HAMDARD INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

SCIENCES

Recruitment & Selection

Term Report On

“Recrutiment & Selection Policies of

United Bank Ltd.”

SUBMITTED TO:
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We are highly obliged to Allah who gave us the strength and showered His
blessings over us because of which we were able to complete this report in time.

In addition to that we would like to thank the teacher Ms. Mona to provide us with
an opportunity to open our minds, observe, interact and learn. And of course our
special thanks to the executives who understood our requirements and took out
some time out of their bustling schedules, and equipped us with the substantial
material

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 • UNITED BANK LIMITED – AN
INTRODUCTION:

United Bank Limited is the second largest Private Commercial Banks of Pakistan.
UBL has assets of over Rs.300 billion and a solid track record of forty six years -
in addition to the convenience of over 1000 branches serving customers
throughout the country and also at several overseas locations. UBL follows the
strategy of Non-Commercial Stock (NCS).

Some Important Facts About :

Date Established: November 7, 1959

Chairman: His Highness Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan
Deputy Chairman: Sir Mohammed Anwar Pervez OBE
President & CEO: Mr. Atif R. Bokhari
Branches: 1056 Domestic, 15 Overseas Branches
Representative Offices: Tehran
Subsidiary: United Bank AG Zurich, Switzerland; United National Bank
Limited, UK (Joint venture with NBP); UBL Fund Managers Limited
Associated Company: Oman United Exchange Company, Muscat
Offshore Banking Unit: Export Processing Zone, EPZ Branch, Karachi,
Pakistan
Head Office: I.I. Chundrigar Road, Karachi, Pakistan

• Offers Services In Following Areas:

− Consumer Banking
− Commercial Banking
− Corporate Banking
− Investment Banking
− Treasury Banking

United Bank Ltd. maintains its position as Pakistan's premier bank determined to
set higher standards of achievements. It is the major business partner for the
Government of Pakistan with special emphasis on fostering Pakistan's economic
growth through aggressive and balanced lending policies, technologically
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oriented products and services offered through its large network of branches
locally, internationally and representative offices.

The HR Group at UBL currently comprises of six divisions namely HR

Management, HR Services, Strategic Projects, Training and Organizational
Development, Employee Relations, and Middle East HR. These divisions of HR
Department are currently looking after the Core HR activities of UBL’s 9000 plus
employees. The Middle East HR Division has its dotted reporting to the Head of
HR based in Head Office, Karachi

Mission of UBL:
• Set the highest industry standard for quality across all areas of operation,
on a sustained basis.
• Growth through creation of sustainable relationships with our customers.
• Optimize people, processes and technology to deliver the best possible
financial solutions to our customers.
• Become the most sought after investment.
• Prudence to guide our business conduct.
• Be recognized as the employer of choice.

Vision of UBL:
• Meeting ever growing standards.
• Consistent in our growth.
• Meet expectations through Market-based solutions and products.
• Best in class in any business we initiate.
• Reward entrepreneurial efforts.
• Strive to provide world class service.
• Your Excpectations-----our Goals.
• Create value for all stakeholders.
• Wow impact on every encounter.

Relationship Banking
This forms the pillar of our strategy as it is the primary tool towards providing
you full satisfaction. Relationship Banking involves:

• Assessing and understanding customer needs

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 • Providing you advice on your business needs
• Helping you find viable financial solutions for your business problems
• Acting as the primary contact for you

• FUNCTIONS OF HUMAN RESOURCE GROUP:

The HR Group at UBL is responsible for coordinating the recruitment and hiring
of employees. It also administers such things as promotions, reassignments,
salary determination, position classification and grading, performance appraisal
review and processing, awards review and processing, personnel data entry and
records maintenance, policy development and so on. Following are the major
functions (category wise) performed by the HR Group of UBL:

Human Resources Planning:

• Forecasting
• Maintaining personnel inventories
• Succession planning
• Modeling career paths
Employment:
• Recruitment
• Selection
• Orientation
Training & Development:
• Devising programs
• Primary Skills Training
• Advanced Skills Training
HR Audits:
• Employee turnover
• Grievances
• Attendance
• Accidents
• Compliance with federal and state regulations
Discipline:
• Formulation and coordination of policies
• Assistance and advice in major disciplinary actions
Personnel Research:
• Administering opinion surveys
• Conducting HR Audits
• Publishing statistical analysis
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Safety:
• Overseeing security
• Physical Environment
• Conducting accident investigations
Medical & Health:
• Conducting health and wellness programs

Employee Benefits:
• Design of vacation & sick benefits program
• Administering policy
• Health insurance
Compensation:
• Incentive pay plans
• Job analysis
• Job evaluations
• Wage surveys
• Performance reviews
Performance Appraisals:
• Performance standards
• Measuring employee performance according to the set standards
Employee Relations:
• Hearing employee concerns and complaints
• Monitoring morale

• FUNCTIONS OF HR MANAGEMENT DIVISION:

The broad objective of HR Management Division is to ensure the recruitment

against vacant positions while being a Strategic Partner to all the Business
Groups. The objective of this division is to provide continuing support to the
efforts towards employer branding, both internally and externally in order to
enhance the image of the Bank and be the Employer of Choice.

