Customer service continues to evolve towards hyper-personalization. This development vector is transforming various areas of business, and the financial sector is no exception. Modern banks want to be not only stable and reliable, but also strive to find an individual approach to their clients, becoming more accessible, understandable and convenient. For example, mobile banks are now appearing all over the world, when a client no longer needs to go to a branch to resolve any financial issues but can literally carry their bank with them in their pockets. Representatives of the banking sector are trying to dispel the stereotype among clients that a bank is always some kind of long transactions, incomprehensible systems and complex services. Now banks are focused on minimizing obstacles in the client’s path, providing most of their services within one request, call or click. So, we can see how the interfaces of banking applications and websites have changed in recent years: they have become more UX-oriented, and users are not tired of unnecessary information and canvases of text.
If before many banks “sounded” the same, now they are trying to find a common language with the audience. The tendency to form a personalized and recognizable tone of voice is growing. For example, the lion Leo, on whose behalf Leobank of Unibank communicates with its clients. In general, one of the values of Unibank is the bold implementation of innovations, which makes it the bank of the future today. Thanks to this, the company’s clients receive easy and positive user experience built on an individual approach, honesty and trust. But behind high standards are, primarily, people who need to be constantly developed and supported in their growth. After all, only a well-selected team and trained specialists can provide high-quality and recognizable service. Understanding this, Unibank turned to SMART business to find a modern solution to improve the approach to managing its human capital. So, we’re sharing the most interesting and useful insights of this project in a new success story!
Why was it necessary to find a talent management solution and what was important when choosing a vendor?
Unibank employs over 2,000 people, with 1,400 of them benefiting from quality training, development programs, corporate activities and other management initiatives is a difficult task for the HR department.
Before implementing SMART HCM & LMS, Unibank automated only the selection and hiring process, but did not have its own online personnel training system. The team used various third-party training platforms that were not interconnected.
To assess personnel competencies, they used tables where information was filled in manually. In addition, working with unconsolidated products reduced employee interest due to numerous inconveniences and confusion.
The company identified several key points that they were looking for in a future solution:
- A unified personnel management system that all employees would have access to from anywhere in the world,
- Availability of a modern and intuitive interface for quick user onboarding and easy navigation in the system functionality,
- Integration of the solution with the HR system – this point was important, since such a possibility reduces labor costs for administration of several company products and ensures consolidation of all data,
- Automation of existing HR processes, such as onboarding of new Unibank employees, assessment of personnel competencies, performance management, surveys, etc. Automation of these processes would reduce the administrative burden on the bank’s HR specialists and minimize the number of errors associated with the human factor,
- Remote learning tools – automation of assignment of learning plans, course catalog and access to it from mobile devices, the ability to work with different types of content and much more. In this way, the Unibank team wanted to contribute to the effective development of employees and help them prepare for new challenges,
- The ability to plan vacations and manage absences became another important point when searching for a new solution. Such functionality in the system allows employees to independently submit the necessary requests and track their statuses online. In this way, the company wanted to increase the transparency of monitoring vacations and other types of employee absences.
We monitored the market and settled with SMART business, since their team has expertise and many years of experience in developing and localizing technical solutions for different countries and industries. The company has a deep understanding of the specifics of the banking segment, which allowed us to find many points of contact and immediately speak the same business language. This became the decisive factor in choosing a partner and SMART HCM & LMS for creating a modern HR ecosystem.
SMART HCM & LMS from SMART business was chosen as the best in terms of functionality, integration capabilities, flexibility and cost. The customer was attracted by the fact that the entire range of necessary capabilities was implemented within a single ecosystem. This advantage allowed consolidating talent management processes in different branches of the company, building a single optimized approach.
An additional advantage was the high security of the system. After all, for the banking sector, the issue of security is critical to protect itself from information leaks, financial and reputational risks. SMART HCM & LMS is based on Microsoft technologies and has encryption protocols that meet industry standards. A high level of system security is also ensured by multi-factor authorization for access management. All this together allowed Unibank to be confident that their data is protected in accordance with the latest international standards, which is an important aspect of security and customer trust.
