Exploring Sustainable Human Resource Management Change in the Context of Digital Banking

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2020, Volume 8, Issue 2, Pages: 779-786

J. Environ. Treat. Tech.

ISSN: 2309-1185

Journal web link: http://www.jett.dormaj.com

Exploring Sustainable Human Resource

Management Change in the Context of Digital

Banking

Kartina Abdul Latif, Nik Hasnaa Nik Mahmood, Nor Raihana Mohd Ali

Razak Faculty of Technology and Informatics, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, 54100, Kuala Lumpur

Received: 29/08/2019

Accepted: 13/02/2020

Published: 20/05/2020

Abstract

Human resource management (HRM) function plays a meaningful role in creating a sustainable and productive work

environment for organizations. The changing banking environment and altering circumstances are affecting the way human

resource function is delivering its services and practices. This shows a need to explore the way HRM practices can be delivered in

a way to affect social and environmental factors at workplace. This paper is to explore recent trends and changes in the strategic

practices of the HRM function in a banking institution. The paper provides a case-study investigation based on a qualitative research

design. Some in-depth interviews were conducted with HRM practitioners, and document analysis was also done on the context

and nature of HRM changes happening in a banking institution. Interview transcripts were coded with the aid of NVivo software

using a structured thematic analysis to generate distilled data summaries. Some illustrative extracts were provided to search for

meaningful themes and interpret patterns of evidence. The studied banking institution is still in the process of exploring fit-for-

purpose people for HRM functions in a way to enable HRM to have sustainable effects on the business. There are three emerging

themes of the changing and evolving role of the HRM function: infusion of the function with diverse capabilities, the importance

of driving agile working culture, and the emerging focus on employees’ experience using data and technology. The study indicated

that HRM function is moving in the right direction; although, more requirements are still to be met. In organizing the HRM function,

a cohesive approach is required for conceptualizing, planning and executing a shift in how HRM function shall operate in the future

to understand external and internal factors of change with sustainable delivery of HRM practices for impacts on workplace, society,

and the wider environment.

Keywords: Human resource management function; Human resource management change; Digital banking transformation;

Sustainable human resource management practices

Introduction¹

choosing financial providers and advisors who are able to

provide personalization services that can be delivered with

transparency and clarity. This trend will go up as market

challenges, volatility, and low interest rates will put pressure

on investor returns (2).

The banking sector significantly contributes to the

economic growth and development of Malaysia. As in many

industries, financial services sector across the world are

currently experiencing diverse disruptors in many forms,

from a shifting regulatory landscape and the rise of digital

technologies to varying behavior of customers. The

introduction of new digital technologies has a multiplier

effect on the development of the economy such that, it aids

in boosting productivity, reduces business costs, increases

the availability of information and reduces barriers to entry

into new markets (1) . The banking services sector is in a

middle of a storm. New technology vectors are constantly

evolving, which will fundamentally reform many of the core

elements of the banking value chain, e.g., shifting regulatory

landscape, the rise of innovative digital technologies, etc.

Customers’ expectations are changing; they are increasingly

In the context of human resource management (HRM),

given the environment businesses operating in today’s

world, for HRM function to be more strategic and aligned

with transformation of businesses and to continuously stay

ahead of the curve on human capital management (HCM)

strategies and initiatives, it needs to enhance its adaptability

and sustainability. Molthan-Hill, Cohen, and King (3)

contends that to be sustainable, HRM function has the

opportunity to leverage on HRM practices and processes to

support the achievement of organizational objectives for

sustained competitive advantage. In the direction and

choices in which HRM function transforms, appropriate

Corresponding author: Kartina Abdul Latif, Razak Faculty of Technology and Informatics, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan

Sultan Yahya Petra, 54100, Kuala Lumpur. E-mail: its.kartina.abdul.latif2@gmail.com.

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2020, Volume 8, Issue 2, Pages: 779-786

initiatives to be taken depends on the needs of the business

and its people. The change or transformation can occur in the

HRM structure, HRM strategy, and HRM systems and

processes, when the HRM practices are redesigned to better

reflect internal or external requirements (4) of the business.

In this regard, in defining how HRM practices are done and

delivered within an organization, it is important to

understand the nature of the HRM change that contributes to

organisational performance and effectiveness. In fact,

knowing the distinction between change and transformation

can be essential to an organization’s success and possibly its

survival (5). Ulrich and Brockbank (6) distinguished

between a transformed HRM function versus HRM change.

