Reshaping Jobs for a Bank’s HR Department of 100+

Introduction

One of Hungary’s major Banks, which preferred remaining unnamed, asked us reshaping the jobs of its HR Department in 2020. For the size of the Bank, the Department consisted of 100+ HR professionals.

Since its inception in 1989, the Bank functioned both as a central institution and as a corporate and investment bank. Its current size is the result of one of the largest mergers in the Hungarian banking industry, which was finished in 2020.

The Story of the Bank

The Bank defined itself primarily as a service provider for the local cooperative banks and their over 1 million clients. The Bank represented the interests of the Hungarian Cooperative Financial Institutions at both national and international levels and coordinated and developed the joint strategy within the network. The Bank advised and supported his members on legal, taxation, and business management issues. The Bank was member of the EACB and the Euro Banking Association. The Bank was also member of the Budapest Stock Exchange.

Between 2016 and 2022, a series of mergers and acquisitions shaped the current size and form of the Bank. In 2020, when we had the opportunity working for them, the intensive business and organization change was on its full force.

Our partner, the Head of HR Innovation and Competence Center, Deputy Managing Director of HR, decided to reshape the jobs in the Department. It was a fundamental requirement formulating new job contents and relating KPI’s to be easily adjustable as mergers and acquisitions progressed fast.

The Challenge of  HR Before Reshaping Jobs

The job roles and responsibilities within the HR Department had developed organically, leading to "multifunctional" personnel with undefined duties. This resulted in numerous overlaps and unaddressed tasks, making daily operations sub-optimal. Many employees worked strictly on an "instruction only" basis, refraining from taking initiative without explicit orders. Managers assigned tasks daily, and micromanagement was prevalent.

Additionally, the bank's expectations for the department often did not align with its organization and capabilities. Many cross-departmental projects faced challenges due to conflicting job requirements and unavailable competencies. The project-heavy work environment required better alignment between job functions and project demands.

Why the Bank Chose Reshaping Jobs

Most companies believe that job descriptions are inadequate because many technological steps are not precisely included, or not every step is mentioned – employees always perform additional and different tasks, which makes them never feel complete and final. And they cannot be complete and up-to-date, as processes are developed, roles and allocations change, and so does the organizational structure, etc.

However, we do not look for task allocations, i.e., technology, in the descriptions but rather for indicator-like data, any job description that feels incomplete becomes informative. Because this is never omitted: for example, completion by deadlines, or contacting and maintaining relationships with clients – this indicates that there is a client database somewhere, that cases are managed, etc., which can be associated with business indicators. We can find at least around 3-5 of these, and if there are more than 10, then the job description is not good.

The Head of HR Innovation and Competence recognized that the department needed to lead by example and began the process of reshaping themselves first.

How HR using Reshaped jobs

Now, HR managers at various levels focus on business and the contributions of HR employees, rather than on technology. The discussions revolve around data derived from the daily operations of employees, which can inform business decisions. This approach transforms HR into a business partner, extending its influence beyond the department.

Reshaping jobs forms the foundation for nearly all HR systems, with the most crucial being performance management, compensation, and career and talent management. On a personal level, establishing metrics relieves employees of unnecessary burdens, allowing everyone to focus on performance KPIs.

The Results

The performance indicators of the job descriptions are included in HR management meetings, then the criteria of the performance evaluation system and the selection system will be incorporated into managerial communication.

 

Call-to-Action

Reshaping jobs extends beyond the HR department and is recommended for the entire business.

Get in touch with us  if you want to see the same results as the Bank’s HR department enjoys.

Visit www.mindthejobs.com or drop us a message at mind@mindthejobs.com