Branch experience from Bastar

Branch experience shared by Shri Markam, Branch Manager, Sukma Branch, in CITIZEN SBI INTERVENTION-II PROGRAMME.

SUKMA BRANCH, BASTAR REGION, RAIPUR MODULE, CHHATTISGARH.

On 16^th December 2009 at 2:10 pm four un-identified persons entered into the premises of Sukma Branch. One of them attacked security guard by knife.  The  security guard, though vigilant, was hit  on the left side of the chest.  The scuffle attracted the attention of other staff members. The area being a very sensitive (being a naxalite infested area) the staff immediately sensed trouble.  Meanwhile the other  three miscreants were preparing to enter the staff area. Their intention probably was to rob the branch as also the arms and ammunition of the security guard.  All staff members in one go shouted alertness and took position to defend against the miscreants. Even the customers at the counters and in the banking hall took position to fight  against the miscreants. Everything happened quite spontaneously in 30-45 seconds.

Seeing the unexpected, the miscreants withdrew their offence and made a run towards the main entrance. They managed to escape through the dense forest behind the branch.

After  this incidence, the branch staff and customers  were in a sense of shock. First aid service was provided to the wounded security guard and he was rushed to health centre for treatment. The Branch Manager immediately telephoned local police station for assistance. Police guards reached the branch and search operation started .  The security forces also went into the dense jungles, where the miscreants had rushed but they returned empty handed.

 At the branch, the atmosphere is that of shock and total disbelief at the incidence that happened in the broad daylight. A feeling of fear and insecurity was engulfing the staff members and customers too. Some of the staff members overreacted by submitting their leave applications to branch manager at some pretext.  Overall, the confidence level of the staff members was very low.

Sensing the atmosphere and the feedback being received, the Branch Manager immediately called a staff. After briefing on the incidence and the subsequent actions taken, he appreciated the proactive role of security guard, staff members and customers too. He also acknowledged the courage displayed by  the staff in defending against the miscreants. He advised the staff to work as a team, be strong and brave in future in any such eventuality. He assured all possible help from local police authorities to safeguard the branch, staff and customers.

Staff members after  that meeting agreed to work as a team and withdrew their leave applications. The branch has emerged as a role model to other branches working  in the entire ‘naxalite prone area’ of Bastar region.

Courtesy: K. Natarajan, Czn Facilitator, SBLC, Raipur

Ms Naushaba Hasan shares an experience from Chhattisgarh ..

COLLECTIVE FULFILLMENT EXPERIENCE SHARED BY Ms NAUSHABA HASAN, BRANCH MANAGER, MANDHAR BRANCH  DURING CONTRIBUTION LAB FOR REGION-7, RAIPUR , BHOPAL CIRCLE

During 2009-10, the advance level of my branch had doubled from the level of 2008-09, and NPA level was also below the level of March 2009. In percentage terms it was almost half the NPS percentage level of the previous f.y. It was some time around the end of January 2010. We had  just recieved the closure of our RFIA report. Business budgets were almost achieved and the time seemed to be perfect for some new initiative.

I called a staff meeting on Saturday evening so as to congratulate the staff on upgradation of the branch's rating. During the meeting one important point of discussion was recovery in written off accounts. This will also increase the income of the branch. I agreed to it and invited the suggestions from other staff members. The FO immediately came up with the list of written off accounts in which we can make the efforts. I asked him to show me such a/c's, on which he called the messenger to bring pb/rd/w'off registers.the messenger's response was prompt"sahab 10-12 registers hain, kaun sa laaun"?i asked her to bring all the register.from all those torn out register it was not difficult to make out that with some planned and directed efftorts, we can produce results.

All the staff members agreed to it, though a few had their own apprehensions. Everyone was aware that followup of old accounts that were written off in 80s or 90s is not an easy task but due to the atmosphere of teamwork prevalent in the branch the staff were self-motivated and all of them wanted to be associated with such a challenging task it and also wished to contribute something towards branch profitability apart from doing their normal routine tasks.

After a meaningful discussion we were able to allocate different tasks to different staff members as per their personal capabilities. The special assistants who were not that well versed with the computers were given the task of indexing and noting particulars from age old registers, CRA who was tech savy was given the work of mail merging and messenger and FO were assigned the job of going to villages, meeting the borrowers and explaining to them the opportunities available to the old defaulters to come clean of their bad debts. Around 100+ letters were sent to the customers who defaulted in meeting their loan obligation in the past. For the past few years the annual recovery from w/off accounts dwindled around 1 or 1.5 lacs, i set a target that if we could be able to double it say can make a recovery of 2 or 3 lacs we can say that yes our efforts were successful!!!