Rothwell (7) defined HRM transformation “as the process of

fundamentally re-thinking and re-chartering the HRM

function or department in an organization”. HRM change

and HRM transformation are not the same; the former refers

to a fundamental reconstruction of the HRM function, i.e.,

changing something that already exists, whereas the latter

concentrates on discovering new things. For example, Ulrich

and Brockbank (6) explicitly explained, if HRM function has

moved to a new service delivery mechanism of having

service centres, centres of expertise or outsourcing and yet

still delivering the same old HRM services, the function has

changed, but not transformed. Likewise, changing any single

HRM practices such as recruitment, training, and

to create the capability, capacity, and organisational culture

needed to not only go through current market volatility, but

also create the foundation for continued profitability. With

multi-generational workforce with different expectations,

talent would want to work in an environment where they can

do their best work and make a valuable impact. According

to Dery and McCormick (13), considerable changes have

taken place from the year 2006 onwards in how work is

performed. There is a rise in the use of technology such as

smartphones, cloud services, virtual networks, and web-

based services; and these technologies are increasingly

becoming mainstream, according to a report released by

Capgemini (14). The impact of the rapid digital growth has

meant that organizations have had to adapt to new market

expectations. In the context of banking institutions, banks

have responded by establishing digital business strategies to

digitise the bank’s operations and products offerings based

on customers’ needs.

The field of HRM is growing and is expected to continue

as an area of theorising, empirical, and methodological

development. Therefore, in response to changing business

demands and the evolving role of HRM, the objective of this

study is to explore the way the HRM function of a banking

institution changes or transforms in response to the increased

competition for digitised banking transformation and what

this means in terms of managing human capital requirements

for sustainable workplace environment of the future. The

main reason behind selection of looking into banking sector

is that the future competitiveness and growth of the sector

have more potentiality in increasing employment and

improving the Malaysian economy. Based on the research

purpose and current understanding, the following research

questions are formulated for this study to understand

changes to the HRM of a banking institution:

performance management does not lead to

a real

transformation. However, the entire array of the HRM

structure change and practices collectively adds value for

key stakeholders, without any transformation occurrence (8).

The concept of HRM transformation goes even further

when it is further supported by other HRM literature. It is

considered as transformative HRM practices when HRM

functions embed analytical and sophisticated systems of

thinking in order to create the kinds of understanding that

drive better workforce strategies and workplace outcomes

for the organization (9,10). HRM transformation must

change both HRM behaviour and work outputs in such a way

that the changes add value for key stakeholders. Whereas,

changing one aspect of the HRM practices makes it better,

but it does not link it to value-adding agendas. For example,

changes and improvements in the customer connections,

individual abilities, or organization capabilities are

constituted as just HRM change.

1) How do the external and internal factors affect the

HRM function’s need for change?

2) How is HRM in a banking institution undergoing the

change process to be sustainable for the future?

The rest of this paper is organised as follows: Section 2

describes the research method with the qualitative data

analysis and findings. Section 3 presents and elaborates the

findings. Section 4 provides a discussion on findings.

Finally, Section 5 concludes the whole paper.

Accordingly,

for organizational

and business

Methodology

sustainability, HRM function must engage with the new

rules of business sustainability and align its organizational

activities in view of that (11,12). It is not just making money

and ethical business decisions. Research has shown that by

investing in employee-based initiatives such as conducive

working environment, an inclusive culture, green initiatives

promoting environmental efficiencies in the workplace,

talent development, beyond the minimum requirements of

employment law, a business can reap the benefits of

improved employee motivation and productivity, while

contributing to a healthier society (3). Given the landmark

Given the limited existing research on HRM changes

happening in the Malaysian banking sector, an exploratory

and inductive approach was adopted. It involved a series of

in-depth interviews with a range of HR professionals in one

of the leading local banking institutions in the capital city of

Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. The study focuses on the chosen

Banking group’s transformation journey in digitizing the

bank completely and how the HRM division aligns its

functions with delivering value and impact to the Group.

