'More opportunities today unlike earlier' :

Recruiting the right talent - the biggest challenge

Anuradha KODAGODA

As a frontliner, the biggest challenge is recruiting the right talent and then how to get them committed towards achieving the objectives of the company.

A frontliner starts from customer service staff, retailers and branch managers upwards. The key areas which are concentrated by being a frontliner is highly dependent on the soft areas of the business, said Assistant Vice President, Head - Branch Strategy and Sales NDB Bank, Yasas Hewage.

"As I identified the key challenge is how to find the best people to serve the customers' needs and secondly to be customer oriented" "Unlike earlier, now there are many opportunities for youth.

At most times we have experienced it's a real challenge to make them committed and passionate towards the organization's objectives. Since many frontliners today do not look for long term careers they have choices and options and probably think twice before giving 300 percent to the job. Therefore, in this type of situation it is a real challenge for a frontliner", he said.

Here are his down-to-earth views.

Q. What inspired you to select marketing as your career?

A. I started my career as a banker 11 years ago. Subsequently, I got the unique opportunity to get into a project which was setting up sales for the HSBC. Therefore, I probably became the first sales person in the banking industry. That's where my professional career changed from professional banking to retail banking.

I basically perceived my passion to the subject of marketing as professional interest. Thereafter, my career moved in to branch banking to sales, sales management and product management where I got involved in channel management and strategies. However, my core professional career is with sales and marketing where I developed my career in the subject of marketing.

Q. Being a frontliner in the company, what are the challenges you face in the field of marketing?

A. Being a frontliner, the biggest challenge is recruiting the right talent and then how to get them committed towards achieving the objectives of the company.

The frontliner starts from customer service staff, retailers and branch managers upwards. The key areas which are concentrated by being a frontliner is highly dependent on the soft areas of the business. As I identified the key challenge is how to find the best people to serve the customers' needs and secondly to be customer oriented.

Most youngsters who get into the field of banking or marketing ask the question 'Do you really get the core or the cream into the key jobs that we have?' The answers are always not according to expectations. As I see the main reason for this loophole is, unlike earlier now there are many opportunities for youth. At most times we experienced it's a real challenge to make them committed and passionate towards the organization's objectives. Since many frontliners today do not look for long term careers they have choices and options and probably think twice before giving 300 percent to the job. Therefore, this situation is a real challenge for a frontliner.

Similarly, the challenges from the customer's side can also be the same. There are many options for customers today in the market. This is where Marketeers should be thorough with their marketing strategies, to grab business. Sri Lanka has very limited market potential for banking compared to the population in the country. However, from the marketing point of view, it's always a challenge to create customer loyalty.

Q. In many companies we often seen that marketeers are not represented at board room meetings. What is your view?

A. I look at this in two ways. Today, most organizations are yet to appreciate the true strategic context of marketing in the organization itself. Some organizations are keen on advertising and some are keen on promotions, probably the highest level would be the same level of segmentation.

In this situation the authority may decide that there is no need for a marketeer to be represented at boardroom meetings. On the other hand, the majority of marketeers probably have a limited set of skills in their marketing disciplines - such as limited soft skills, creative capabilities and execution capabilities. Therefore in the current context probably they do not carry the rest of the business skills with them to move in their marketing function in to the business function. And also there can be another reason, the way marketeers are positioned within the organization.

That is how people see what they do and the perception of these activities. These issues I would call glass barriers. However, the average marketeer should build marketing competencies, skills and knowledge on a broader business perspective for them to move in to business roles that will ultimately get them into the board room.

Q. What are the advertising strategies you adopt in the company?

A. During the past 10 to 15 years, banks are appreciating more and more the principles of marketing. Nowadays banks are spending heavily on adverting campaigns to promote their products and services as well as to build the corporate image of the bank. We also see a great degree of promotional initiatives at many levels with the objective of attracting customers, retaining them and growing the customers.

There are a few banks, which we call tiger banks, who use personal sales heavily to grab their market potential. It is very common in other parts of the world and here in Sri Lanka as well. Banks can also win most customers through Public Relations (PR) as well, since public trust is essential especially in the banking sector.

Q. What are the challenges you face when it comes to global branding?

A. If we look at global brands we have only a handful in Sri Lanka. If we observe how they operate in Sri Lanka, we see it mainly focuses on the Western Province and most of them are niche players. Therefore, these banks are quite challenging for local banks including us since they are highly competitive in their missions, and global expertise is unparalleled compared to local banks. However, these banks target niche markets and if we consider the overall prospect, the banks which operate locally do not restrict their services only to the Western Province.

In that context, the multinational's role is limited. Though the multi-national banks services are limited in the Western Province, they can reach the customer in other provinces through telecommunications. I think that changes the consumer's mind and local brands get affected.

Q. What do you think about local marketeers?

A. The local marketing fraternity is relatively small. There are a very few people in the field who are professionally qualified marketeers. To be fair by the marketeers we see that the key local brands are headed by some professional marketeers in the country.

However, if we look at the next level or the booming marketeers it's quite challenging. There are a very few true marketing jobs available in the local market. Hence the opportunity for their future development is less. Secondly, the educational infrastructure in the field of marketing is limited.

As a result we could see that very few professional marketeers come in to the field. There are a handful of marketeers who add value and earn respect to the profession of marketing. These are challenges for the next generation of marketeers which they have to understand and work to overcome these challenges.

However, my advice to the next generation of marketeers is for them to be passionate about the subject of marketing. The first step should be to get yourself qualified. It is not a mere paper qualification but one who truly appreciates the subject. The next step would be to join a company which will help develop one's marketing role.