A global view of the local bank

Considering that HSBC has been voted one of the best places to work on more than a few occasions, it’s safe to assume the global banking giant has the pick of the crop when it comes to new hires. But, with security issues nowhere more paramount than in the financial services industry and a powerful global brand to uphold, ensuring consistency and high standards in its HR strategy is always going to be a challenge.

HR Management caught up with HSBC America’s Vice President of Human Resources, Jeanne Ebersole, to find out how a centralized approach to recruitment is ensuring the bank’s employees across the US not only meet expectations, but ‘live the HSBC brand’.

HRM. How would you sum up your overall strategy for recruiting and maintaining staff?

JE. Attracting the best people to fill open positions is an integral component to the productivity and success of any business. HSBC recently instituted a centralized recruiting strategy designed to pair qualified candidates and positions quickly and efficiently.

In a shared service model, the centralized recruiting team efficiently handles marketing, sourcing and recruiting qualified talent for all HSBC positions in the US in a timeframe and at a cost that exceeds business expectations. This approach enables HR generalists to focus on their role as a business partner, while the recruiting team focuses on filling positions quickly and with the best people available. Our centralized recruiting team uses a multi-pronged approach to source talent: active candidates, passive job seekers, contingent workers, college recruitment and employee referrals. What’s more, we developed a marketing plan, so our employer brand is consistent throughout the US, linked to our external customer-facing marketing and branding, and allows us to present a unified image to potential employees.

Using a shared service is a best practice approach for HR. It’s simply the right thing to do for our internal customers and our business partners.

To retain the very best employees, HSBC provides a wide variety of employee benefits and rewards, including health insurance, life insurance coverage, retirement and savings programs, 401(k) and other employee services. The company’s industry-competitive compensation philosophy is based on the principles of a meritocracy and pay for performance. Policies and programs are designed to ensure that all employees receive fair and equitable compensation, based on their performance, and that the return on investment to the organization is maximized.

HRM. And is there a particular skill-set or type of person you look for at the bank?

JE. In addition to having the experience and requisite skills for a particular job, we are looking for potential employees who can ‘live the HSBC brand’ and possess our key attributes of being perceptive, progressive, responsive, respectful and fair. Having an employee base that exhibits these key behaviors will be what differentiates us in the marketplace. The brand reputation we build with our customers and how they perceive us will be the driving force behind our success.

HRM. Security must be a significant consideration in recruiting staff to work for the bank. What measures do you take to ensure the integrity of your staff?

JE. To ensure the integrity of potential new employees, the bank utilizes various forms of pre-employment testing including credit checks, drug tests, criminal background checks with fingerprinting, verification of education and employment history, as well as NASD and Insurance licensing verification, where appropriate. At the time of employment, new hires sign a confidentiality agreement and a certificate of compliance.

HRM. Is that an ongoing process? How do you prevent or detect risks that might develop with existing staff, for example, as a result of changing personal situations?

JE. It is ongoing. To give you a few examples, there are ongoing requirements to retain NASD and Insurance licenses for certain groups of employees; annual certification of compliance signed by all employees; semi-annual information security training for all employees; and annual anti-money laundering training for all employees.

HRM. Does the recruitment strategy of a financial institution vary from the norm in any other ways? Do you follow any regulations or best practices?

JE. I don’t imagine the recruitment strategy for a financial institution varies too much from any major corporation with a national footprint and a large number of branch/store locations. We rely heavily on prior industry knowledge, work experience, the ability to deliver an existing client network – specific to certain positions. Perhaps most importantly, we are looking for individuals with the ability to be successful and to thrive – by demonstrating the brand values – in a high-performance culture with aspirations to be the bank of choice to our customers as well as an employer of choice.

HRM. I understand that HSBC has been named as a ‘best place to work’ on a number of occasions. What do you put this down to?

JE. At HSBC, we offer a world of opportunity for those who are willing to learn, grow and achieve. Simply put, we expect the best. In return, we invest in our employees and reward them with best-in-class benefit programs and career development opportunities that can take them across the country or around the globe.

HSBC is proud of its high-performance culture, which has made us one of the top 10 financial services companies in the US. We succeed because we attract and develop the very best people in the business. We invest in our employees and provide best-in-class rewards that help employees manage their careers and their diverse lifestyles.

HRM. Diversity is clearly a priority of the company – how do you go about achieving a diverse, yet fair, recruitment strategy?

JE. At HSBC, diversity is not just a policy, but a key driver to our success. We honor diversity within our organization by building an inclusive work environment. As the world's local bank, we recognize and appreciate the unique contributions that each employee brings to our business success.

A major component to a diverse recruitment strategy revolves around casting a wide net for candidates to fill a position. The ability to provide our managers with a diverse slate of candidates that possess most of, rather than all of, the job skills creates the opportunity for us to continually raise the bar and constantly increase the representation of females and minorities in leadership positions.

HSBC’s commitment to employee development

HSBC offers professional development, mentoring and training opportunities to help employees develop their talents throughout their careers. Here, Jeanne Ebersole outlines just some of the opportunities available.

Career Track: As employees develop their talents and wish to advance their careers, our national internal job bank provides early notice of positions available in the company.
Formal skills training: Employees can take advantage of hundreds of business-specific and professional development training resources (classroom instruction, self-study programs, peer training and web-based training) to help develop and enhance their skills.
Management training programs: Through several management training programs in our business units, we offer rotational job assignments, mentoring, networking and formal training to high-potential employees to help them become leaders.
Mentoring: We believe that mixing new and highly experienced employees is a recipe for success. Our business units have implemented special mentoring programs that pair high-potential individuals with business-savvy senior managers to provide advice, collaborate on career development and increase visibility with the HSBC leadership team.
Performance management process: Managers work with their employees to set performance goals and expectations and evaluate progress toward the employee’s professional development goals. Coaching, recognition and feedback give employees the opportunity to improve and excel.
Training libraries: At our larger locations, employees can learn more on their own by visiting our corporate libraries stocked with books, tapes, periodicals and, in some cases, internet-ready personal computers.
Tuition reimbursement: We support educational endeavors for our employees by offering a generous tuition reimbursement program. Eligible part- and full-time employees who take undergraduate or graduate college courses are reimbursed up to specific limits each year, until the entire cost of the tuition is reimbursed.