Finally the day of recovery camp arrived. Except for me and one of my assistants who was looking after cash counter that day, all the staff were at panchayat bhavan, village tekari. The response was really good. A crowd of more then 50 people had come their for enquiring about their case. My staff members very patiently explained to them the detailed process. The untiring efforts of my staff started yielding results in the next 15 days. Each one of us would come to office by 9:30 a.m.and sit in the branch till 9:00 or some times 9:30 in the night(since it was february and annual closing was nearing, we had a lot of other works to do).

I took the responsibility of counselling people and preparing compromise proposals (for getting it sanctioned from RBO). The effort was to send everything in one go, as we had convinced the customers for final loan closure and did not want the customers to come to the branch again and again for the same work.

And God..........what were the results????? We were able to recover some 6.30 lacs plus recovery in written off accounts......50 accounts that were written off in late 80s or 90s with 24 cases of compromise and rest with full recovery along with interest. The RM personaly acknowledged the efforts made by us and sent us an appreciation letter for the same. In the P-review meeting of february 2010 our branch was termed as model example for recovery and our RM asked me to share the success story of my branch, so that other can also follow it.

Budget achieved, a+ rating for the first time in the history of the branch,reduced NPA level and sone pe suhaga w/off account recovery bonanza along with a privilege of heading a model branch.....what else cu a bm ask for?????????????????all due to efforts of my staff... my first experience of heading a branch is jz superb,isnt it?????

Contributed by NAUSHABA HASAN, Branch Manager, SBI, MANDHAR.

Courtesy: K. Natarajan, Citizen Facilitator, SBLC, Raipur 

Mind Control

YOU MAY CONTROL A MAD ELEPHANT;

YOU MAY SHUT THE MOUTH OF THE BEAR AND THE TIGER;

RIDE THE LION AND PLAY WITH THE COBRA;

BY ALCHEMY YOU MAY EARN YOUR LIVELIHOOD;

YOU MAY WANDER THROUGH THE UNIVERSE INCOGNITO;

MAKE VASSALS OF THE GODS; BE EVER YOUTHFUL;

YOU MAY WALK ON WATER AND LIVE IN FIRE;

BUT CONTROL OF THE MIND IS BETTER AND MORE DIFFICULT.

Jai Prakash Pandey

SBI-RSETI , Umaria

TEAM STORIES FROM NORTH EAST

NAME OF THE BRANCH: ZARKAWT


BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT: DEPOSIT MOBILISATION

WHY THE NEED FOR THE PROJECT AROSE?

Due to very low base of Deposits in the branch

HOW IT WAS IMPLEMENTED & RESULTS

(ANSWERING THE CRITERIA BELOW)

1. Did it involve many people from the unit? What kind of teaming/team effort took place?

Yes, it involved many people from the branch, almost all. The branch manager was briefed by the AGM, Region that he must explore the surrounding area for improving business of the branch and more specifically his thrust area should be deposit mobilization. The branch Manager called a staff meeting and invited suggestions from the staff for mobilization of deposit. The branch decided to send out a marketing team comprising of 2-3 staff who took turn every 2-3 days in a week to visit the local offices and residences for deposit mobilization. The achievements were recorded in a register .They reviewed their performances in staff meeting. Any difficulty or question from members of public which could not be answered by staff member were taken up for discussion in staff meeting so that the staff become confident to resolve such issues immediately. The efforts of the team resulted in improvement of deposit base from 3 crores to 15 crores and most importantly the RD base rose from 2 lacs to 15 lacs within a span of little over 1 year. The profit increased from 5 lacs to 42 lacs .

2. How did it energise people in the unit?

I was able to create the team spirit and shared with them a vision of better customer service. All of them felt the same and put whole hearted effort to set things right in terms of customer service.

3. What kind of fulfillment did It result in for the collective involved (team members and customers)?

The Team members felt very good when they saw the result of their effort.. They were inspired and motivated. There was great bonding between the customers and staff.

4. How did it enhance interaction with customer community?

Interaction with customer community increased when we explained them that by saving small amount through RD how they could fulfill so many of their dreams and saving is necessary to for overcome bad times. I advised my staff to explain that the Interest that the customers will get should be treated as bonus. Through savings in RD they are building a corpus for future use. This acted as a motivation both for my team as well as customers.

5. What are the sustainable results of this contribution in the unit?

The branch could achieve its deposit target and increased its profitability

too.

Sri S T NGHAITE, BRANCH MANAGER, ZARKAWT,

N.E CIRCLE

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NAME OF THE BRANCH: Nongstoin

CIRCLE: North East Circle

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT:

ATM project

WHY THE NEED FOR THE PROJECT AROSE?

