as such a membership does not violate the fundamental rights of any other individual or group. At present there are no collective bargaining agreements in effect at HNBF, mainly due to the Company’s commitment to foster strong relationships with employees based on mutual trust and respect. Bank believe employment should be at the free will of the employee and no individual is forced to remain in employment should they not wish to do so. Bank encourage managers to maintain ongoing dialogue with their teams in order to obtain feedback regarding employee satisfaction levels. Child labour is strictly prohibited at HNBF and only those who meet the minimum legal age requirements are permitted to work in the Company. As a strict rule, we do not recruit employees below the age of 18 for any of our operations.

Bank advocate equal opportunity at every stage of the employment life cycle and maintain a non-discriminatory approach throughout the employment process including recruitment, selection, evaluation, promotion and training and development of all employees. Bank value all employees and offer equal pay for both men and women in comparable roles and ensure that all HNBF employees receive equal opportunities for growth and development regardless of age, gender or other factors. If an employee makes a complaint regarding any type of discrimination, an inquiry will be held with every effort made to rectify the situation effectively. There were no reported incidents of discrimination during the reporting period.

Conclusion

Although the use of technology in banks has revolutionized the working of banks by transforming them into a technology intensive and customer friendly institution, yet the importance of human capital is not reduced. Human Resource Management is important for banks because banking is a service industry. Management of people and management of risk are two key challenges facing banks. How you manage the people and how you manage the risks determines your success in the banking business. It, therefore, follows from this that organizational goals cannot be achieved without committed and motivated employers in the organization. So, it is highlighted every bank implement different indigenous strategies and aspects on the base of different modern and traditional motivational theories and new trends to build motivated team to achieve their vision.

List of Reference

Annual Report 2019 Hatton National Bank PLC 

 Annual Report 2019 Sampath Bank PLC

  Annual Report 2019 Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC

  Muluka, K. O (2014). The influence of motivation on performance of employees in commercial banks: case study of commercial banks in bongoma town. https://www.academia.edu/9426159

Rose, G. L. (2015).  “An assessment of the contribution of employee motivation in providing quality customer service in the banking sector, a case of Akiba commercial bank plc Tanzania”. https://www.core.ac.uk/download/pdf/44684901