A career in Banking is one of the most sought after jobs in Kenya. This is mainly because a banking career has always been respected and is considered to be a very reputed profession. A banker is looked at with utmost veneration and admiration as banking professionals, in a way, help in running the economy smoothly and perhaps because they are always dressed in nice suits. It’s no wonder banking is seen as a lucrative/ prestigious career.
So why do many people like banking jobs? Susanne Muchoki, Talent and Operations Manager CBA Bank attributes this to perceived prestige but most importantly because of low interest on loans for longer period that employees get over other customers. Such people can afford to invest more and live a better life than an ordinary citizen.
Banks are now very accommodative to other professions. In an interview with Dorcas Karuana, Suzanne Muchoki of CBA Bank sheds light on what it takes to get a banking job, get a promotion and what to do if you are fired from a bank.
1. What do you look for when recruiting graduates into the bank?
First there is a benchmark of minimum requirement that every graduate should meet. This includes scoring KCSE overall grade of a B with; Mathematics B, English B, and any University degree 2nd Upper division or a G.P.O 3.0.
We look for qualities like ones level of ambition and gauge ones attitude since it can take one anywhere. Also, we look for all rounded graduates; in terms of academics and extracurricular activities such as sports, athletics and involvement in clubs among others.
2. Banking is perceived as a lucrative/ prestigious career. What’s your take on this?
This is a notion common with the younger generation mainly because of how they are socialised to view some careers as more prestigious than others. There is a notion of a banker having influence of how much you are going to get as a loan or how you are served so you get people dressing up to go to the bank
Suzanne Muchoki, Talent & Operations Manager, CBA Bank
3. Do you offer internship opportunities? If so, how do you advertise them?
We go to as many campuses as possible to search for graduate interns, while others apply directly to us. Thereafter, a background match to specific areas of the bank is done depending on the need in the bank and they are hired.
4. Do your internships turn into a job?
Yes. Supervisors normally review the performance of the interns at the end of the internship period which is then filed. This involves looking at ones attitude and performance on duties, how one gels with the team and ones interest in working for CBA Bank. The very good ones are retained if need be and if not they are considered for future positions that they meet the qualifications.
5. Banks are now accommodating other professions that Finance into their human resource especially cashiers. Why are they doing this?
Others degree are also useful in the bank and very flexible. Education degree holders are easy to train and interact better with clients as they have a good attitude. This is unlike finance graduates who challenge if you can’t place them in finance.
6. I have found graduates with education degrees remain as cashiers or client service for years and get sort of stuck in there. What is your advice to them?
Work environment is about professional development which is usually determined by performance. Apart from this, such graduates need to identify a professional or educational course such as CPA’s or MBA in order to understand business arena and be knowledgeable. It’s also important to identify a line of experience one would want to have.
7. What does it take to rise from one position to another i.e get a promotion?
Promotions in a bank are all about performance record and experience in a line as well as behaviour. We normally use a Balance Score Card which gauges one on two key areas: technical i.e what needs to be done and behavioural i.e how the person is doing it; with a focus on soft and hard skills.
8. How can banks or even other companies retain top talent?
Top talent is being searched all over. A company should focus on career development aspects. Find out the factors that attract them to stay out to go. You can empower them with skills for example, CBA Bank, we have a management course in Harvard University for our top talent.
Secondly compensate top achievers very well. For example a bank can do a comparative analysis of salaries with peer banks. Also they need to be kept engaged and get to know how they are thinking or feeling and then act on their concerns. This way they feel valued and that their decisions matter to the employer.
9. Many bank employees have found themselves fired for fraud or paying back the money to the bank. What are the major causes of this?
Integrity is the key thing in this sector, and at no time should it be compromised. Different banks deal with fraud cases differently; some will ask one to pay the money while others do not, but take disciplinary measures on the person.
First we sought to find out the cause of the fraud which could be either; laxity in ones job, performance where the person has no skills to do the job or insubordination due to attitude of a person.
10. Employers are now doing a lot of reference checks for new employees. What would you advice those who are fired from a bank?
Depending on the reason of being fired, one can apply for a job in another bank or company or else forget about jobs and go into self employment. In many cases, employers are flexible on cases where one in fired because of misconduct, or negligence and want to find out exactly what happened. They will listen to your story and then call the bank to get their side of the story. One can get hired if the employer feels there was bias or malice in the firing.
However, if one was fired because of fraud, then getting another job elsewhere becomes a big challenge. In some cases, especially where large amount of money was involved, one can forget about being employed.
11. Cashiers are among the most common entry level jobs in banks. What is the salary ranges of Cashiers in CBA Bank?
Our salary is regulated and we offer a salary of Sh 57,000 and a house allowance of Sh 6,000with an yearly leave allowance. Others banks that are not union members pay as low as Sh 35,000 for graduates and Sh 30,000 for non graduates.