The first ATM launched in the district So the project was necessary to give ATM card to 3000. People (approx)in a short span of time.

1. Did it involve many people from the unit? What kind of teaming/team effort took place?

Yes, it involved many people from the branch, almost all. I as head of the unit and my team members chalked out an action plan. Since the ATM was the first in the district, all the staff members were very enthusiastic to spread the message of ATM through active involvement of our existing customers. Every member of the team was assigned a task. The team sat one day every week to have a review of the no of ATM requests sent to ATM switch centre and the no of cards distributed amongst the customers.

2. How did it energies people in the unit?

Staff recognized that they can reduce the number of footfalls in the branch if they actively take part in this team effort..

3. What kind of fulfillment did It result in for the collective involved (team members and customers)?

The branch had to cater to the needs of Government Departments, schools, cottage industries etc, being the dist Head Qtr branch. All the transactions used to be carried out in the branch. Installation of ATM and migration of 3000 customers to ATM channel within a short period of time resulted in less footfalls, increased job satisfaction, belongingness and team spirit among staff members. Improved customer relations resulted in nil complaints.

4. How did it enhance interaction with customer community?

Enhanced image of the branch and better relationship with customers.

5. What are the sustainable results of this contribution in the unit?

Happy customers, reduced work for staff.

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NAME OF THE BRANCH: Badarpur I.E Branch

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT: To attract employees of Hindustan Paper Corporation from CBI, Panchgram.

WHY THE NEED FOR THE PROJECT AROSE?

The branch had a declining “P” segment deposit and advances

1.Did it involve many people from the unit? What kind of teaming/team effort took place?

Yes, all staff members and officers were involved in opening of a very large number of accounts almost 2000+ within 15 days. The reason for opening such large number of accounts was the installation of ATM machine inside the HPC complex, so that the employees of HPC could withdraw their salary through ATM. The staff members as well as the customers recognized the value in opening the accounts very quickly. The ATM requests were also sent quickly. Every person in the branch along with me has taken part in this mammoth project as it was completed in just 15 days.

2.How did it energise people in the unit?

i) As a result of the project P Segment deposit and advances increased by 3 times .

ii) The customers were very happy they were able to withdraw money 24*7 instead of standing for hours in front of extension counters of CBI.

iii) The business parameters including profitability increased by many times

iv) The branch was uplifted and classified as Scale IV branch.

v) The branch bagged the prestigious award of becoming the Chairman.s club member.

3.What kind of fulfillment did It result in for the collective involved(team members and customers)?

Every member of staff was very happy as they were recognized and appreciated by senior management. Most of all , they felt proud of the change they could bring about in the branch.

4.How did it enhance interaction with customer community

Enhanced image of the branch and a new relationship built with HPC. .

5.What are the sustainable results of this contribution in the unit?

Increased business. Scale IV branch, happy customers, and fulfilled staff.

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Name of the Branch : Laitumkhrah

Brief description of the project: Student loan to Ist Batch, 2007, students of IIM, Shillong.

1.Why the need for project arose: To market student loan to all new entrants and to increase the image / business of the State Bank of India.

2.Did it involve many people from the unit?What kind of teaming/ Team effort took place?

i) Collected the name of the successful students from IIM with their email address.

ii) Sent Welcome letter to their E Mail address to students welcoming to the Scotland of the East.

iii) Through welcome letter we have requested them to download the application Form from our website and dispatched in –principle sanction letter through e mail. On the date of admission, we had put up a stall in IIM. At one go we had collected their loan application form, sanction and documentation were completed on the spot in the presence of parents of the students.

iv) We also opened tea /coffee stall to entertain the students.

3.Did it involve many people from the unit?

It involved staff from the branch and the officers from RASMECCC,Shillong.

4.How did it energise the people?

As this was done for the first time, lot of enthusiasm was there in the staff of the branch and RASMECCC Shillong to build a very good image of SBI.

5. What kind of fulfillment did it result for the collective involved?

Parents and students were very happy. The branch was very contended for having built a positive image of the branch and the business growth.

6.What were the sustainable results of the project in the unit?

The same project is still continuing. We could take over the business of IIM,Shillong from UBI.

Shared by Shri Tanuj Kr Dhar , AGM ,Laitumkhrah branch

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Mawngap Cluster,RBO-I Shillong

Brief Description of the project : Adoption of a village ( Wahlang) for Financial Inclusion and credit linkage.

1.Did it involve many people from the unit? What kind teaming. Team efforts took place?

