Employee Capital

Human resources being a prime driver of value creation is a cornerstone of SAIB’s strategy. We strive to build internal relationships which will generate synergy in the talents, capabilities and activities of our employees.

Our human resources planning is based on a two-faced analysis. One is to determine the skills, talents and numbers needed to fill the various functional roles in the different organisational units and levels. The other is to identify the sources of the human resources needed, both internal and external. The latter includes learning and development programme enabling staff to take on enhanced roles. By developing and motivating our staff in turn we enhance the quality of our customer service.

Our workforce

Our workforce* at end 2017 was 1,571 out of which 87.5% were Saudis and 19.2% were female. 38.0% of SAIB workforce were below 31 years of age. Saudis accounted for 88% of our Management Team. All employees were permanent staff. We do not have any collective bargaining agreements with our employees.

*SAIB and Alistithmar Capital (ICAP) staff only

Recruitment

When recruiting we seek to obtain the best of the talent available in the Kingdom and place our new hires in the roles they are most suited for. We strive to achieve a diverse and inclusive workforce and our recruitment policies are crafted accordingly. In doing so we pay special attention to giving opportunities to qualified and talented young people with a focus on women.

A total of 119 new staff were hired during the year. Employees between 18 and 31 constituted 58% of our new hires during the year. Females accounted for 27.3% of new hires and 34% of our middle management positions and 3% of our Senior Management positions. An initiative which was commenced in 2015, the “Female Awareness Programme”, to educate our women staff about the working environment and their rights was continued this year.

The momentum of the Saudization programme continued and a new policy was introduced whereby hiring for officer and administrative levels would be restricted to Saudis. It was also decided that certain vacancies would be converted to outsourced functions. We have retained our position near the upper end of the Green Band of the Saudi Nitaqat programme which sets a range of 65% – 89% national staff for financial institutions of SAIB’s category.

Salary and benefits

In addition to a highly competitive salary we offer our employees benefits packages that include life insurance, medical insurance, fitness club membership, social security, our Aseel Loyalty Programme, and allowances for housing and transportation. A total of SAR 385,819 million was paid in 2017 as salaries, while a total of SAR 193,286 million was paid in other benefits and employment costs resulting in a total salaries and benefits paid SAR 579,105 million.

We are conscious of and address the special issues our female workforce face in meeting their family responsibilities while pursuing their career aspirations. We provide paid maternity leave of up to 10 weeks. Expecting mothers are also given up to 180 days of paid sick leave in case of illness due to the pregnancy. Additionally, we offer three days of parental leave for male employees.

In 2016, 23 female staff took parental leave, all of whom returned to work afterwards. This 100% return-to-work rate is an indication of our commitment to provide our employees with work life balance. Furthermore 22 of them remained in employment one year after returning from parental leave; this shows that we provide an environment for our female staff which is conducive to combining motherhood with their work responsibilities.

Salaries and benefits

Equal pay

Parental leave (FY 2017)

Performance management

The performance management process at SAIB has been drawn up to integrate the goals of the organisation and that of the individual to mutual benefit. The outcome of the process includes performance evaluation, rewards, career development, identification of training and development needs, feedback and motivation for employees and achieving organisational goals. Key Performance Indicators for teams and individuals are derived by a top down process from organisational strategy and goals. All employees are appraised at mid-year and end-year. The appraisal discussion is a two-way process and areas for improvement are brought out in a constructive manner. All SAIB’s employees have received performance and career development reviews during the reporting period.

Training and development

We fervently believe that our employees need continuous training and development to keep them abreast of developments in the banking industry, meet customers’ needs, and to increase their productivity and motivation. Training needs of employees are identified in annual performance and career development reviews. The Bank strives to incorporate these needs into its training programmes and schedules them accordingly. Special attention is paid to the training needs of young Saudi nationals who are identified and groomed for leadership positions in the future. Training is also focused on the needs of succession planning, for all key positions a successor is identified and a comprehensive development plan with time frames is developed.

A diversity of training methods is used. In addition to traditional classroom sessions, online e-learning courses, in-job training and training videos are also used. Due to the availability of our e-learning portal and over 9,000 subjects (both banking and technical) being covered in online courses, the extent of training cannot be gauged from formal training hours alone.