.2 Participants

In-depth interviews were conducted with four business

change occurring in financial services industries,

progressive and forward-thinking HRM function is critical

to ensuring organizations’ ability for a smooth transition into

the digital age. Organizations need their HR leaders to help

lead the process of internal business transformation in order

leaders, seven HR professionals from the Group Human

Resource (GHR) division and three from the high potential

talents, identified by the key HR contact in GHR who

facilitated the overall research access into the banking

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2020, Volume 8, Issue 2, Pages: 779-786

institution. The banking institution selected is one of the

largest fully-integrated financial services group in Malaysia.

The group has three main business pillars, namely Group

Retail and Commercial Banking, Group International

Business, and Group Corporate and Investment Banking.

The Group’s regional presence now spans across nine

different countries in South East Asia.

notes from the observation sessions as well as the meeting

notes were all entered into a database, based on an

appropriate structure of coding. To reduce data to a

manageable level, the open coding technique was first

employed (15), which allows for categorizing of the data in

a way to enable its systemization to emerge from data axial

coding. Based on the patterns of evidence and analysis,

broad themes were generated and used to guide the

discussion on the case study. The collected data were also

triangulated between the interviews and observations and

through various document analyses.

.3 Procedure

Prior to the conduct of the interviews, desk-top research

was first conducted based on publicly-available information

to gain an initial understanding of the bank’s business,

strategic imperatives, and human capital focus areas. A

semi-structured interview guide was developed to facilitate

the collection of data as the main technique for primary data

collection. Moreover, an interview guide was developed by

the researcher, reviewed by subject matter experts, piloted

with a small number of HRM practitioners not participating

in the study. Amendments were made based on the pilot

feedback regarding questions clarity, prior to

commencement of the actual interviews. All the interviews

were audio-recorded and lasted between 45 and 75 minutes.

Findings

The organization and structure of this section is devoted

to answering the research questions posed in the introduction

section. The pseudonym, BankCo is used to depict the

banking institution researched.

.2 How do the external and internal factors affect the

HRM function’s need for change?

Consistent across the financial service sector, BankCo is

faced with various external and internal challenges that have

resulted in adding pressures to the business. New

technologies, demographic shifts, and changing workplace

attitudes are radically reshaping the future of the banking

landscape. BankCo has to adapt itself to the changing eco-

system. The main themes extracted from the interviews and

content analysis can be depicted in the diagram presented in

Fig. 1. This was further deliberated by the participants during

the interviews held regarding some of the external and

internal pressures generally faced by banks.

.4 Analysis

All the interviews were recorded and listened by the

researchers. The transcription of each interview was read

multiple times by the researchers to get a sense of the overall

content. The interview transcripts were reviewed

systematically to ensure all the first order codes related to the

research objectives are well identified. Then, the first order

codes related to same subject were grouped into categories.

Certain first order codes appear under more than one

category. To facilitate this process, NVivo 12 software was

used. Using the software, all of the transcribed texts and

Figure 1: The external and internal factors affecting the HRM functions’ need for change

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2020, Volume 8, Issue 2, Pages: 779-786

upgrade IT infrastructure to digitize their offerings in order

to stay effectively competitive with newly-emerging non-

banks. More banking institutions are crafting out

comprehensive digital strategies, focusing around enhancing

customers’ experience aiming for customer retention and

acquisition, data analytics, and cost effectiveness to create

differentiated revenue generating opportunities for the

banks. Owing to this, interviewees were indicating that

customers expect relevant content in relation to what they

are doing anytime, anywhere and in the format and devices

of their choice:

.2.1 Themes on external forces of change

.2.1.1 Competition with Non-Banks

Malaysian banking institutions continue to experience

competitive pressures exerted from new alternative service

providers. For example, in 2018, the Central Bank Of

Malaysia has issued several non-banks e-money licenses,

through which a couple of remittance service providers have

also become fully operational (16). The digital disruption

encourages banks to upgrade information technology (IT)

infrastructure to digitalise their offerings in order to stay

relevant and compete with new Fintech and

telecommunication companies encroaching into the

payments and remittances space. For BankCo, even though

they are operating in nine countries, the intention is to further

strengthen their foothold in the home ground country.

Interviewees shared the following points:

“

We need to continuously keep up with the pace of

technological changes happening at breakneck speed. This

is important to keep up with this new kind of “always-

connected” customer. As a result, BankCo must embrace

technology to deliver

differentiated customer

experience…”

“

…. Disintermediation from non-banks such as

Fintechs, deterioration of asset quality, tightening liquidity,

heightened compliance regime, and deployment of capital to

alternative investment classes have put added pressure on

BankCo in terms of margin compression. At the current rate

that competition is progressing and evolving, we have to

learn to disrupt, or we will be disrupted, else our market

share and positioning will be taken over by others.”