Yes, People from the branch,MRT, Local NGO, Vety Deptt, BF and NABARD were involved in the project A plan was chalked out by the MRT with the help of these departments. Necessary approval from the authorities were taken. Accounts were opened by the branch . Review of the progress with the different departments were carried out systematically. Camps were held with the help of the local line authorities regarding different projects that the village can carry out in the village for increasing their income.

2.What kind of fulfillment did it result in for the collective involved ?

The remarkable growth in branch business was an achievement.The villagers were very happy that the Bank came to their door and adopted their village. They could get credit solutions whenever they were in urgent need.

3.How did it enhance the interaction with the customer community?

The interaction with the local community resulted in people in the area getting

awareness and confidence in the bank to such an extent that the nearby

villages invited the MRT to adopt their villages in the same way. Business in

deposits and advances started to grow continuously. Controllers appreciated the

staff of the branch for the job well done. The image of the bank improved in the area.

4.What were the sustainable results of this Contribution project in the unit?

Expansion of business area, growth in business , profitability and finally a

motivation to take up similar projects in future.

Shared by MRT Leader, Shri L Kanti

GENERAL MANAGER'S VISIT TO CONTRIBUTION LAB

Shri R.N. Mehra, General Manager, (NW-I), North Eastern Circle interacting with participants of Contribution Lab at SBLC, Jorhat on 17.08.2010. Shri Ashok Lyngdoh, AGM, SBLC, Jorhat and Intervention Leader II is seen with the General Manager.

Moments of collective fulfillment from Indore

Contribution Project:

 Performance improvement at CB Indore (post migration to MCG)

 Name of the Branch: Commercial Branch, Indore (MCG)

Brief Description of the Project:

Fulfilling the expectation of the Clients by providing better service/of the Bank by increasing business volume substantially after creation of Mid Corporate Group (MCG).

Why the need for the project arose:

Branch was included in the MCG and there was a need to have a re-look on the overall business process vis-a-vis customer expectation.

How it was implemented and results:

Planning: Over all assessment was done under the leadership of the DGM of the branch, problem areas identified and feedback taken from the customers (through one to one interactions/ during customer relation programs). As branch was made part of MCG group, the time was opportune for exploring the full potential of the unit / its people.

Implementation: Positioning of manpower was an important issue as many new positions were created. Bhopal circle, the staff provider, was quick to response to the needs of the Branch. Existing staff members (having knowledge of talent available) actively participated in the exercise of identifying people and positioning them. The leadership was quite open to any suggestion related to staff matters. For IB division, Six Sigma concept was adopted for an error-free transaction environment. Changing Sitting arrangement to suite the client needs and to facilitate smooth, flawless workflow, was taken care of with a minimum alteration in the interiors. Initially, there was some discomfort among some staff members, which was subsided once results started coming in. Branch timing was starting at 11.15 A.M. mainly to cater to the needs of Industrial sector, where their employees report to factories before coming to the branch. With business focus shifting to commercial business, majority of clients were not comfortable with the timing. The branch shifted the timing to 10.30 A.M. and for forex business even at 9.00 A.M. IB Manager can tie up rates with FD over cell phone for the customers. Cell phones were provided to other officials as well, who need to be in touch with the clients on regular basis.

Results for Clients: Better services helped them to strengthen the relationship. Large number of queries/ counseling opportunities were starting pouring in.

Results for the Bank: Branch could achieve targets in the next three years very comfortably. The business leads were enough to help the branch/bank sufficiently. Customer satisfaction level helped as a image booster.

Results for the Staff: Almost all eligible and willing staff members got a promotion; some of them even get two promotions within next four years. Everyone of the team was recognized with a certificate & gold coins. Besides all of them got better level of confidence for the future challenges.

Was it a Contribution Project? -   A fitness test.

Criteria and achievements:
Did it involve many people from the unit? What kind of teaming/team efforts took place?	Yes, most of the officers were involved in the process. Team efforts were mainly related to brain storming and at actual work situation.
How did it energize the people in the unit?	It energized the operative staff as clear goals were set out and there were genuine efforts to provide support and guidance at every stage.
What kind of fulfillment did it result in for the collective involvement (Team members/Customers) ?	By providing efficient service, which quickly resulted in customer satisfaction and business growth, all the team members feel great. It was a collective effort and collective joy was visible everywhere.
How did it enhance the interaction with the customer community?	The visibility grew immensely and there was no need for additional publicity. Customer enquiry increased and share of business in the consortium/multiple banking increased significantly.
What were the sustainable results of this Contribution Project in the unit?	Sustainable results were received in the form of good business growth for the next three years, customer satisfaction level increased to highest level and staff member also get recognition in the form of good postings/promotions etc.