How did the solution implementation go and which modules are the most useful for the company now?
An out-of-the-box version of the solution with all available SMART HCM & LMS modules was implemented for Unibank. And at the same time, the launch took place in stages, when the highest priority functionality for the company was connected first:
- The “HR Administration” module became the foundation for managing basic employee data. The module makes it possible to store and quickly update employee data, which was extremely important, since the company has a very large staff. Now the solution ensures the accuracy and relevance of this information. The module also helped to visualize the organizational structure of the bank, which provided easy access to information on corporate relationships. Automatic updating of the structure ensures that changes in the organization are immediately reflected in the system. In turn, this approach reduces the possibility of errors and simplifies maintaining the structure up to date,
- The “Assessment” module provided tools for 90-, 270- and 360-degree competencies assessment. The module helped automate Performance Management processes. The company began to use convenient automated forms for assessment, surveys and tests. It is also possible to create assessment forms with role settings: manager, employee, colleague, customer, etc.,
- The “Goal Setting” module provided Unibank with a list of important functions for managing employee goals and performance indicators: defining, achieving, and assessing key performance indicators for specialists, cascading goals to employees, the ability to track KPIs in real time, etc.,
- The “E-Learning” module opened up a large set of tools for Unibank to manage employee training and development. Thanks to this, the bank can organize online trainings, courses, interactive activities, and other educational activities. The system also makes it convenient to track training progress and identify needs for additional knowledge,
- The “Employee Self-Service” and “Manager Self-Service” interfaces gave employees the ability to independently fill in, change, and supplement information about themselves, find the necessary documents and training, or view their work results. At the same time, managers can conveniently track the progress of their department colleagues and respond in a timely manner to changes in the performance indicators of department employees.
Even though the solution is out-of-the-box, thanks to low-code technologies, it is possible to adapt the system interfaces to the individual needs of the company, expanding the standard list of capabilities. At the same time, the company does not need to waste huge resources on the complexity of developing, customizing and implementing the system “from scratch”. In addition, SMART HCM & LMS is deployed based on the Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP system, which provides space for flexible integration with other solutions responsible for HR and payroll processes, finance, etc. Thus, the customer received a wide range of capabilities for their specific needs within a single working platform.
Unibank identified three main stages of implementing SMART HCM & LMS, which, in their opinion, ensured the rapid implementation of the project with minimal risks for the company’s existing business processes:
- Collection and migration of data to create an organizational structure – at this stage, SMART business requested all the necessary data on employees and the internal organizational structure of the bank from the customer. After that, the vendor migrated the received data and made the necessary settings,
- User training – Unibank noted that this stage was very productive and useful, because the SMART business team teaches all the technical details of working with the system and provides post-support at the next stage of using the solution,
- Module testing – the customer shared that the value of this step was the opportunity to make sure that the solution works correctly, the data is displayed correctly, and users can perform the necessary operations without any technical hitches. This stage made it possible to identify and fix potential problems and make sure that the system is ready for full Go-Live, minimizing the need for additional fixes in the future.
There were also some challenges that the SMART business team faced, which is normal when implementing such large projects. When implementing SMART HCM & LMS for Unibank, it was necessary to connect the solution to the on-premises Exchange Server – a server program for managing email, calendars, contacts and other functions. Exchange Server is deployed on physical servers that are located directly in the organization, as opposed to cloud services. In this regard, the vendor used an individual approach to integration, which included setting up special security protocols and other local technical solutions for a secure and stable connection. Thanks to SMART business’s technical expertise, flexibility and ability to quickly respond to the specific needs of the customer, the team managed to cope with this challenge and integrate the solution with Exchange Server.
