African Bank Corporation: Measuring the return on investment ($($ROI)$)$ in selection and onboarding

African Bank Corporation ($($ABC)$)$ is a large commercial and consumer banking organisation with a strong presence in Africa. Functionally, ABC operates through different divisions, including retail banking, electronic banking, international banking, consumer loans, commercial loans, home mortgages, wealth management, corporate services and investments. ABC has experienced significant growth and is planning for future growth; however, the management team is concerned that the management talent is inadequate in the organisation. Each year, African Bank Corporation recruits from major business schools, hiring more than 100$100$ Master of Business Administration ($($MBA)$)$ graduates. Executives had two concerns about the programmed: there were not enough new MBAs and the turnover among newly hired MBAs seemed too high. The records show that up to 30%$30\%$ of new MBA hires left in the first two years after ABC invested a significant amount of money in their development. ABC had experimented with rotational training programmes in the past, but that did not seem to work out well, and the turnover rate was even higher. Management was convinced that the turnover had more to do with the way new hires transitioned into the bank. They concluded that three issues were contributing to the problem:

_$\_$the importance of having a clearly defined career path

there is a lack of meaningful assignments in rotational areas

placements not occurring as quickly as they should be.$.$

These three challenges led the global talent management team to develop a new onboarding programme for MBA candidates.

Needs analysis

The talent management team conducted analyses to understand high turnover rates and the failure of the previous programme. They aimed to improve the current programme and eventually implement a new one to retain key appointees. HR reviewed exit interview data and called previous MBA hires to discuss improvements. Furthermore, HR invited current MBA graduates to participate in focus group interviews to gain insight into the reasons why some colleagues left. The analysis revealed that age, gender, marital status and grades had little impact on tenure and career progression. Three business schools had significantly higher tenure and success, based on the MBA curriculum. The selection process was reviewed to ensure the right candidate was selected.

Recruitment/$/$Selection

The recruiting team focused on three business schools with higher success rates, aiming to produce graduates who quickly take on leadership roles. A customised assessment tool was used to assess the graduates eagerness to lead a team and willingness to assume responsibility, as well as their values about the ABC culture. After analysing data, low scores indicated potentially low level of loyalty. Interviews were focused on organisational culture, responsibility and team success.

Rotational assignments

The rotational programme had undergone five changes. The first involved the length of the programme, with each assignment negotiated between participants, a career advisor and relevant departments. Participants were expected to fill a current job within a department and improve within two months as part of the second change. The third change required participants to recommend improvements in their assigned department, including aspects such as technology, procedures, leadership and human resources. The fourth change was the rotational schedule, with participants completing at least six rotations, ideally seven or eight, to ensure that they could transition into full−$-$time positions. The final change was requiring new candidates to assume a leadership role within a year.

Formal training

An important part of this programme is a comprehensive two−$-$week workshop that provides the training necessary to succeed at African Bank Corporation. External faculty and internal experts facilitate the workshop, covering the following 15$15$ modules:

1.$1.$ Introduction to the MBA Programme 8.$8.$ Leadership Development

2.$2.$ Company Mission, Vision, 9.$9.$ Home Mortgages

Values and Strategic Objectives 10.$10.$ Wealth Management

3.$3.$ Retail Banking 11.$11.$ Investment Services

4.$4.$ Electronic Banking 12.$12.$ Negotiation Skills

5.$5.$ International Banking 13.$13.$ Process Improvement

6.$6.$ Corporate Services 14.$14.$ Managing Change

7.$7.$ Consumer/$/$Commercial Lending 15.$15.$ Performance Management

Because only a few participants have banking experience, this training programme aligns the new MBA recruits with the company and the banking business environment while covering key soft−$-$skills topics that are necessary to succeed in the bank.

Question

If you were a human resource development ($($HRD)$)$ manager, how would you report the results of the case study to top management? ($($You will be awarded a maximum of 5$5$ marks.)$)$