performance by division
Support Services
Several Commercial Bank divisions provide support services to help the Bank operate more efficiently and fulfill its mandate to customers and investors. The main such supporting divisions with the total number of staff attached to all divisions are shown in the following diagram.
Of these divisions, the initiatives undertaken by the Human Resources, Information Technology and Marketing are detailed below:
Having considered the feedback received through the Employee Engagement Survey, another key strategy is to address on a planned basis the critical areas highlighted therein. This includes creating career prospects for all categories of staff; process efficiency by effecting transfers with minimum disruption to the business and improving the HR support services provided for employee convenience. HR also looks towards fostering greater communication amongst staff and further promoting the ‘One Bank One Family Concept’, thereby improving its image as an efficient internal service provider.
Of these divisions, the initiatives undertaken by the Human Resources, Information Technology and Marketing are detailed below:
Human Resources
The activities of the Human Resource Management division during the year are discussed in detail under ‘Labour Practices and Decent Work’ in the Sustainability Supplement. Future outlook is detailed below.Future Outlook
HR plans to further improve the Bank’s high quality of staff intake by strengthening recruitment processes at schools and in the job market generally. The division will also continue addressing the issue of employee and executive retirements, which are expected to spike in the next few years. If not properly monitored and creatively managed, the approaching demographic shift could lead to excessive vacancies in important staff and management positions - and even a possible leadership vacuum in some divisions. HR will continue launching initiatives that enhance managerial skills and fast-track high-potential employees.Having considered the feedback received through the Employee Engagement Survey, another key strategy is to address on a planned basis the critical areas highlighted therein. This includes creating career prospects for all categories of staff; process efficiency by effecting transfers with minimum disruption to the business and improving the HR support services provided for employee convenience. HR also looks towards fostering greater communication amongst staff and further promoting the ‘One Bank One Family Concept’, thereby improving its image as an efficient internal service provider.
Information Technology
On December 30, 2011, Commercial Bank unveiled its 500th ATM at the Maradana Railway Station, as a culmination of a rollout of 100 ATMs over the course of the year. The Bank’s ATM network accounts for approximately 25% of all ATMs deployed across the country.As part of the Bank’s ongoing commitment to customer convenience, 100 ATMs are located at offsite locations, including seven at railway stations. Round-the-clock branch banking with selected transactions was made available at the Katunayake Branch, further underlining our focus on customer convenience.
In support of our customer segmentation strategy, the Bank’s core banking system was modified to meet the strict rules set by the Sharia Council of the Islamic Banking Unit.
A trilingual, menu-based mobile banking system was launched for customers with Java/MIDP2 enabled mobile handsets as part of technological innovation supporting social inclusion of under-banked customers.
A major upgrade to the Bank’s core network infrastructure improved the performance, quality, security and reliability of the network while converting branches to IP-VPN technology. A server consolidation and virtualisation project was also completed, providing a wide range of organisational benefits including higher reliability, lower operating costs, simpler management and a lower carbon footprint.
Microsoft Active Directory was installed across the branch network in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, greatly enhancing IT security.
A recently completed upgrade of the core banking system will soon allow the Bank to provide combined statements, unitised deposits and other benefits to customers.
Commercial Bank was integrated into the Bangladesh Electronic Funds Transfer Network system, the online inter-bank payment system mandated by the Central Bank in that country. The successful integration was completed with the valued assistance of staff in Bangladesh.
As further proof of efforts to maintain the highest global standards, the Bank retained its prestigious ISO/IEC 27001:2005 Information Security certification in the e-banking, card centre and information technology functions.