Today, we are actively working on adapting SMART HCM & LMS to our internal processes. This includes filling the online database with training materials and setting up other key functions. Over the past few years, our bank’s team has been focused on improving the employee performance management system. We are actively implementing best practices in this area, and therefore automation of Performance Management processes using modules for employee assessment, goal setting and talent management has become a priority for us. Thanks to SMART HCM & LMS, we have already completed the assessment of our employees’ competencies for 2023 and are actively using the solution’s functionality to set and monitor our KPIs and ORKs.
What changes is the team most pleased with and what advantages of the solution have they already noted while using the solution “in the field”?
Unibank shared that for them the most noticeable changes have now occurred in the assessment of employee competencies and performance. It is convenient that all data on employee assessments is now stored in one place. Now HR specialists have access to the assessment history of each employee, regardless of the branch in which they work. This allows them to view the history of assessments and build strategies based on them for promotion, training and other activities aimed at the growth and development of employees. And at the same time, each employee has access to the history of their assessments and clearly understands what they should work on. Such transparency of assessment reduces the possibility of disagreements related to unfair or biased assessment.
Also, managers can quickly receive the necessary information for making business decisions. For example, if you need to quickly assess the potential of an employee for them to be appointed to a new position or participate in a new project, all the data is already in the system. In this case, Unibank’s HR specialists can easily prepare the necessary reports using integrated analytics tools.
The customer has already appreciated the extensive capabilities of SMART HCM & LMS for creating analytical reports and dashboards. HR specialists can easily generate reports displaying key metrics such as employee productivity, percentage of KPI or OKR fulfillment, level of colleague satisfaction, etc. Dashboards provide a visual representation of data in the form of graphs, charts, and other visual elements. All information is available in a clear and visually attractive format, which makes it easier to use in work.
Unibank noted that SMART HCM & LMS significantly reduced the costs and time for training the company’s employees, but at the same time increased the effectiveness of training programs. This result was made possible by the E-learning module, which provided the following key advantages for online training:
- Access to learning courses, trainings, and webinars from anywhere in the world, which is especially important for banks with an extensive branch network. This approach provides equal access to knowledge and opportunities for professional development, regardless of the employee’s place of work,
- Centralization of training since all training materials, including guides, presentations and video tutorials, are stored in one system. Plus, this simplifies content management and allows you to easily update information and control its relevance,
- Personalization of training – the E-learning module allows you to create individual training programs that consider the level and needs of each employee. This contributes to more effective learning of the material by both beginners and experienced employees.
As a result, SMART HCM & LMS fully provided Unibank with the functionality to solve the company’s priority HR tasks with the prospect of working with new possible challenges.
What are the further plans for SMART HCM & LMS and future steps in Unibank’s talent management and development?
Unibank will continue to improve and develop its key areas through digitalization to further strengthen the company’s leadership position in the business arena. Future plans include mastering all SMART HCM & LMS modules. The next step will be the launch of modules for goal setting and talent management, which will allow for the full automation of Performance Management processes.
In parallel, after filling the online library with training materials, it is planned to launch a special module for onboarding new employees. And after completing the integration with the company’s HR system, Unibank will move on to automating the absence management process, thanks to the Employee Self-Service and Manager Self-Service modules.
In addition, there are plans for other SMART HCM & LMS modules, such as gamification, which provides many game mechanics for training, motivation and the company’s reward system, or the event management module, which is convenient for managing company events and involving employees in the corporate life of the bank.
Our commitment to continuous improvement encourages us to find new ways to improve productivity, service quality and efficiency. Supporting each other and using our diverse strengths leads to shared success. After all, together we are more than the sum of our parts. SMART business has established itself as a vendor that knows how to work in a team. They promptly respond to all questions, understand how our business processes really work, and share invaluable experience through their innovative solutions.
The implementation of SMART HCM & LMS has become a profitable investment in Unibank’s human capital, which now brings stable “interest” in the form of improved efficiency and increased employee satisfaction. Therefore, if you are looking for a way to increase the “liquidity” of your human capital, optimize HR processes and strengthen your team, SMART business will select an offer that is relevant to your tasks. After all, as in banking, the best results are achieved through precise and well-thought-out solutions!
