A significant wake-up call of the pandemic for organizations was to put the ‘human’ back into human resources. For much of 2020 and the first half of 2021, employees worked from home and conducted all their meetings virtually, and because of this, certain policies had to change in order to accommodate the new normal.
What were the significant changes in the policies the HR department made during the covid-19 pandemic?
The COVID-19 pandemic was a period of uncertainty for all employers and employees. Trying to adapt to working from home and adjusting to all the changes happening, the HR department was agile and quick to act. The business community plan (BCP) was immediately activated, employees’ safety was a top priority. Apart from being responsible for the productivity and efficiency of the bank, the pandemic required that HR understand the challenges employees were facing, whether it was work-related or in their personal life.
A significant wake-up call of the pandemic for organizations was to put the ‘human’ back into human resources. For much of 2020 and the first half of 2021, employees worked from home and conducted all their meetings virtually, and because of this, certain policies had to change in order to accommodate the new normal.
What are all steps Gulf Banks takes to promote diversity and inclusion within the organization?
Gulf Bank promotes diversity and inclusion throughout the organization by in many ways. Our employees come from across more than 25 countries, all with different backgrounds and unique cultures. We believe in encouraging all employees to communicate transparently about how they feel and empowering them to always share their ideas through various platforms including anonymous surveys.
Receiving feedback always helps build stronger bonds and identify matters that need attending to that some might not want to disclose openly. At Gulf Bank, we have created a family-like culture where we treat one another with the utmost respect. This helps in having our employees engage with each other naturally and always supporting one another. Men and women at Gulf Bank are provided with equal opportunities to grow and prosper in their careers. Discrimination at Gulf Bank is intolerable and unexcused. All employees from all backgrounds, nationalities, and even positions are appreciated.
Our survey finds reskilling and upskilling the employees are top priorities among C-suite today. How do you address these challenges?
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are many uprising unique challenges that everyone is facing. With that said, upskilling is extremely important as it helps solve and overcome those challenges. For example, everyone’s stress levels skyrocketed during this rough time, some are stressed from all the unexpected changes in the country, others from working from home while also having their kids homeschooled.
Therefore, upskilling our employees by offering total transparency and training sessions helps them handle these challenges more smoothly. Conducting weekly/monthly sessions to gather everyone and share their updates, not only helped employees cope with the pandemic, but also gave them a sense of reassurance. On the other hand, reskilling is just as important.
Uplifting our own employees and teaching them new skills is a great way to attract talent from within the bank. For example, new technologies are always emerging, by reskilling our employees and offering them training on learning how to transition digitally, this boosts their confidence which enables them to be more passionate and efficient in their work.
What are your thoughts around the future of work in Kuwait as normalcy returns? Do you think the remote working model is here to stay?
In 2020, everyone around the world has been forced to work from home due to the pandemic, employees did not have a choice and had to adjust to the new normal of working remotely due to imposed nationwide lockdowns. The transition to digitalization was a huge step forward for everyone as technology is rapidly growing.
With that said, Kuwait was fast to transition to digital applications related to the pandemic (reporting, monitoring, etc). However, as normalcy returns, Kuwait has slowly gone back to its pre-COVID routine with regards to working from the office yet maintains its edge on providing digitally savvy solutions to ease government and other official services which were a big take-away from the pandemic.
Whether it’s working from the office or from home, they both have their advantages and disadvantages, that everyone must adapt to regardless. It would be nice for everyone to remain working remotely because it does adhere to most people’s schedules. Studies have shown that working from home in a comfortable setting with flexible hours increases productivity and efficiency.
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