Impact of Prevailing Work Culture on Employer Image (Study on Select Commercial Banks in India)

Abstract

The Commercial Banks in India are considered as the heart and barometer of the financial system. They may be reckoned as pillars of the economy as they play a principal role in the economic development of the country. The banking industry, over the years has undergone through substantial transformation, consolidation, and developments to become contemporary with the rest of the organizations. In the present customer centric competitive arena, satisfaction, quality, and loyalty prove to be key factors for organizational survival and development, especially for companies belonging to the service oriented sectors.

The business of banking companies lies much on the relationship between the bank employees and the bank customers. And how employees feel they are treated makes a difference to what they are willing to do for the organization. A positive work culture helps an organization develop attributes and qualities that make an organization distinctive and attractive to those who feel an affinity with it. It is the right work environment which helps in attracting and retaining the right people and to create conducive atmosphere of delivering the best of services. The challenge is to gain the true alignment within the organization and to live the brand's mission. This requires improvement in performance of the commercial banks, apart from marketing, in various other functional areas such as recruitment, retention, employee engagement and finally the growth of the bottom line.

This paper attempts to examine and evaluate the existing work culture in commercial banks, especially in Public Sector Banks (PSBs) in midst of expanding business activities of the private banks, re-entry of foreign banks, strict regulatory and disclosure requirements imposed by Government and RBI and such other challenges in this sector. The approach is from the HRs perspective and explores whether these organizations are prepared to employ today's generation, who are more polished in terms of education and career objectives and thus may not be able to adjust to unexpected, hostile work environment.