DBS Group’s efforts in driving diversity have constantly been recognised globally, including the recognition under the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index for 5 consecutive years, as well as being certified as ‘Top 100 Workplaces for Women’ by Great Place to Work. We believe that creating an inclusive culture is the first step toward building a truly diverse workplace.
Several talent polls that we conducted internally have highlighted how diversity is a key element of our culture. We design our people and hiring practices, learning agenda and recognition in a manner that cultivates an inclusive mindset. All these reflect our core values PRIDE! (Our Values – Purpose-driven, Relationship Led, Innovation, Decisive & Everything Fun!).
Strengthening diversity and creative an inclusive organisation
Over the years, we have implemented several initiatives to strengthen our efforts towards DE&I. Our people managers are continuously upskilled through management development programs and trainings such as “Building Great Managers” to ensure that they are able to adapt their leadership styles to give adequate growth opportunities to diversity candidates. We also have introduced a learning initiative that promotes cross generational diversity and enables individuals across different personas to choose a topic to impart knowledge on irrespective of their hierarchy, team, age etc.
Additionally, we conduct hackathons such as Hack2Hire and work with partners who help us strengthen gender balance. We regularly monitor data around gender balance in terms of hiring, career development, promotions, and senior management representation. Our gender-diverse interview panels help us reduce similarity bias and take a more holistic view of a candidate’s capabilities and cultural fitment.
Some of our other policies & programmes include flexible work arrangements, mentoring and coaching programmes, development programmes for women in the initial stages of their career, leadership development programmes, and networking opportunities with women leaders.
We have introduced lean-in circles to offer peer support to new parents and help them navigate work-life balance, etc. Through our programme ‘Reimagine’ we support women returning to work. Our maternity leave policy ensures up to 26 weeks of leave for new mothers and we provide additional support as they return to work. Through these initiatives, we have achieved 30% gender diversity across all levels, while significantly expanding our employee base and growing our business.
Looking ahead, along with gender diversity, we are also dialing up the focus on generational diversity. This helps us to keep a healthy mix of young minds from campus who bring their fresh ideas and knowledge of latest industry practices as well as the more experienced cohort who can guide these recruits to live up to their full potential and make meaningful contributions to the business basis their experience.
Catering to the evolving needs of a diverse workforce
We believe the key to hiring and retaining top talent lies in empowering them with tools and options that help them meet their aspirations and goals. For us, this is a continuous endeavour as opposed to a one-time effort. We aim to offer employees benefits that are highly personalised, flexible, and designed to their unique requirements. We follow a ‘Total Rewards Thinking’ practice that touches each aspect of the employee’s life cycle, including financial security, wealth creation, career growth, learning, recognition, and wellness. Through our platform, ‘iFlex’, employees can choose from over than 20 categories and opt for products/services that enhance their well-being. We also empower employees to choose their insurance and dependent coverage based on their needs and life stage.
At DBS, we have a multi-faceted approach covering all dimensions of well-being, including the hybrid work model, volunteering opportunities, sports clubs and social communities that facilitate conversations on aspects such as leadership, parenting, work-life balance, etc. To ensure that employees feel connected to the organisation, we conduct well-being workshops and ‘Focus Fridays’, which entail no meetings during the second half on Fridays. Additionally, our employee assistance program iOK offers support to our employees and their families, including short-term professional counselling. We have also introduced ‘iFit’ – a personalised fitness solution which offers recommendations and nudges.
We have institutionalised a ‘Triple E’ Framework – ‘Education Exposure Experience’ and have undertaken partnerships with educational institutions offering management development programmes. Our in-house platform, iGrow, that uses AI and ML technologies to deliver curated recommendations and learning resources, by accounting for an individual’s unique career goals.
Executive Director and Head – HRRM and HR COO
DBS Bank India.
To further democratise the process of learning and development, we also offer opportunities to explore new platforms, technologies, and roles through role shadowing and taking up cross-business projects. Additionally, our education sponsorship policy encourages employees to pursue higher education for up to 4 lakhs or 60% of the total course value/fee, aligned to their individual development plan. Employees can also opt for skill-based trainings that are relevant to their business or roles and access more than 10K courses for upskilling & reskilling on our platform ‘Learning Hub’.
Through these initiatives, our main goal is to provide a holistic employee experience and help our employees ‘Live fulfilled’. This means that employees can excel at their work, contribute to the organisation and society, adapt to the changing market conditions and work towards our vision of “making banking joyful.”
