Turning Over a New Leaf

The integration of mortgage giant HDFC Ltd with HDFC Bank sets the stage for making the best of both worlds 

- ANAND ADHIKARI

7 HDFC BANK TOP ATTRIBUTES

 FOCUS ON UTILISING UNIQUE SKILL SETS
 SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE TO EMPLOYEES
 JOB SECURITY AND STABILITY

EVOLVING WITH THE TIMES Vinay Razdan, Chief Human Resources Officer, HDFC Bank

A CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (CEO), who interacts with employees on the ground often, gets dozens of suggestions and feedback on policies. HDFC Bank’s CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan’s expeditions (he goes on bus tours of semi-urban and rural branches) spells a list of actionable items for Vinay Razdan, the Chief Human Resources Officer. “Many issues can be quickly resolved, some are complicated and some are difficult to do because banking is a regulated business with governance and risk involved,” says Razdan. The bank, however, has been quite successful in implementing many suggestions—from vehicle loan policy to higher limits for home loans.

It is already challenging to manage the aspirations of a large workforce of over 200,000. The merger of the housing finance company—HDFC Ltd— with the bank has thrown up many new ones. The mortgage product was previously exclusively handled by HDFC Ltd, while the bank focussed on other financial services products. The mortgage business was structured in such a way that lead generation, credit assessment, and disbursements were done at the branches. Banking is a more centralised function with different departments taking care of lead generation and credit assessment. So, integrating a niche product with a specialised workforce has been a tough task.