Human Resources: A vital pillar in Sacombank's Strong Internal Strength, Strong Future

The year 2023 marks the 32nd anniversary of Sacombank's establishment, with the bank's total assets estimated to surpass VND 665 trillion by year-end, solidifying its position as one of Vietnam's largest private banks. This remarkable achievement is underpinned by various factors, with the core being a multi-generational staff equipped with profound professional knowledge, dynamism, creativity, and enthusiasm—essential ingredients that have fueled Sacombank's steady development.

So, what strategic approach to human resource management has enabled a long-standing joint-stock commercial bank like Sacombank to maintain such a high-caliber workforce?

Building strength from within, creating a solid foundation

At Sacombank, every aspect is rooted in foundational principles. In the realm of human resource investment, Sacombank places a premium on fundamental factors such as opportunities for capacity development, attractive welfare policies, and gender equality.

Recognizing that training is key to enhancing businesses' intellectual capabilities and creating a competitive edge, Sacombank has prioritized this from its early days, establishing and operating a Training Center with the mission of "Creating a happy learning environment." Under this mission, Sacombank aims to foster a friendly learning environment where employees perceive learning and development as intrinsic actions rather than obligations.

Diverging from traditional classroom settings, Sacombank offers a diverse array of advanced training programs that integrate theory with interactive and practical components. Many textbooks are digitized, enabling personnel to access them at their convenience. Noteworthy in Sacombank's digital transformation is the LMS digital library, operating 24/7 for online training content. Lectures, curated by Sacombank's team of specialized and internal lecturers, are highly applicable, facilitating learners in planning their training and capacity development autonomously.

Beyond learning, Sacombank employees have a transparent promotion plan. Unlike subjective assessments by managers, Sacombank provides employees with a specific career development roadmap from day one. This roadmap, categorized by titles, aligns with the requisite professional knowledge and skills. Employees actively participate in self-improvement based on the standards of their desired promotion position.

Sacombank conducts periodic testing and evaluation programs to stimulate self-study among employees, identifying excellent candidates for strategic human resource planning. Presently, an impressive 99% of Sacombank's managers have evolved from internal resources through a proactive development process. The bank also attracts talent through competitive salary, bonus, and welfare policies—ensuring not only employee happiness and a sense of security but also expressing appreciation for the value they contribute.

In addition to promotion opportunities and benefits, equality is a pivotal factor in Sacombank's effective human resources management strategy. The bank is committed to empowering and providing equal opportunities for training, advancement, and benefits to both men and women. Recognizing that an equitable working environment not only maximizes employee potential but also fosters a spirit of unity, Sacombank currently boasts over 8,500 female employees, more than 9,000 male employees, and a diverse age range encompassing Gen X to Gen Z. This diverse workforce creates a multi-identity working environment characterized by the creativity and dynamism of youth alongside the wisdom and experience of seasoned staff.

Evolving value, unwavering in a changing landscape

Recognizing that the pulse of progress lies in adaptability to trends and positive transformations, Sacombank remains committed to cultivating, enhancing, and incorporating advancements in human resources to elevate operational performance.

Over the years, the bank has strategically prioritized comprehensive digital transformation to augment its managerial capabilities. A pivotal moment occurred when Sacombank collaborated with SAP and HR Path, globally renowned providers of human resource management services, to implement SAP SuccessFactors—an advanced solution based on the cloud computing platform, utilized by over 120 million users in 74 countries.

SAP SuccessFactors seamlessly translates manual interactions between personnel and the organization into online interactions within a digital environment. This platform empowers all Sacombank employees to proactively plan their career advancements, enhance their skills profiles, and manage personal information and data. Tasks that once required paper documentation, such as leave requests, are now effortlessly completed with a keyboard operation, automatically notifying management and updating the system for easy tracking. This platform enhances managerial accuracy, reduces subjective factors in evaluations, and streamlines unnecessary procedures.

Beyond digitizing management tasks, Sacombank's digital transformation endeavors aim to boost work efficiency. The bank has fostered a digital working environment through VPN and VDI technology, leveraging cloud technology. This allows 18,000 employees to share documents and engage in online collaboration through tools like Office 365 and Microsoft Teams from any location. Sacombank promotes new digital-friendly mindsets such as design thinking, data-driven decision-making, and customer-centric thinking, along with fostering digital skills like data mining and information security for both managers and employees. The bank has a dedicated team of experts guiding everyone in adopting these new working methods.

In anticipation of a future marked by sustainable development, Sacombank strives to understand and meet the spiritual needs of its diverse workforce. Over the past 32 years, the bank has fostered a culture of exchange and open discussion, providing a platform for breakthrough ideas that significantly contribute to product and service upgrades and process improvements. Sacombank also organizes impactful community events, including the "Running with Sacombank for Community Health" cross-country tournament, "Steps for the Community," the "Spring Warmth" volunteer program, the "Nurturing Dreams" scholarship, and the "Sacombank - Sharing from the Heart" humanitarian blood donation program. These initiatives not only enrich the spiritual lives of employees but also instill a sense of usefulness and value within the community. According to a recent Happiness Survey conducted among 14,396 employees, Sacombank boasts an impressive 84% employee happiness rate.

Upholding key values with the consistent motto "sustainable from the root," Sacombank has been recognized as the "Best Place to Work in Asia" for three consecutive years (2021, 2022, 2023) by HR Asia—an esteemed HR magazine. The 2023 award specifically commends the bank's commitment to "diversity, fairness, and inclusion," aligning perfectly with Sacombank's persistent pursuit of human resources development and contributing to the creation of a robust human resources foundation, adding vibrant hues to the canvas titled "Strong Internal Strength, Strong Future."