KOCHI:
Over the past eight decades, Federal Bank has been a perfect banker to its customers and perfect employer to its its employees. This has not come by chance, but as a result of well premeditated steps taken to be ahead of its peers and times. The Bank brought to Indian banking sector new and successful models for customer service and employee welfare. But for this, Federal Bank wouldn’t have grown from strength to strength year after year. More so in the last ten years when it multiplied its business many times and won the hearts of customers and investors.
Federal Bank has since its inception in 1931, despite changes in the composition of the Management Team, upheld its responsibility towards customers, employees and other stakeholders. However, the Bank cannot overlook the new age challenges in the market and industry. We have, at different points in time, reinvented ourselves and revamped our products and services so that our customers are always satisfied.
Customer service and speed of delivery have always been impacted by the employee responsiveness and attitude. For customer service levels to improve, it is imperative that these employees who are efficient and customer friendly are rewarded so that they become positive examples and role models for others to follow. It has been historically proven that incentives improve customer service levels. It is efficiency and customer service, along with competitive products and offerings that make any organisation respected and loved.
We are honestly surprised why a section of the employees should challenge the Bank’s incentive scheme of Employee Stock Options Grant, when all these are over and above the best salary and emoluments package that are paid to our employees and of which we are proud.
We would also like to point out that the Bank’s strength lies in the deep relationship based banking ties that we enjoy with Small and Medium Enterprises, salaried employees, agriculturists and NRIs. We will continue to focus on strengthening these relationships to the fullest satisfaction of our customers. But we also realise that no bank is a universal bank or a full spectrum bank if its spectrum of offerings is not full service and it does not offer services like for example, Corporate Banking or Digital Banking or even mutual funds and insurance. We do all businesses responsibly and sensibly, giving due focus and attention to each segment.
With respect to interest rates, there are several factors that we consider. The primary concern for us is how an interest rate change will affect our customer base. We take interest rate decisions taking full cognisance of the needs and responsibilities of our customer base. The other factors that influence are RBI’s interest rates, market forces etc.
A positive employee workforce is the greatest wealth of any organisation. This is a deeply ingrained belief in Federal Bank and we have unshakable faith in our workforce. We take extreme care to ensure that our employees are well remunerated, motivated and love working with our Bank. So it goes without saying that as an established practice we will not over pressurise our employees or put them under stressful situations. But, definitely the Bank is and will be a demanding employer, not because it is simply professional but also because we believe parental pressures have successfully created generations of productive and positive citizens.