To highlight, following are the major functions performed by HR Management

Division at UBL:

• Support for Recruitment

o Entry Level Hires;
o Mid Career Hires;
o Management Trainees;
• Manpower Budgeting & Forecasting for the regional businesses;

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 • Transfers;
• Job descriptions of Branch Operations staff;
• Organizational Headcount Matrix for the region;
• Providing regional input for the formulation & revamping of HR policies;
• Internship Program Coordination;
• Facilitation in Training Needs Assessment;
• Exit Interviews & expediting the resignation process;
• Utilization of all available modes of hiring to recruit employees at all levels
on the basis of transparent screening process;
• Identification of new sources of recruitment in order to attract the best
talent available in the industry both at local levels and international levels;
• Build up UBL’s image in order to become the Employer of Choice;
• Liaising with various Business Groups to chart out future resource needs
based on the group’s strategic vision;
• Filling the organization’s resource needs by way of internal rotations
(Resourcing);
• Induction of Management Trainees to take on the role of Change Agents
with in UBL. At the same time facilitate the Rotations/Appraisals for the
existing Management Trainees;
• Reorganizations by way of assisting Departments in their organization and
restructuring of existing positions in the organizational charts as well as
job descriptions;
• Track the Attrition activity within the organization by way of Analysis
(market based surveys), Management reviews and Employee Surveys
(with reference to attrition, salaries, market adjustment, rotations etc).

Grade Definition: (Human Resource Management)

Written description of the level of, say, responsibility and knowledge required by
jobs in each grade is known as Grade Definition. Similar jobs can then by
combined into grades or classes.

This concept also in practice in UBL. They have grades such as Group Executive
(GE), Vice President (VP), Assistant Vice President (AVP), Senior Executive Vice
President (SEVP), Senior Vice President (SVP), Officer Grade – I (OG-I), Officer
Grade – II (OG-II), and Officer Grade – III (OG-III).

• RELATION OF FUNCTIONS OF HR GROUP TO THE

CORPORATE OBJECTIVES:

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The functions of HR, mentioned are the tools which help HR contribute towards
the business objectives of UBL. This is where strategic HR comes into play.

Strategic HR is when HR is involved in setting business objectives with the

perspective of strategizing the Human Assets which will enable achievement of
any goals set for the business there on.

Human Resource Group of UBL contributes to the corporate objectives in many

ways. For example: one of the business objectives of UBL is to be the lowest
cost producer. For attaining this objective, HR thrives to hire quality people at
lower costs that is low hiring cost, low training costs, and so on.

Another objective of UBL is to be a world class brand which means to be

innovative, aspiration-al and consistent. To achieve this objective, it is
responsibility of HR to recruit the best people for the bank out of the huge pool
which is there in the market. Moreover, these people should be flexible enough
so that they can be trained and developed according to the changing needs of
the business.

For generating consistent results and for maintaining strong growth, it is the job
of HR to provide those people to business who are capable of understanding
business operations well and who believe in achieving their own objectives.

In a nutshell, the functions of HR are the backbone which supports all other
functions of a business and which enable HR to contribute to the business
objectives of UBL.

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 • RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PROCESS:

• Job Descriptions: (Human Resource Management)

The concept of Job Description is the document which tells that what the job will
entail, what will be the duties to be performed on the job, what will be the working
conditions of the job, what behaviors and attitudes will be required on the job,
and with whom the job holder will have relations on the job.

This concept helps a lot in classifying job descriptions according to the various
departments of the bank.

• Curriculum Vitae Or Resume: (Human Resource

Management )

A Curriculum Vitae is the document which describes a person, who he is, what
he has done, what work experience does he have, what are his interests and
how his personality is. In other words, it is a document that defines a person and
his achievements in his professional career.

• Recruitment Process:

• Step 1: Whenever there is any vacant position or a new position is

formed, the first step is to fill out a 'Staff Requisition Form' by the
immediate supervisor of that position.

