Bank of Baroda moots permanent work from home for employees; check details

Vadodara: The Bank of Baroda has become the first PSU to moot the latest trend of allowing its employees to work from home (WFH) permanently. The public sector lender is likely to make WFH a permanent policy for a section of its employees, as per a report in The Times of India.

The report further stated that the state-run Bank of Baroda which recently completed the integration of 3,898 branches of erstwhile Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with itself has also appointed management consultancy firm McKinsey & Co to help in implementing a strategy for a post-coronavirus world.

Bank of Baroda’s managing director and CEO Sanjiv Chadha while explaining the terms of reference for appointment of the consultancy firm, said that it was to determine how the bank remained ahead of the curve in a world that has changed post the coronavirus outbreak.

“It included things like, if we had our staff working from home, or if they were working from a hybrid environment where they would come to the office for one or two days, how do we implement that? How can we leverage staff resources better, give them flexibility and also open ourselves for hiring talent which might be there but not available for full-time employment?” The Times of India quoted Sanjiv Chadha as saying.

According to the latest press release by Bank of Baroda, it is also implementing a strategic transformation initiative which includes ‘New Ways of Working’ and ‘digital-led experience’ for its customers to ‘unlock growth potential’.

The Bank on January 27, 2021, reported a standalone net profit of Rs 1,061 crore for December quarter of the current financial year helped by lower provisions. It had reported a net loss of Rs 1,407 crore for the year-ago period.

“We have had a chance of keeping deposit growth aligned and that is something which worked well,” Sanjiv Chadha had said.

Chadha also stated that the bank is looking at accessing the market in the fourth quarter for the QIP, which might be in the range of Rs 2,000-4,000 crore. 

Notably, the Bank of Baroda is one of India’s largest banks and has more than 8,000 branches and over 11,000 ATMs and Cash Recyclers. It also has a network of 99 overseas offices in 20 countries. 

(With inputs from agencies)