Union Bank: My Experiences and Thoughts

When I got selected in the Union Bank of India, I got mixed reviews from all around. Some, basically older family members, very more than happy that I got into a bank which does not have too much of work load and is good for girls. Then there were some who wanted that I should have a kick in the initial phases of my career life. There was a set of people who were reticent about their comments, somewhat analysing the conditions MBA students have had and PSUs would have. Then there were my parents who were more than happy that atleast I got a job in this scenario and confident I would find something great in the times to come. How can I forget those people who had their hard earned experiential learning in government organisations and had all the gyan to share with me. There were my friends who just wanted me to chill, keeping all my enthusiasm and dynamism to change things aside for some time. My father added to their views, be observant of the system, then be in the system and then you can change the system. Now, who’ll explain him that I don’t have so much patience, I’ll shift before undergoing all this. :)
Oh yes my reactions are awaited….I’d say life is an irony. Normally, I’ve seen my dad stuck up with sarkaari processes and then he would dispense his management fundas of makings things work in that environment and I would very proudly say, “Oh papa..I’ll not go in a government organisation…things are different in private companies”…but I forgot that Never say never in life. :)
So here I am, sharing a few thought provoking experiences I had:

• Banking is one service which, I feel is somehow closest to people because this takes care of their most precious asset, their hard earned money. So, the customers have to be made satisfied to the core, which requires lot of patience on the employees’ side.
  One day, there was a person who wanted to withdraw Rs. 12,000 from his account, which had a balance of just Rs. 12,500, for his hospitalised wife but the bank somehow didn’t have his scanned signature in its record, because his account was in a different branch. To see it from the customer’s side, it was a moment when he badly needed it, its for this time that he had saved it and though the employees understood his situation, were bound by the rules. What should be the procedure to handle cases like these? Can decision be taken on humanitarian grounds? After sometime, the branch manager decided to let him withdraw his cash; probably he could see the pain and helplessness in the customer’s eyes.


• I was sitting in the branch and understanding some deposit fundas when a retired staff came to renew his FD. Surprised to a new face in the office, he asked about me. His reaction was somehow surprising, but the hard truth. He said, ”You people have to just type in few numbers on the computer and it does it all for you. We made ledgers of 16 pages with our own hands and it took days. And then entry matching was a big headache. I outrightly challenge you to do what we had done in those days”. He was right…we can’t do it, even after acquiring better education, facilities and salary packages; we don’t have to the core knowledge. Or a positive way to look at it is technology has made things manifold easier for us, leaving us with time for more important things.


• When I was in TCS, we used to design softwares for the companies. While working there, I never realised the criticality of the work I was doing. Now working on the banking software, designed by coders like us, (basically being on the other side) is a different feeling all together. Sometimes it just throws errors, cannot connect to things at other time, all I do is take a hearty laugh…can understand things from both ends now. Technology has of course brought a revolution in the way things are done :P


• There’s is one staff in the branch, an old woman about to retire in an year, who has just been transferred from the central office to the branch, and branches have different work when compared with corporate office. She is into check clearing which needs to be done same day because its bank policy to have money debited/credited in the account the third day. Now since she is not very comfortable with computers, it takes her lot of time completing her work and it gets piled up. Obviously, there are irate customers who shout at the branch manager and the accountant for the delay.
  So, few days back, the accountant, a strict and disciplinarian lady, shouted at her in front of all the staff and customers that she needs to realise the significance of the work she’s doing and work extra if required. That lady was almost in tears and I felt uncomfortable with the event. The HR in me decided to do something about it.
  In the evening, while I was leaving, I sat down with the accountant and in a very casual manner tried to explain her that its difficult for older people to get the hang of technology. Every person has a different interest level and we should try to make the last year of that staff, before retirement, the best and memorable one rather than parting on a bitter note. She looked convinced and she said she’ll speak to the branch manager about changing her work. Oh, how elated was I that day.
  Then, the next morning, branch manager called me to ask my views on dealing with this issue. I said it’ll be great if we could shift her to some other easy work. He called that lady and asked her in which department she would like to work because the work she is handling cannot be lingered on to the next day at all. And to my surprise…she said, “No sir, I want to learn this and I will continue with this work only”. This was the biggest shock…for whom have I been doing all this?
  As my dad says..'naiki kar dariya main daal'..I did the naiki and she put it in the dariya.

All these have brought good learning to me…that’s the real training am having here. :)