Currently, BankCo as with the other banks, are competing

to be able to attract customers through the use of digital

banking products; additional, they aim to educate customers

about the latest digital technology used. Digital banking

products launched have also been adapted to the needs of the

customers and community at wide.

.2.1.4 Uncertain global economy and cautious business

sentiment

Businesses are displaying a less optimistic outlook

“

We realized we are not the biggest bank…even though

we are present in 9 countries, our core market is in

Malaysia; and realising that, we are looking for areas where

we can win in Malaysia. The idea is not to copy other

banks…, but it is to find our own niche, chart our own

journey…So, we have to think how to respond to this…”

owing to both domestic issues as well as the global economic

slowdown, along the underlying uncertainty surrounding the

Sino-US trade dispute. Amidst cautious sentiments, private

investment is expected to grow unevenly owing to worries

over the volatility of the Malaysian Ringgit, and consumers

are increasingly expected to spend in a more discretionary

manner:

.2.1.2 Regulatory drivers

Across the different interviews conducted for the

purpose of this study, the central theme that emerged was

that there is a heightened need to comply with the regulatory

requirements imposed by the Central Bank of Malaysia.

Interviewees shared similar feedback where banking

institutions in Malaysia are required to adhere to various

regulatory requirements, as expressed in the following

excerpt:

“

Challenging business environment exacerbated by the

uncertain global economy is creating a lot of uncertainty to

the business community. We need to strengthen and focus on

penetrating our segment play deeper (SME, retail), building

ecosystems as a platform to garner higher returns, dropping

load in business segments that do not yield the required

returns, and building new business pillars that deploy

capital and carry a shorter window for returns realization”

“

Banks deal with forces that are shaping the industry –

compliance, audit, risk and legal (CARL) forces as well as

cost of technology demand banks’ utmost attention.”

.2.2 Themes on internal forces

.2.2.1 Digital banking infrastructure readiness

Banks generally have core banking systems that have

Some of the regulatory requirement examples provided

are Banking system Basel III Liquidity Coverage Ratio

existed for a long time. However, with digital technologies

that have come to the fore, banks need to adapt their existing

IT infrastructure with new exponential technologies and

establish such infrastructures that can make comprehensive

use of the opportunities represented by digitalization.

(“LCR”), Capital Adequacy framework, Malaysian

Financial Reporting Standards for the accounting

standards, and Net Stable funding Ratio up to a certain

percentage. All these requirements are part of managing risk

and compliance for stable growth.

“

Internally, banks have to deal with these forces and

.2.1.3 Increasing digital customer expectations

Technology is increasingly shaping customers’

challenges on the availability of resources such as people

and infrastructure readiness…quite a number of our

infrastructures are obsolete and should be changed.”

behavior, thereby putting pressure on banks to evolve or

accept the risk of obsolescence. All of the interviewees

spoke about how digital disruptions are pushing banks to

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2020, Volume 8, Issue 2, Pages: 779-786

.2.2.2 Organization readiness to embed new digital

culture

With digital disruption affecting the banking sector,

3.2.2.5 Ability to juggle between value creation and value

realisation

In a highly challenging and competitive financial

industry market, banks need to continuously invest in

innovations, building brand strength, new technology, and

improved business processes in the creation of new value.

The ability to juggle between value creation and value

realisation is important as real value must be created before

being captured. Banks have to rigorously think through the

evolution of the value creation and value capture trade-off,

develop strategies to balance the attainment of both values

even in the earliest stages of conception. As explained by a

participant from the Strategy office of BankCo, who

summed up a number of internal forces that have an

influence on how the organization moves forward in

response to its external environment:

change has never been as multidimensional and large scale

as it is now. Digital platforms, social technologies,

autonomy, new skill set of employees, and digital mindsets

are essential ingredients of establishing a passionate

innovative culture. One of the interviewees articulated, “the

readiness to embrace new ways of working often means that

the bank need to rethink their approach completely,

jettisoning old thought patterns and processes”.

