Recruitment trends in banking in 2015; hiring set to go up to 25%

According to a recent report published by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), about 14 lakh people are likely to be employed in the banking industry by 2022. With a renewed focus on ‘financial inclusion’ and new banks on the anvil, the talent need for the sector will be higher than ever.

The NSDC report further suggests that banks typically have 50-60% of their workforce in operations. With the banks’ increased focus on sales & marketing and given their expansion plans, they will need to lure new customers and tap new markets and will need ‘local workforce’ to cater to this need.

With the rising use of technology in banking services, recruiters are looking at different set of skills that would help them scale their business keeping the cost low. Banking professionals are expected to possess these skills apart from the specific functional competencies. Given this, we are bound to witness huge re-skilling efforts amongst banks, especially in the public sector. Banks today need a ‘digital workforce’ to converge diverse platforms like mobile solutions, social media, biometrics, etc, to render seamless and highly customised banking services.

Financial inclusion is one topic where a lot needs to be done. The World Bank estimates that only 35% of Indian population have accounts with financial institutions. Under the new regime, with a fresh push, initiatives like payment banks and small finance banks will soon become a reality.

Bank staff is also expected to be complaint with regulatory requirements; needless to say; ethical ones as well. In 2015, the industry will need to focus on ‘ethical quotient’ of potential employees in addition to compliance. Executives with a clean background and high ethical quotient will be preferred.

Banking industry today is operating in a ‘VUCA’ (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) environment. From fluctuating economic trends coupled with emerging competition from new and non-traditional players in the market to the extremely demanding digital age customer, banks have been facing challenges at every step. New risks/threats are evolving, forcing banks to have a re-look at their risk management practices with usage of tools like risk profiling and algorithms. Business Continuity Plan (BCP) calls for a more holistic approach in the wake of VUCA. Risk management professionals will be looked at with greater intent by the banks in the coming years as banks will need to build and strengthen talent in risk management function. Cyber attacks have grown multifold and have become highly sophisticated in nature. With the need for a specialised workforce to tackle this, information security professionals are also bound to be a sought after talent for banks in 2015.

Indian corporates need to exist in a virtual ecosystem in the social media universe. This can be the preferred medium to communicate strategy, sell products, and do almost anything an organisation could think of. It offers huge business potential for banks as they can use it not only to publicise their products or services but also educate their customers and investors. While social media helps organisations break boundaries and reach out to a wider set of ‘target audience’, it poses a threat as well. The expertise ‘digital marketing’ professional will come in handy here.

Digital marketing is another profile which is likely to be in demand in 2015 as banks look to leverage their social media strategies.

The banking sector is set on a growth trajectory with a renewed push through the future looking policies of the government and the vision and direction from the regulators. This holds a promise to provide magnified employment opportunities in diverse knowledge/skills and dispersed geographies. However, they shouldn’t compromise on quality to achieve quantity.

By Deodutta Kurane
The author is senior president, Human Capital Management, YES Bank