Saudi International Bank

Saudi International Bank Organisation Name: Saudi International Bank Organisation Size: 230 Sector: Finance and Financial Services Organisation Location: London The Organisation Saudi International Bank was established in 1975. It is 50% owned by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) and 20% by Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York, with the remainder of the shares being held by a group of leading international banks. The bank's headquarters are in London, with offices in New York and Tokyo. Saudi International Bank provides corporate finance, banking, risk management and fund management services to governmental, corporate and institutional clients in the Middle East and throughout the world. The bank has 230 staff, based mainly in London. Representatives of the shareholders meet quarterly to review the bank's performance, with the day-to-day management carried out by a board of the nine business and functional heads, chaired by the CEO, and known as the Managing Committee. The Challenge In 1991 it was recognised that the bank must change its culture to focus more sharply on performance and on clients and their business. The commercial imperative had to be moved to the top of the agenda and a stronger, clearer sense of business direction achieved. The change was to be accomplished during a period when the bank faced other challenges, such as:

 severe operational disruption, including total loss of premises and technology, as a result of two City terrorist bombings in 1992 and 1993  total relocation of the London operation in 1994 from the City to Knightsbridge  a hostile business environment in many of the bank's favoured markets and activities.

The Strategy Under the leadership of a new management team, recruited mainly from within the organisation, a comprehensive series of training and development initiatives was implemented. This emphasis on training was to be a significant catalyst as the bank refocused from being a commercial bank to begin the transformation to merchant bank status. An important early step was the formation of a rigorous business planning process which delivered a clear and highly focused corporate strategy, supported by a new mission statement for the business. Because the bank is a small one, there is a critical need for technical skills and product skills, and a high level of investment in technical training. Employees need to be flexible and multiskilled. A more rigorous approach to the assessment of training needs was adopted. Organisational training needs were determined as part of the regular business planning cycle. Individual needs emerge from this cycle, from the annual performance review process and from continuing assessment and dialogue between the line and personnel functions. All training was assessed for relevance both to the individual concerned and to the company. A new performance management system was introduced very early in the change process and utilised SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic and Timebound) to cascade important messages. This reinforced a strong sense of business direction - staff could see a clear link between individual accountability and achievement, and corporate and divisional business plans. The performance management approach adopted was introduced in a bank-wide series of workshops and focused on business objectives, the importance of measurable results and the concept of individual direct accountability. The Result Five per cent of the staff budget is spent on training. All training expenditure is controlled by, and must be approved by, the personnel department, and this has helped to ensure that a finite training resource is spent effectively. Managers have been weaned away from a menu-driven approach to formal training, and now focus attention much more on the articulation of training need, leaving personnel to determine and organise the best means of delivering training to satisfy the need. This internal consultancy role was consolidated by the recruitment of a personnel and training manager. A wide range of technical/product training needs has been met through a combination of external programmes and, more commonly, in-house tailored offerings. Pre-course and post-course briefings are used to evaluate training, and trainees are reviewed after some months to ensure that the training has been effective. Staff have a wider knowledge of the bank's activities and objectives, better prospects for career advancement and increased motivation. Investors in People Saudi International Bank received an award for an excellent example of an Investors in People portfolio at the first CILNTEC Investors in People awards event held in February 1995. Saudi International Bank is not the first name in the market, nor does it have the enormous capital base of some other banks. It depends on the high calibre of its people, the company's greatest asset, and on high-quality training and development plans to bring out the best in all employees. The Investors in People framework has offered a clear direction for progress towards the bank's goal, the achievement of best practice in people management. "Training and development must add value to the bottom line. Investors in People is helping us to be sure that is the case. In the highly competitive world of today we cannot leave it to chance."