CIMB Group (CIMB) is Malaysia’s second largest financial services provider and one of Southeast Asia’s leading universal banking groups with over 25,000 employees located in nine countries. The Group offers consumer banking, investment banking, Islamic banking, asset management and insurance products and services. Its headquarters are in Kuala Lumpur and other key regional offices are located in Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.
Dato’ Charon Wardini Mokhzani is Deputy Chief Executive of the CIMB Group was a Panelist at the 2008 Women’s Summit to share how CIMB work at becoming an employer of choice by creating a fertile environment for its people to aim for the top, and rewarding them based on their capability and performance.
He explained that CIMB’s main strength stems from its ability to create value for its customers, by recruiting and retaining the right talent. A human resource paradigm that emphasises employee rewards, empowerment and development is emphasised. The following section provided by CIMB explains their approach to developing the right workplace culture.
CIMB’s performance and merit-based culture ensures that all staff, regardless of their background, are given adequate opportunities to advance and meet fulfil their potential. It is our practice to employ people from all walks of life, as long as they possess the right qualifications and attitude, and subscribe to our work values and culture.
In addition, we consciously tailor our recruitment strategies to meet the needs and demographics of the communities in which we operate. Our equal employment policy allows us to deploy the right mix of employees to reflect the local communities that we serve. For example, in East Malaysia, we endeavour to employ staff from the immediate area who can communicate in local dialects and relate well to the local population.
Within the company, we aim to instil a strong sense of belonging in employees that is intrinsically linked to our continuous pursuit of excellence and passion in work. At the same time, we try to ensure this is not done at the expense of work-life balance. As such, CIMB provides a large variety of sports and recreational activities – which include gym, team sport and extreme sport activities – throughout the year to promote a healthy lifestyle amongst our staff.
CIMB takes its role as a corporate citizen seriously and runs various structured volunteer programmes and ad-hoc community initiatives regularly that engage its staff. Employees are encouraged to give back to the communities they serve by volunteering in social projects and helping to address issues faced by the community. In doing so, they are able to create a channel for an informal and ongoing dialogue with the community. The sense of ownership and fulfilment that is produced from these initiatives resonates positively amongst staff in the form of work-life balance.
Since 2007, CIMB has deployed over 1,000 volunteers for various community activities ranging from flood relief efforts to tutoring underprivileged children and volunteering time at our mobile clinics and medical camps.
From the workplace to the community, CIMB advocates an environment of equal opportunity and positive change that acts as a platform for a progressive society.