Manama: As part of its commitment towards employee career growth and development, the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) introduced its revamped internal training model, which was enhanced with the aim of continuously providing both NBB and the recently acquired Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) staff, with the necessary skillset to continuously address their developmental needs despite the current challenging environment.
The revamped training model, which has transitioned to embrace a more employee empowered approach now provides employees with the opportunities to take part in training sessions across a range of different disciplines such as Industry Updates and Best Practices, Management and Leadership, and Interpersonal Skills and Communication. Accessible to all employees through a number of different devices, various topics were covered in support of the newly imposed working environment whereby a high percentage of employees are working from home, practicing physical distancing in order to mitigate potential risks and safeguard employee health and wellbeing.
Despite the current circumstances, NBB was keen on continuing its efforts to provide its employees with the relevant training programmes and as a result introduced the revamp model. All training provided over the past 3 months was conducted through virtual channels, which has resulted in over 95% of the Bank’s employees participating, given the flexibility and accessibility of the training sessions. This model ensures that NBB employees are kept up-to-date with topics of relevance. Topics that were covered in the webinars during this period included Fintech Reshaping Customer Experience, Banking and Future Technology, Digital to the Core, Secure Working from Home, Managing and Leading a Remote Workforce, Employee Engagement in Times of Crisis, The Power of Diversity and Inclusion, Managing and Adapting to Change, Mental Health and Wellbeing, Cyber Security, and more. The aim of the sessions was not only to provide employees with coping mechanisms to help them better adjust to the current situation, but an opportunity to upscale their skill set and knowledge.
“Through the introduction of our revised training model, which has come together as a result of the shift towards social distancing and increased uptake of digital alternatives, we have not only been able to empower our employees by allowing them to progress in their careers, but have also emphasised the importance of inclusivity. The new training model is now provided to all members of staff, regardless of seniority, to benefit from training across a wide variety of topics, at any level of their choosing,” Dana Buheji, Chief Human Resources Officer at NBB, said.
As part of the training model, webinars were delivered by international trainers/speakers and internal talent across NBB and BisB, in order to showcase talent from both entities and encourage integration across the two.