Project prepared by Rajesh Kumar Verma, Citizen SBI, then associated with Commercial Branch, Indore as Manager (International Banking) & Chief Manager/Team Leader (CPCell)


Courtesy: Suresh Iyer, Facilitator, SBLC, Bhopal

Relief work at Sagar

Name of the Branch – Civil Lines, Sagar

Brief Description of the project – During 1^st week of july 2004 there was heavy rains in the Sagar town and half of the city was affected by flood. Many lower level colonies submerged in water. Immediately after rains stopped, the Government declared relief to affected peoples. The District Collector called the meeting of all the Bankers at Sagar and assigned the task of distribution of relief to affected peoples. Our branch has accepted the task and we got ready to pay relief to approximately 10000 peoples. The Collector desired to open the accounts so that relief may be deposited in their accounts. We convinced him that opening of account will take more time and some of the people may not be able to complete KYC formalities and will be deprived of relief, therefore, collector agreed to pay relief through order cheques. Some Government Officers were authorized by the Collector to attest signature on reverse of the cheque and for illiterate customers one or two officers were available in the branch for their identification.

Now I came in the branch and took a meeting of all the staff members and narrated the situation. The staff took the situation positively and decided to run the branch by half staff and half will be freed to make payment of relief.

1          All the staff members are involved in the unit as half of the staff agreed to complete the branch work by taking other counters work, while of spared staff had made payment of relief with extra 700-800 payments per staff per day which is atleast three times more than the routine payment handled by a staff member during normal banking days.

2.         During normal banking days the staff handles 100-200 vouchers per day, at that time they handled 700-800 vouchers.

3.         The task could not be completed successfully with out team efforts. This opportunity generated a team spirit among the staff a emotional bond created among the team members which help a lot in improving the branch rating and business in the coming days.

4.         After timely receipt of relief, although funds are received from government the peoples recognized as the funds received from bank and it has created a space for bank in the heart of all the peoples involved. Most of the people has received banking services through our branch.

5.         Those people who had received relief through our branch had opened the account in our branch and still today they introduce new customers to branch. The government authorities appreciated the deed and all funds in future are received by us.

N K Jain

Chief Manager

SBI, Jehangirabad


Courtesy: Suresh Iyer, Facilitator, SBLC, Bhopal

COLLECTIVE FULFILLMENT FROM JAIRAMPUR BRANCH IN THE NORTH-EAST

OPENING OF JAIRAMPUR BRANCH

There was a proposal to open a new branch at Jairampur in Arunachal Pradesh situated about 40 kms away from nearest town of Margherita in Assam. Initially, there was a strong apprehension about opening of a branch at Jairampur and whether any potential existed in the area. However, it was opined that opening of the branch at Jairampur could be taken as a challenge the branch could show a positive result in the near future. Thereby Jairampur branch was opened on 17.09.1984 with a total staff strength of 4 (four). A target was given to the branch to achieve Rs.80.00 lacs in deposits within a short period of 6 (six) months.

All the staff members, who were newly recruited, alongwith the Branch Manager took the challenge and undertook an oath to achieve the target within the time frame allotted i.e., before the annual closing. They devised a strategy to go for door to door approach to mobilize deposits. At that time, Jairampur had a population of about 4000 to 4500 people surrounded by 10 to 12 villages. Accordingly, the branch formed a team comprising of 4 members (Branch Manager + 2 staff + 1 sub-staff). They covered all the nearby areas and villages and apprised suitably about the bank’s schemes and various products. They worked hard together with zeal and sincerity. The team could even manage to snatch away deposits of the local people from Post offices in the area. The team members met regularly and reviewed their performance. They extended excellent service to the customers. As a result, more and more new customers could be brought to the branch and business of the branch improved. Moreover, as the area was unbanked earlier, all the inhabitants were very happy and satisfied with excellent services being provided to them by Jairampur branch. Now it was not required for them to visit Margherita town 40 kms away for any banking facility.

The people in the unit were energized as their effort was yielding result and more and more business were being booked with the bank. The collective work of the team brought job satisfaction and the people of the area were very happy to get efficient services of the bank branch in their area. Due to the hard work put in by all the staff members in giving the best of customer service, a good relationship developed with the local people.

As a result of this contribution project, the branch was able to book deposits of Rs.80.00 lacs within a period of six months as on 31.03.1985 and during the next financial year the branch also booked ‘PROFIT’.

Shared at Citizen SBI Intervention-II programme at SBLC Jorhat (N.E Circle)