The Digital Bank

Even before the pandemic, State Bank of India was working diligently in the virtual space, having held close to 30,000 financial literacy camps to complement its dynamic Career Development System that aligned employees to organisational goals. Its long-standing emphasis on 'going digital' to reduce costs came in handy as the staff started getting ready for a new normal.

The 'Sanjeevani' helpline for mitigating staff grievances and counsellor support kept up the morale. Another previously launched programme, 'Abhivyakti', notched up participation by 1,91,881 employees and helped identify motivating factors as well as hindrances. This was the largest such engagement programme in corporate India, a self-assessment by the bank states. "Making SBI an excellent place to work was also facilitated by the fact that of the 2,49,448 employees, over two lakh were imparted training on an annual basis," says the bank.

According to the bank, its focus has been to create an engaging workplace aimed at long-term retention of employees. During the pandemic, latest productivity tools and technology were made available for administrative work.