Entertainment
Aptitude and attitude
Twenty-five years ago, Bishwo Mohan Adhikari began his career as an educator at a school in Pokhara.Twenty-five years ago, Bishwo Mohan Adhikari began his career as an educator at a school in Pokhara. Always interested in delving into different things, Adhikari also simultaneously began his journey in the banking and finance sector at an assistant level at Annapurna Finance Company. Now the CEO of Om Development Bank—Pokhara and an assistant professor at Tribhuvan University, he continues to pursue and preach the mantras that have helped his steadily climb up the corporate ladder—the right aptitude and attitude. In this interview with the Post’s Alisha Sijapati, Adhikari talks about the current scenario of the banking industry in Pokhara and the Capital and his management style. Excerpts:
How is the working culture in Pokhara? Is its corporate culture different than the Capital’s?
Pokhara is a great place to work and to forward your career. Because it is a tourist destination, a large section of the local economy is geared towards the tourism sector. But for any industry to flourish it needs financial institutions like us to help them monetarily, in terms of loans and daily transactions—this way the banking industry is vibrant in the Lake City and a wonderful place to be involved in the sector.
As I have worked in the banking sector in Pokhara for more than two decades, we believe that Kathmandu is an ocean filled with abundant opportunities. People from all 75 districts have transactions in Kathmandu, which certainly makes banks based in the Capital much profitable, hence we also have opened our branches there to stay visible and to maintain our brand. Like other big commercial banks that are branching out to other cities, we are also trying to do the same by reaching out to the customers and trying to give them great, competitive facilities.
Given how competitive the market is in the banking sector, how does a development bank like yours stand out from the rest?
I love challenges. If you lead a comfortable life without challenges then there is no point in life. Our bank maybe young but we do know our strengths and weaknesses and work accordingly to keep evolving. As a development bank, our long term plan is to reach out to rural areas and facilitate its residents with benefits that they have been longing for. If a bank reaches such areas, there will be a lot of job opportunities for the locals and also, make things convenient for them. This focus on the rural economy, as well as those of the urban centres, is how we set ourselves apart.
Your bank went through a merger acquisition with a finance company two years ago, what kind of human resources issues did the bank come across at that time?
In our country, merger acquisitions have always turned out to be successful in any sector. When you merge with some other company it is not all about business—profits and loss, it’s about two different cultures coming to work together. Initially, we had a tough time because a development bank and a finance company work differently but to ensure a smooth transition we combined HR policies of both the companies together, which was an effective step as it helped employees from both the companies adjust accordingly. Buoyed by the successful merger, we have now taken steps to acquire another development bank in Gorkha as well.
What is the hiring process at your organisation and what characteristics must prospective employees possess?
We have a very simple formula: We visit colleges and hire top graduates willingly to join our bank. The reasons we choose candidates with best academic qualifications are mainly because they have the knowledge and zeal to work hard and to work smart. Although, the hiring process is quite long, we end up filtering out a lot of candidates based off their resumes and the written examinations. It is only once you have gone past those initial filters that you sit down for an interview with the recruitment committee. If you look at it the other way, degrees and job experiences, do tell you a lot about a candidate, but it shouldn’t be the only marker to judge a candidate by. At the end of the day, we need all-rounders working with us.
As for the qualities, I think as a rule, most organisations are on the lookout for people with certain essential qualities. I think the candidate needs to be creative and be willing to tackle an array of problems, with solutions that can be out of the box. It is essential that the candidate has the right aptitude to learn and the right attitude as well. In the banking sector, you need to deal with a lot of customers and clients, so it is quite important that a candidate is personable and courteous.
The retention is very low in the banking sector. What do you peg that on?
If you look at the situation in Pokhara, there is a lot of competition but the problem with retention is not as bad when compared to commercial banks in the Capital. We are always on the hunt for exemplary candidates, but what we lack is skilled manpower. Because there is an acute shortage of good candidates and a very high demand for them, turnover and job-hopping is natural. It is a problem all organizations in the banking sector are facing.
What are your management mantras?
I place high value on working in a team and participative style of management. The benefit of participative management style is you have a sense of ownership, which leads to motivation and proactiveness. I consider collaboration to be the key to managing any team.
What advice do you have for young candidates about get into the job market?
The job market is getting more competitive by the year, so you need to stay focused. Don’t get too caught up with degrees and prior experiences, in the end your passion and your willingness to pursue your dreams will always win. The two important things for your career is the right attitude—as in the willingness to adapt to any situation and a positive outlook on life; and the right aptitude—as in the willingness to continually learn and grow, both as an employee and a human being. If you can get those two things in order, everything else will fall into place. Also, knowledge is paramount. You need to update yourself all the time because the markets are getting extremely competitive now.