Putting People First: AmBank Group

By EVA CHRISTODOULOU

With a workforce of over 12,000, AmBank Group is ensuring that its employees feel engaged through its Employee Value Proposition (EVP) called “i Am Connected”.

With “i Am Connected,” the Group has made a commitment to its staff to help them grow their careers. It aims to achieve this through four key pillars:

These four pillars aim to facilitate the development of the AmBank Group workforce, and demonstrate the Group’s commitment to providing rewarding careers to its employees.

EVOLVING TO BREAK NEW GROUNDS

The first pillar of AmBank Group’s EVP promises continuous growth for both the organisation and employees.

As the Group recognises that the dynamic growth of the organisation will mean the ability to provide employees with a wide range of opportunities, it constantly seeks to break new grounds and encourages innovation across the Group.

It harnesses best practices from its acquisitions, and leverages international partnerships to ensure employees are sharpening their skills.

Expatriate employees from the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) and Insurance Australia Group (IAG) provide support to build technical know-how and up-skill local expertise.

Jodie Low Leng Lee

Substantial progress has been made over the past few years and there have been some fundamental shifts in the way AmBank Group goes about doing business.

Given the growing importance of alliances, strengthening customer centricity and building a broader range of products and services with cross-selling and up-selling, the Group is constantly exploring new opportunities, while at the same time offering its people new ways to grow.

Strategic acquisitions of Kurnia Insurans (Malaysia) Berhad in general insurance and MBF Cards (M’sia) Sdn Bhd in retail banking, as well as our strategic partnerships with ANZ and IAG have had a strong positive result on the Group.

The next few years will be interesting, and I believe we will see new levels of relationships with our partners, successful integration of acquisitions and greater employee engagement.

In this new environment of corporate governance, I have been able to broaden my horizon and gain wide exposure. AmBank Group has allowed me to progress and grow, and there is a clear path to making it even better.

GROWING ACROSS AMBANK GROUP

Growing in AmBank Group is taken very seriously. Leaders are given KPIs that encompass people development, and a formalised talent management process is in place to facilitate learning and development.

Competencies are defined and mapped to positions, and career paths are drawn out to provide career options within the Group. Furthermore, customised programmes are offered to fast track careers of employees, and recognises high performers.

Resourcing is primarily done internally where possible, and cross-divisional career mobility is offered in order to allow employees to further grow within the Group.

The Group’s Leadership Development Programme is currently being enhanced to grow emerging leaders in a competitive environment that continues to be short on talent.

This year, coaching programmes for line managers to develop people and their career management skills will also be initiated.

Firdaus Samad

I have been with AmBank Group for more than 10 years and it has been an exhilarating journey. I started as Head of Retail Collections, managing large and complex operations, and my career has been progressing well within the organisation.

My current job scope involves facilitating AmBank Group Operations’ transformation plan and overseeing its execution. The role has been challenging, yet professionally rewarding.

In my current capacity, I successfully transformed the Group’s product-based operations into a lean and effective process-driven platform.

Amongst other process engineering feats the Group has achieved, is moving from manual outgoing phone calls to a fully automated world-class call centre.

I have been provided with unlimited opportunities to develop myself as an employee, but the most critical factor has been the relentless support I have received from senior management.

AmBank Group is a dynamic organisation that provides opportunities to those who have a positive outlook, are willing to go the extra mile, and are on the lookout for challenges.

BEING RECOGNISED FOR OUTPERFORMING

AmBank Group expects high performance and wants to ensure its employees have the tools they need to achieve this. Clear KPIs and targets are set, and line managers are being developed to manage high levels of performance outcomes.

To equip employees with information on how to set objectives and realistic KPIs and targets, the Group offers e-learning facilities on its “MyLMS” platform.

The Group also seeks to reward those who outperform. Mindful that rewards must come in forms that relate best to its employees, it is tailoring its rewards philosophy based on feedback from employee surveys. On top of that, it is increasing the transparency on how pay is linked to performance.

Within the year, the Group will be looking at offering more career mobility opportunities for employees who outperform, and enhancing experiential learning as part of its people development journey.

Zainul Hashim

We all have a fundamental human need to be heard, valued and appreciated for a job well done. AmBank Group understands this importance, and it recognises, validates and rewards high-performers.

It provides employees with both financial and non-financial rewards, such as benefits, work-life balance, incentives, awards and acknowledgements, and uses both formal and informal structures to acknowledge employees and reward excellent performance.

For me, informal rewards that are spontaneous, sincere and timely are especially effective. It motivates employees to do better, enhances employee engagement and as a result, everyone delivers their best.

When superiors say something as simple as a “thank you”, and provide a sense of autonomy to employees, this demonstrates the value and trust the Group places on high-performing employees. It shows faith in the abilities of employees and keeps them challenged in their jobs.

WORKING IN A VIBRANT AND CONNECTED WORKPLACE

Vibrancy and a sense of connection are key elements of the AmBank Group brand, and the Group promotes these to its employees as much as it does to its customers.

It promotes a vibrant working culture and expects values of the Group to be displayed by all employees, including leaders.

To maintain such a culture and clearly communicate behavioural expectations, the Group incorporates leadership and behavioural competencies into job descriptions, and designs its development programmes based on these expectations.

These same competencies are a key part of leadership selection, development and promotion, which are managed by a Group Talent Council.

To enhance connection between employees, the Group has also introduced a 360 degree assessment exercise, which allows every employee to review their colleagues across levels.

Brandon Hwi Thiam Seng

When I started working in AmBank Group, I was in the Claims unit of the General Insurance division with about 20 people. Regardless of our positions, we were all willing to share, guide and interact with one another, from the executive level right up to management.

This experience pulled us together as a team, and shaped the way we work with one another and achieve KPIs (both individual and departmental). It also set the tone for our long term growth.

When we acquired Kurnia Insurans and moved to our new office in November 2012 as a much larger organisation, we continued practising this style of open communication and teamwork.

Even after the move, the Group has ensured that employees at the General Insurance division remain connected with the rest of the Group.

We are kept updated with news from all divisions of the Group and feel like a part of the family. This is a great achievement and something that employees really appreciate.

For career opportunities with AmBank Group, please visit ambankgroup.com/amcareer and click here to read more articles. 

Eva Christodoulou

Eva is the Research & Development leader at Leaderonomics. She believes that everyone can be the leader they would like to be, if they are willing to put in the effort and are curious to learn along the way, as well as with some help from the people around them.