Training and development

Health and safety

The Bank takes care to safeguard the health, safety and well-being of our employees. While this is part of our commitment to responsible conduct and human rights it will also bring results in the form of employee loyalty, productivity and commitment. Our safety and security policy address the risks of fire, violent criminal acts and other risks. Each Branch, Division or Floor has security personnel in the staff. These include a security and safety coordinator, a backup, fire wardens and alternate fire wardens. Our security and safety procedures are reinforced by daily branch inspections, monthly safety orientations and awareness campaigns for all employees.

A landmark event in this regard was the implementation of the OHSAS 18001 standard in 2016 making us the first Bank in the Gulf to do so. This standard spell out requirements for an occupational health and safety management system and lays down a framework to identify and implement necessary improvements.

Safety

Human rights

SAIB is a signatory to the UN Global Compact which underpins our commitment to human and workplace rights. Our commitment to employee rights is also enshrined in our HR Policy as well as our Employee Code of Conduct. Our Code of Conduct enables any employee to report any concerns directly to the Board of Directors in a confidential manner. SAIB scrupulously adheres to all laws and regulations of the Ministry of Labour and other regulators.

Seven staff from HR team have attended a series of training sessions in preparation for SHRM Certification (Society for Human Resources Management is the world’s largest HR professional society). The programme included several modules focusing on Labour Rights. Further, all seven staff became members of SHRM society which gives them connectivity to an online platform that provides access to enormous number of books and article forums related to HR activities.

Grievance handling

SAIB has a robust employee grievance policy. It is made available to employees in the employee handbook and HR Policy and employees are free to raise their concerns without fear of reprisals. The policy mandates prompt responses from responsible parties. From 2015 employee grievances were raised, indicating employee trust in the system. Both years, all grievances raised were resolved promptly, within the year.

Grievances

Employee engagement

We believe in and practice the fact that to keep our employees satisfied and motivated as well as to achieve a high rate of retention needs regular and proactive communication. By honest and two-way dialogues with our staff we understand each other's viewpoints, needs and concerns and are able to make appropriate responses to any problems our staff are facing.

We conduct a biennial employment satisfaction survey through which we solicit the feedback of our staff. The need for such a survey was felt in the context of today’s volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environment if we are to create a sustainable future. Through this survey, we measure several human resources related parameters such as employee satisfaction with performance management and growth, work processes and quality, pay and benefits, workload and stress, communication, supervisor, bank image, customer focus, employee appreciation, and upper management.

The employment survey was conducted in October 2017 and had an 87% participation rate. A total of 56 questions were asked across 13 dimensions including work structure and process, quality and customer focus, training, pay and benefits and development opportunities. The results of the survey, which was conducted by an international consultant, were benchmarked against data collected from a large number of banking organisations across the GCC.

The results of the survey have given us a detailed feedback on employee engagement at the employee and functional level and has provided us with an organisation-wide view of strengths, opportunities and areas of focus. The survey yielded a positive score of 86% vs 82% in 2015 and 76% in 2013 in Employee Engagement Index.

Scores of 90% and above were recorded in the areas of quality and customer focus, clarity of direction, quality of leaders and respect and recognition. While the survey has shown good results, it has also highlighted areas where improvements are needed such as streamlining processes and empowering employees.

We have continued our employee suggestions programme, ‘My Idea’, that allows employees to submit suggestions to our Innovation Centre for consideration. This will lead to reduced expenses and increased profitability. In 2017 we received a total of 1,380 suggestions, 90 of which were accepted and 27 implemented.

Creative Mornings have been organised where HR has nominated more than 140 staff from various departments to meet with the CEO and the HR team to share creative ideas which and benefit both customer and staff. Over 10 sessions were held during the year. HR staff visited 44 branches, which is 75% of the total. In addition, six Staff Town Hall meetings were held with the participation of the HR Department and follow-up action taken on the findings.

Some of the results of the above mentioned initiatives were; a day care allowance to staff who have given birth; staff credit card payment reduced from a minimum of 50% to 5%; and a 360 degree assessment for certain managerial level staff.