• Step 2: Next, all the qualified candidates are required to fill out 'UBL's
Blue Form' which is just like an application form. Along with this, all the
candidates are required to provide the necessary document such as
Matriculation Certificate, Inter Certificate, Bachelors Degree, Masters

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 Degree (where applicable), Experience Letter, Salary Slip, and other
documents.

• Step 3: Upon selection of the people who are thought to be the best fit for
the job and the organization, these people are called on for two Business
Interviews. (Business Interviews are those interviews which are conducted
by the concerned department).

• Step 4: When a person is selected by the concerned department after the

two business interviews, he is sent to the HR Department for further
verification and a final Interview with the HR Department. Thus, to count,
there are three interviews for any position in UBL.

• Step 5: After the three interviews, the approved candidate is then sent for
the Medical Examination to the doctor's specified by UBL.

• Step 6: Once a candidate is marked 'Fit' by the doctors, 'Hiring Approval

Form' is made which is approved and signed by three heads.

• Step 7: The final step in the recruitment and selection process is the
issuance of 'Appointment Letter' to the candidate.

The above mentioned process is for the jobs of mid-career level. For entry level
positions, or for Management Trainee Program, the recruitment and selection
process at UBL is entirely different.

Types of Recruitment:

• Internal Recruitment:
Before starting the recruitment and selection process the organization should
analyze whether they really need recruitment. The Bank first analyzes the
existing situation whether it is must to go for external recruitment or they can do it
internally.
Internal recruitment is made by bank if the required skills & expertise required for
the job are available within the bank. The internal recruitment is normally up to
the SVP position.
If internal recruitment has to be done then the advertisement is circulated to all
employees of the bank inviting the applications if they fulfill the criteria required
for the job.
They are also interviewed by the interviewing committee for the assessment of
suitability of their job.

• External Recruitment:

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If the bank did not find suitable skills & expertise internally then the go for the
external recruitment. The external recruitment is done through advertisements in
news paper and through recruitment agencies. For the position like SEVP the
bank have to do the external recruitment.

• Promotional Activities For Recruitment:

• Advertisement of Positions

UBL mostly goes for the advertisement for permanent positions through print
media but with some exceptions and those positions not subject to permanent
employment shall normally be advertised through print media and if the bank do
not receive any application against their advertisement then the vacancies are
advertised through the Recruiter’s website by mentioning the name of the bank
with exact title/ position for the job but not exactly about the permanent
employment or 3rd party contractual. A minimum period of 20 days is allowed for
the processing of applications therefore they use different media in order to find a
quick response.

• Recruitment Agencies:
UBL usually for the higher level positions look for the consultation with the
respective names of the audit lines for the recommendation of hiring in the
position of Executive levels,usually the Audit firm Taseer Hadi Associates recruits
the high caliber professionals for the United Bank Ltd.. They follow the
Recruitment Policy already approved by the Board of United Bank Ltd..

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 • Selection Process:

The United Bank Ltd. has a selection process to ensure:

• Invitation of applications from eligible candidates;

• Screening on the basis of defined criteria;
• Ranking and short listing in an objective manner; and
• Selection of the most suitable candidates.

• Phase 1: Recruitment and Selection:

Objective of Recruitment:

United Bank Ltd. recruit people with the required basic knowledge, ability, skills
and attitude and can be relied upon to continuously enhance and apply their
competence to the achievement of the bank’s mission and objectives.

The first phase of three sub-phases. The first one is the Initial Screening
Interview. A candidate passing this interview is qualified for the Assessment
Center. An assessment center is a test of an individual’s personality as well as
his or her abilities. Candidates passing assessment center are qualified for the
Panel Interview. The main purpose of the panel interview is to assess the
individual’s capacity and proclivity. The decision taken by the panel for short
listing is the final decision.

• Employee Orientation: (Recruitment and Selection)

A procedure for providing new employees with basic background information

about the organization is known as employee orientation.

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This concept, of Recruitment and Selection Course, is widely accepted and used
at UBL. This method of introducing an employee or intern to the department and
organization helps a lot in building relations and understanding work. The
supervisor introduces to everyone who are related to the field which helps a lot
me in building the relations with everyone at work.

• Phase 2: Training and Development:

After clearing the assessment center and panel interview, the candidates
have to go through extensive training and work assignments of 6-8 weeks.
The in-house training is conducted by Seasoned Professionals (both
internal and external).

• Phase 3: Rotation:
UBL allows candidates to learn about the entire bank operations before
entering a specific business segment.

