FUTURE FORWARD
The lifeblood of any organization is its people. At UnionBank, prime importance is given to innovative programs that encourage UnionBankers to be at their best and perform at their fullest.
To date, more than 3,500 UnionBankers are working together in cocreating innovative solutions for its customers. Guided by the UnionBank DNA: Purpose, Values, Vision and Brand, this dynamic and bold team of experts continues to deliver the best products and services for all its stakeholders. The Bank sees people development as its way of futureproofing the organization by creating opportunities for UnionBankers to thrive on collaboration and diversity, by building a culture of innovation and by committing to enhancing employee experience.
For this reason, UnionBank received the Gold Stevie for Employer of the Year in the field of banking at the 2017 Stevie Awards for Great Employers, Silver Stevie for Chief Human Resources Officer of the Year 2018 & Bronze Stevie for Achievement in HR Technology for having the One UnionBanker Hub App.
An Engaged Workforce
Employee Engagement has always been a priority for UnionBank. In the 2017 Gallup Survey, UnionBank scored 4.19 which is close to the global best business practice of 4.40. As the Bank strives to hit the ideal score, relevant programs are designed and implemented to enable UnionBankers to be involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work.
Key to employee engagement is recognition. Some of the Bank’s noteworthy programs are Heroes & Champions, a program that recognizes teams and individuals who deliver exceptional results and put forward the Bank’s brand promise; and Celebrating DNA Stories with JAO, the Chairman personally visits UnionBankers, listens to their stories, and recognizes how they lived and breathed the UnionBank values.
The Bank also takes pride in creating a wellness environment for employees while developing their passion. UCare fosters a sense of community within the Bank and promotes holistic growth and development. It includes four clusters, namely: Healthy U (body), Smart U (mind), Secure U (heart), Happy U (spirit). Each of these is fulfilled through fun, educational, and activities complementing year-round celebrations and themed-occasions. Interest-based
clubs also bring together employees who share the same leisurely pursuits.
Moving this sense of engagement beyond the walls of the Bank, the corporate social responsibility program GoBeyond Communities provides opportunities for employees to fulfill personal advocacies and reach out to communities in the spirit of volunteerism. GBC empowers UnionBankers to take an active role in these community projects centered on education, environment, livelihood and inclusion.
REaCh
REaCh is a mnemonic for the 3 core brand attributes: Relevant, Expert, and Challenging Convention. The members of each REaCh Squad come from at least 3 different functions across the Bank. From the typical panel presentation, pitching of ideas were delivered using pecha kucha style. Senior executives, on their end, make a bid and compete for a project they want to sponsor. This re-designed program introduced fresh innovation ideas that present solutions to some of the challenges faced by the Bank
AGILE TO BE DIGITAL
UnionBank is on a transformation journey from a traditional bank to a technology company with banking utilities. The Bank recognizes the need to provide tools and resources to fully transform from being digital at the fringe to becoming digital at the core. Developing a pool of experts is one of the Bank’s strong suits. A considerable investment on learning and development is allocated to provide cutting-edge learning and development resources as well as quality coaching and mentoring. Beyond the traditional programs, 72 learning programs on digital are offered by the UnionBank University, and also training on data analytics and data storytelling, Six Sigma and blockchain to
name a few.
Leadership Development is also something that the Bank is very serious about and this is why a Leadership and Management academy was formed. Initiatives like Leadership for Business Results, a 10-day intensive program that focuses on Strategic Thinking, Innovation, Systematic Managerial Analysis, and Leadership in partnership with the Asian Institute of Management, Leaders’
Learning Circle – a 3-hour learning event where though leaders from different disciplines around the world share their expertise to UnionBank executives and Agile Coaching systems where leaders are trained to coach and support the development of their respective teams are some of the programs offered by the Bank.
Since the bank is gearing up to be a successful Agile organization, UnionBank partnered with Deloitte Consulting in redesigning the organization’s blueprint. To date, UnionBank has on boarded 6 Tribes, 31 Squads, and 62 Teams on the agile methodology and new ways working.
Focused on the Employee Experience
An agile organization also requires digital tools to deliver a great employee experience. This is why the Human Resource Group developed the One UnionBanker Hub, a mobile self-service platform designed to provide employees with access to employee benefits and HR services.
Every UnionBanker is empowered to own and plan his or her career through MyCareer. Regardless of rank or function, MyCareer provides UnionBankers with the Individual Development Plan which allows them to identify developmental opportunities for career development.
Talent Analytics through Human Capital Management System
UnionBank takes pride in utilizing the Human Capital Management System in generating data on employee performance, goal management, learning and movement. This system provides UnionBank leaders with insights on individual or team performance; analysis on past experiences of successful employees, key capabilities or learning opportunities associated with success in a given role.
Community Involvement
The value of Ubuntu is the foundation of all employee involvement programs. UnionBankers are encouraged to look beyond themselves and contribute to help out other UnionBankers in times of need which inspires altruism and a sense of community.
The Bank also contributes 1% of its total net income to Corporate Social Responsibility Programs which helps co-create innovations for a better world. Programs such as Go Beyond Communities, employee – organized outreach programs sponsored by the Bank; BlockChain 100 – where 100 blockchain cadets are given training and use cases to help bridge the digital talent gap inside and outside the bank and Microsoft Education Ambassador Program – where UnionBank employees trains public school teachers on the use of Microsoft Programs to increase productivity and efficiencies.
<U>Hack 2018
<U>Hack is the country’s largest, most sought-after Hackathon where game changers in the creative, marketing, tech and business industries come together to build digital solutions to address wicked problems in the community. This year, nine <U>Hacks across the country were organized. Overall, <U>Hack has brought together 414 ideas, 463 teams, 370 coding hours, 317 pitches, 40 winners and more than 2,000 students and professionals.