.2.2.3 Bench strength of digital workforce capabilities

With the increasing prevalence of digitalization, this will

have widespread effects on almost every aspect of the

business processes. This has compelled banks to find their

own niche and chart their own journey based on the Bank’s

unique strengths and focusing on what customers often

value. One of the strategic objectives BankCo has identified

to achieve is harnessing the bank’s human capital. As it is

imperative for the bank to go digital, it needs to have an agile

workforce with digital capabilities. Interviewees shared their

views that rapid changes in business requirements and new

emerging technology vortex mean that employees are

constantly required to renew their skill set to be well fit for

the future. The following is the words of one of the

interviewees:

“On the internal challenges, the ability to realise returns

on investments in a short-time span as the nature of

investments requires a long lead time before the return on

investments can be achieved, such as digital banking

capabilities, lead generation, analytics, and conversion

cases. The other point is the organization’s ability to juggle

between value creation (revenue) and value capture (profits)

and making balance within the operating financial year…”

3.3 How should HRM function in a banking institution

undergo the change process to be sustainable in the

future?

“

It is not enough to be just be good in your own technical

area, there is a greater need to acquire new digital skill set

such as design thinking, better analytics skill, thinking out-

of-the-box, and getting creative, being agile, working in a

more collaborative environment…”

To explore how HRM is responding to the business

changes as a result of the external and internal forces, the

researchers sought to understand what is expected from the

HRM stakeholders and the changes happening in the HRM

function. The following are the main themes emerged from

each of the HRM areas:

The significance of the skillset renewals for the digital

banking was also confirmed by the Head of Learning,

Experience and Solution fulfilment:

3.3.1 Theme 1: HRM operating model

With such size of BankCo’s businesses, GHR (Group

Human Resource) has evolved from the traditional structure

towards adopting the three-pillar structure to organize the

HRM function. GHR is organized into three distinct sub-

functions, i.e., HR business partners, Centre of excellence,

“

Owing to technology, some of the jobs will be

obsolete…so, we need to get our people ready to have more

value-adding role…for example, teaching our people about

complex problem-solving roles that robots cannot do. We

have come up with the FORWARD programme (Future

Oriented Ready Workforce, Advancing Reskilling and

Developing). So, things like this are being looked into by our

Digital Academy head.”

and HR shared services with

a clear division of

responsibilities and process integration. This structure

provides the refocusing of the HRM function from

“operational” to the “strategic development of

organizational capability” (17). The HR business partner

(HRBP) role is advocated as a way for HRM managers in

BankCo to become more strategic and less transactional.

When asked in terms of what does the future hold for

HRBPs, one of the interviewed business leaders articulated

that with digital banking transformation, there is a need for

HRM function as a whole to focus on providing better digital

experience for employees:

.2.2.4 Ability to realize Return of Investments within a

short-time span

As digitalisation increasingly plays a mission-critical

role in driving business and economy, banks have to deploy

a mix of strategies to stay ahead in the game, which includes

investment in technology and channel improvements –

Branches, Automated Teller Machines, Call Centres, and

Digital Banking Platforms. In the words of the Head of

Strategy in BankCo, “The ability to realize Return of

Investments (ROI) within a short-time span is something

which all banks are continuously working on to grow fee and

non-fee income through productivity growth”.

“We are already in a phased implementation of AGILE

in business functions. One of the tenets of AGILE is design

thinking in coming up with minimum variant products

(MVPs). GHR should likewise apply design thinking and

human-centred design on HRM products and services. The

aim is to design an awesome employee experience, which

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2020, Volume 8, Issue 2, Pages: 779-786

shows care for the employees within the context of their

work.”

different interviewees highlighted the new HRM capabilities

and skill sets that is fit for the future:

.3.2 Theme 2: HRM policies and practices

BankCo is in the process of redesigning selected HRM

“We need a different type of HR business partner…it is

not about business partner like now where it is about just

supporting the business. I think we need more of like a

business partner in a venture capitalist set up…we talk about

creating 1000 start ups and this HRM head needs to become

a partner to certain ventures. So, you are in it together, it is

not being reactive…and playing more of a supportive role.

Very much like a partner in a real business venture.”

policies and practices based on employee lifecycle journey.