• Phase 4: Departmental Placement:

After 15 months of extensive training and rotation, the candidates are
placed in the departments. Candidates are first evaluated for increments
after 12 months of rotation. Three months subsequent to that, they are
evaluated for the promotions on the basis of the results provided by the
functions throughout the process of their training, rotation and placement.

• While recruiting UBL emphasizes on:

Recruitment Planning: United Bank Ltd. do the recruitment planning

to fill vacancies after due consideration of any available surplus, projected
business requirements and normal attrition;

Equal Employment Opportunity: United Bank Ltd. provides equal

employment opportunity to minorities, women and men at approximately their
rate of availability and in line with legal requirements as to quotas.

Transparent Selection Process: United Bank Ltd. has a

transparent selection process that promotes open competition and provides a fair
chance of success to the most appropriate candidates.

• Assessment Centers: (Employee Training and

Development)

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Assessment Center is a written test which aims at testing candidates on the
qualification they have. It basically consists of various types of exercises to see
whether an individual is capable of becoming a good manager in the future or
not.

This was widely practiced at UBL for the selection of candidates. This test
consists of a verbal section, quantitative section, general knowledge section and
an in-tray exercises section.

Types of interview UBL conduct during Selection

Process

• Exit Interviews: (Recruitment and Selection)

Interviews with employees who are leaving the organization, conducted for the
purpose of obtaining information about the job or related matters, to give the
employer insight about the organization.

This concept, learnt in the above mentioned course, also gets practice at UBL.
For all the permanent employees, it is a necessary requirement that if they leave
the job, they are supposed to go through an Exit Interview, conducted by the HR
Department.

• Initial Screening Interviews: (Recruitment and

Selection)

This is a type of interview generally conducted to screen out those people who
do not even stand equal to the minimum qualifications of the job or position. This
interview is usually conducted as a first or second step of the hiring process.

At UBL, Initial Screening Interviews were conducted for almost all the jobs or
positions but especially for the entry-level positions. During my internship, an
example of initial screening interview which I saw was the MT Program. HR
managers from UBL went to all the business schools (accepted by their criteria)

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for the initial screening interviews of the candidates who applied for the MT
Program.

• Interview Evaluation Forms: (Human Resource

Management)

Interview Evaluation Forms are the forms of pre – set format to evaluate a
candidate during an interview. At UBL, it was mandatory to attach three interview
sheets (filled) with any permanent hiring case. That is, without the three interview
sheets, a file for the candidate is not supposed to be a complete.

Forms used For Hiring Purposes

• Staff Requisition Form:

Staff Requisition Form is used at UBL for all the positions that are vacant or
which require a new employee. It is basically an official form on which a request
in made, that is, first you have to fill out the requisition and then the HR
department can start a hiring process for a new job. Thus Staff Requisition Form
is the first step to start a hiring process.

• Hiring Approval Form:

A new concept which came across me during my internship was of ‘Hiring

Approval Form.’ This is a kind of form which is filled out when a candidate is
selected in the interviews and on the basis of other qualification, by the
concerned department and HR department. It is necessary to have three
signatures on this form for a candidate to be hired, that is, one signature from the
group head, second from the departmental head, and the third one from the
immediate supervisor. Hiring Approval Form is a mandatory requirement for a
candidate to be hired.

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 • Conclusion:

The HR department of UBL deeply focuses over the Recruitment & Selection
Process and it was a very rich experience for us to visit United Bank Ltd. Rich in
a sense that the information we get was to detailed and we actually found there
the practical implication of whatever we have studied yet in the Human Resource
Management and when we started examining how the recruitment department
functions at the Bank. We came to know about their process of recruitment &
selection. They mostly prefer the print media in case of advertising the job
vacancies otherwise due to the shortage of time in case of less response or job
applications they consult the Recruiter’s websites. However in case of executive
hiring they consult the auditing firms according to their approved panel list and in
some exceptional cases where highly technical positions are required to be filled
then, the job of hiring a suitable professional is assigned to professional
recruitment agencies or head hunting firms.

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 Recommendations For :

We by considering our studies found the recruitment and selection process at

UBL quite viable but as the business always requires “a change” we would
recommend some important facts which would help UBL in further prospering
their line of business and hiring skilled personnel:

• United Bank Limited should use online system in case of applications for
their available openings.
• UBL should look for some Universities Student profile in case of Fresh
Graduate Hiring.
• The selection criteria should be broad enough that would not only consider
the experience but also look into the other interpersonal skills and the
adaptability of candidate.
• UBL should use multiple sources of advertisement in advertising job
openings.

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