Bank of Baroda considers permanent work from home option

Bank of Baroda is the first public sector bank to consider making work-from-home (WFH) a permanent policy for a section of its employees. The bank has also appointed management consultancy firm McKinsey & Co to help implement a strategy for a post-Covid world.

BoB's MC and CEO Sanjiv Chadha explaining the terms of reference for the appointment of the consultancy firm said that it was to direct how the bank can stay ahead of the curve in a changed world post the pandemic.

"It included things like, if we had our staff working from home, or if they were working from a hybrid environment where they would come to the office for one or two days, how do we implement that? How can we leverage staff resources better, give them flexibility and also open ourselves for hiring talent, which might be there but not available for full-time employment?" Chadha was quoted by The Times of India.

He was speaking about the bank's strategy while announcing the financial results for the third quarter. BoB on Wednesday reported a net profit of Rs 1,061 crore for the quarter ended December 2020 as against a loss of Rs 1,407 crore in the corresponding period of previous year.

He added that the number of people visiting branches had gone down and habits once acquired die hard, hence the "bank must be prepared for a world where branches are less central to the BoB network." Instead of branches, the bank would focus on customer touchpoints or outlets, which numbered 25,000.

"We want a much lighter footprint where we redesign branches, as the reason why people come to a branch in future will be entirely different from what they came for in the past," said Chadha.

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