Staff in Gulf banks are proud of their work in what they see as a prestigious industry but also feel stifled by their organisations, a report said.

“Of the individuals surveyed, we saw strong levels of pride, much more so than if we are to look at global averages, said John Branch, head of financial services consulting at Hay Group Middle East, commenting on the research done in the region by the global management consulting firm.

The research found that:

•    83 per cent of employees take pride in working for their employer, compared to 75 per cent globally, whilst

•    80 per cent believe in future projects, compared to 71 per cent globally.


However, only 61 per cent of the same banking employees are willing to exert discretionary effort, or ‘go the extra mile’, compared to 67 per cent globally.

Branch explained: “Generally we expect to see highly engaged staff going the extra mile for their employers, but here it seems the opposite is true. When we investigated further, we found that employees are frustrated – they want to do a good job but there are too many barriers in their way.”

The Hay Group research found that the industry isn’t making the most of their people:

•    64 per cent feel that their work is interesting and challenging, compared to 71 per cent globally

•    57 per cent say they are encouraged to come up with better ways of working, 8 per cent less than global averages, and

•    55 per cent feel that their ideas are listened to, less than the global average of 62 per cent.
The opportunities for banks who manage to overcome these challenges are vast. Global research from Hay Group suggests that organisations with highly engaged and enabled staff can improve revenue growth by a factor of 4.5. – TradeArabia News Service