As a case in point, the talent acquisition process and

practices are being reviewed in order to transform the overall

employee experience of the new hires:

“

When I came on board, we transformed the overall

recruitment process and its related activities. We

brainstormed and used design thinking in resolving the

current issues… we coined the term EPIC – Efficient in our

hiring, Positive candidate hiring experience, Improve the

brand recognition, and C is Candidate quality. Within EPIC,

there were roughly 22-23 initiatives; some were big and

some were small ticket items for us to address under Talent

Acquisition.”

“I think at the end of the day, if you want to do digital;

HRM needs to behave more like product owners. HRM

should also change its way of delivering services and think

of the solutions as more of product development. With

digital, you cannot afford just to work within your own

function. Collaboration is a key. Maybe HRM can consider

working with other functions like Marketing, Finance, and

other business functions. The perspectives they bring in can

result in dynamic end products for employees…”

The transformative review was not just confined to

candidates’ experience, but also looking into the workload

and effectiveness of the time spent by the recruiters in GHR.

The roles and responsibilities were redesigned to reflect a

more effective utilization of time spent by the recruiters. The

efforts yielded benefits, where in 2018, BankCo’s talent

acquisition practices and processes have resulted in positive

new hire experience with high satisfaction score of 97.3%

amongst the new joiners.

Therefore, the call for HRM to embrace new ways of

doing things are greater now. HRM must be willing to

embrace and actively seek challenges and consider setbacks

as a chance to learn and develop.

3.3.5 Theme 5: HRM Technology

Technology facilitates HR transformation mandate and

is often a catalyst. BankCo is in the process of transforming

the user experience in automating a number of practices on-

line. A number of HRM processes have been launched such

as ePayroll, eClaims, eMedical, eTraining, eLeave, etc. In

2018, HR shared services unit launched the performance

management system, ePMS, and for 2019, they were looking

into going live on the eRecruitment system nationwide.

Talent management processes such as selection of talent,

talent assessment, and tracking of talent development

progress are also in progress of being automated; and they

were expected to be run by second quarter 2019. These

processes are governed by internal service level agreements

and performance indicator trackers, which are being made

transparent to the employees and businesses.

.3.3: Theme 3: HRM Analytics

HRM analytics presents a unique opportunity to create

competitive advantage for the HRM function and the

organization (18). Literature consists of many reports and

write-ups released regarding the HRM functions getting

better and making an impact based on evidence-based HRM

decision analytics. For BankCo, the current HRM analytics

processes and capabilities are still in the infancy stage. The

Head of Shared Services in GHR acknowledged the potential

of HR analytics in transforming the HRM function to make

better decisions using data and create a better business case

for HRM interventions.

“

We are still improving the data analytics reporting to

business leaders as time goes by. We need professional

business analytics talent for this role, who knows how to

apply data insightfully to make impactful changes to

business performance through workforce. But we have

constraints on new headcount hiring – needing more of high-

level thinking capabilities, better insights, think-tank group

rather than executioner.”

Discussion

This study intends to investigate how the competitive

business environment faced by BankCo has created an

avenue for its HRM function to make the changes required

to support the strategic prioritization of the digital banking

transformation agenda of the banking business. In the case

of BankCo, the study shows that HRM function is in an

evolving process where it is no longer being taken as a

function focusing purely on administrative activities; rather,

it is assumed to play a strategic role in managing the heart of

the organization, i.e., people and organization. There are

three main observations on the evolving role of the HRM

function in BankCo:

.3.4 Theme 4: HRM Capabilities

In view of the disruptions and business transformations

occurring in organizations, HRM function is required to raise

its game by aligning overall HRM skills and capabilities with

the organization’s business goals. HRM transformation

requires HRM professionals to embrace change in order to

be adaptive and reinvent the way services are being done and

delivered. HRM function must also have the foresight and

growth mindset (19). Excerpts from interviews with

.2 HRM specialists are organized to understand the

business

The HRM personnel interviewed in BankCo exhibited a

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2020, Volume 8, Issue 2, Pages: 779-786

good understanding of their business and external

environments. HRM has already embedded itself in the

business through the role of business partners in managing

business-related risks and workforce requirements. The HR

business partner collaborates with HRM centres of

excellence (CoE) and HRM shared services by driving

workforce and talent management, employee engagement,

and organization change. Previously, CoE was focused on

pushing policies and programs into the business; now they

have been well adapted to the changing business needs, with

the HR business partner advising on the business priorities

and actively interacting. Thus, the HRM operating model

must be able to evolve constantly and respond to new

business challenges and transformation.

as a function focusing purely on administrative activities;

rather, it has a strategic role in the management of the

organization’s heart, which is people and organization itself.

