Keeping employees happy: How this novel formula helped Axis Bank scale up and grow

Axis bank, the country’s third-largest private sector bank in terms of total assets, has been making significant strides not just in financial services but also in creating an inclusive and employee-friendly work environment. One of its key landmarks has been the strategic and well-executed acquisition of Citi’s consumer banking business in India. The Rs 11,603-crore buy that Axis Bank completed on March 1, 2023, meant the integration of Citi’s India team of 3,200 people with the lender, and dealing with the cultural differences that typically exist between a domestic entity and a foreign one. “The integration has progressed extremely well, and we have seen Citi employees continue to build their careers with Axis. We have seen them take on ambitious roles within both the integrated businesses, and in some cases, senior leaders have moved into large portfolios within the Axis system. In all our talent and engagement programmes, we see good representation from the Citi team,” says Rajkamal Vempati, President &amp; Head-Human Resources at Axis Bank. In 2023-24, Axis Bank saw its net profit surge to Rs 24,861 crore from Rs 9,580 crore in FY23, a remarkable 160% increase. Meanwhile, its net interest income grew 16% to Rs 49,894 crore from Rs 42,946 crore in 2022-23. In line with evolving global work trends, Axis Bank was the first in the banking sector to announce a transition to a hybrid working model in 2020 with a two-day roster for non-branch employees at large offices. “We took a call early in April 2020 that our organisation wouldn’t return to the full-time, in-office model that we were in before the pandemic. We have since then only reinforced our commitment to flexible work. We have launched GIG-A-Opportunities offering full-time virtual and freelancer roles to broaden our access to talent wherever it may be,” adds Vempati. Coupled with the GIG-A initiative, Axis Bank also launched project ‘Thrive’ for its employees. “We are the first in the banking system among the large banks where we have launched project ‘Thrive’ with a focus on internal careers. Since we launched it in April 2023, almost 4,500 employees have moved jobs through our internal talent marketplace, and 25% of them [have been] promoted,” says Vempati. The bank’s numerous initiatives aimed at fostering an enriching work-life experience have earned it a top spot in the BT-Taggd survey of The Best Companies to Work For in India this year. Axis Bank further reinforced its commitment to equal opportunities through proactive diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&amp;I) programmes. Initiatives such as ‘HouseWorkIsWork’, ‘ComeAsYouAre’, and the ‘Pride365 Employee Resource Group’ challenge traditional biases, embrace a pluralistic workforce, and foster an innovative culture. “In 2021, Axis Bank announced its initiative ‘ComeAsYouAre’—a charter of policies and practices for employees and customers from the LGBTQIA+ community. It listed several initiatives that the bank undertook to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our comprehensive policies and practices for the LGBTQIA+ community include covering gender-affirming surgeries, extending mediclaim benefits to partners regardless of gender, allowing nominations of partners and joint accounts irrespective of gender, sexuality, or marital status, adopting ‘Mx’ as a [gender neutral] honorific,” says Vempati. Promoting gender equity, women comprise 25% of its 104,333-strong workforce, with Axis Bank aiming for 30% diversity in the near future. Performance metrics are driven by balanced scorecards, with more than 70% of employees in templated roles, where KRAs and deliveries are reported directly from the system. Vempati adds that the bank ensures there is proper mentoring across all levels. “Our talent and performance philosophy is differentiated by a culture of conversations. The MD &amp; CEO personally meets every department head across the bank twice a year for a development-focussed conversation, and we have vibrant discussions in our management committee about what our talent pipeline is and the needs of the organisation twice a year,” she says. This is supported by a strong mentoring programme which has grown over three years—from 50 to 250 mentees, Vempati adds. For its employees to thrive, the bank ensures a listening framework, wellness programmes, and learning journeys to make a difference for people in their careers and allow them to develop skills. “The ability to shape careers at the intersection of innovation, digital, technology and customer experience truly offers our people the chance to craft interesting and challenging careers. And our position as a challenger bank allows individuals to take on large responsibilities with a variety of learning experiences within a single role, because we are pushing for transformation in every business and function,” says Vempati. @teena_kaushal

Keeping employees happy: How this novel formula helped Axis Bank scale up and grow

Axis Bank, with its initiatives and policies, is striving to make a holistic difference to people's careers and hone their skills too