The HRM professionals focus on technical expertise based

on BankCo’s business requirements. It has an appropriate

HRM system and technology to effectively support the

delivery of HRM services. The evidence from the qualitative

analysis suggests that GHR is getting adapted to the business

requirements in a gradual and transitional manner. Luecke

(20) contends this type of change as an ongoing process

where business and organizations continually sense,

monitor, and respond to the external environment and

internal requirements in small steps as part of continuous

change. With the changing organizational environment,

HRM leaders need to quickly adapt to the industry trends and

assist organizational leaders in gaining digital competences

in order to achieve organizational transformation.

.3 Owing to the pressing need to deliver on the customer

experience expectations induced by emerging technologies

To infuse the HRM function with diverse capabilities,

the business partner role should have a greater impact on the

business activities. Feedback from participants’ interview

indicated that future HRM personnel need to further create

value with agile skills in applying advanced HRM analytics

and technologies to anticipate critical workforce trends and

reimagine the HRM solutions in driving performance and

engagement. Time is also changing. As HRM is about

creating impact on business, it is suggested by participant

interviews to infuse HRM function with resources from

outside the HRM field such as marketing, finance, and other

business functions to bear on HRM matters such as

leadership, culture, organization capability, and employee

value proposition. In the list of capabilities cited by the

participants, digital readiness, agility, customer centricity,

and analytical acumen are at the top of the list.

Conclusion

In order for HRM function to stay relevant for the years

to come, current evolutionary changes will need to make

way for a more transformative or disruptive revolution. This

study indicates that HRM function in BankCo is moving in

the right direction, although more requirements are still to be

met. To be transformative, a true HRM transformation needs

to be integrated and aligned with a business-focused

approach to reinventing the way HRM delivers its services

and practices to its key stakeholders. Therefore, the role of

HRM function in helping organizations to become more

sustainable can be demonstrated in different ways, and there

is a need for a deep understanding about sustainable

workplace environment practices. This requires new pattern

of thought and behaviour, where HRM looks at how the

function can respond, drive, and re-imagine employees’

experience using data and proper employee management

system in improving workplace management effectiveness

that can lead to business impact (21). HRM function has an

inherent accountability to consider the broader implications

of HRM decisions, not only on employees, but also on their

families, the larger communities, economies, and societies in

general. Potential areas for future academic research include

a further exploration on the effectiveness and contribution of

HRM functions in the digital banking transformation journey

of banking institutions.

.4 Driving agile work culture and employee experience

Customer experience is a big part of the banking

business, and when it comes to managing talent, providing

an excellent employee experience is just as important.

Design thinking and human-centred design methodologies

have been applied to product development in BankCo. This

is part of the agile initiative, an accelerated working culture

aimed at achieving faster speed in marketing products and

services, enhancing productivity, increasing employee

engagement, and driving a high-performance culture. There

are growing calls from BankCo stakeholders of HRM

function to pay attention to employees’ experience. The

rationale for this call is that the demands of the business for

innovation and rapid change require that employees be

engaged in different ways with their work and the

organization. Rather than focussing on traditional

transactional human resources services, it is expected now

for HRM function to understand the needs and emotions of

Ethical issue

Authors are aware of, and comply with, best practice in

publication ethics specifically with regard to authorship

(avoidance of guest authorship), dual submission,

manipulation of figures, competing interests and compliance

with policies on research ethics. Authors adhere to

publication requirements that submitted work is original and

has not been published elsewhere in any language.

different employee segments and design

a holistic

experience that demonstrates care for the employees within

the context of their work. By looking into work culture and

employees’ experience, these two factors can have a direct

influence on employees’ satisfaction, commitment,

engagement, and work performance.

Competing interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest

that would prejudice the impartiality of this scientific work.

Based on the researchers’ observation regarding the HRM

changes in BankCo, as mentioned earlier, the HRM function

is undergoing an evolving process; it is no longer being taken

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2020, Volume 8, Issue 2, Pages: 779-786

Authors’ contribution

The researchers hereby acknowledge that they had a

complete contribution to data collection, data analyses, and

manuscript writing in this paper.

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