All posts in Banking

Solving The Compensation Quagmire A Total Rewards Approach In Today’s Banking Environment

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By any measure, the banking industry is facing challenging times. From a financial perspective, there has been a

dramatic decline in the performance of the banking marketplace. From a human capital perspective, it’s more important than

ever to have an engaged and high performing workforce. Banks are competing for talent at all levels of the organization and

must be diligent in developing compensation programs that attract, motivate and retain a high performing workforce. How can

banks develop and manage compensation programs that reward employees for the bank’s financial performance in this challenging

banking market and, at the same time, be effective in recruiting, motivating and retaining the key talent necessary for the

bank’s success?

A successful total rewards program should be designed to balance the needs of the organization with the needs of the

workforce. While designing a program can be challenging, it does not have to be daunting. Leaders must first identify the

needs of its workforce and then work to develop a total rewards approach that best meets these needs and fits with the

culture of the organization. To start, employers should take a holistic view of compensation, while considering the following

steps:

Step 1: Develop Compensation Philosophy a clearly defined compensation philosophy is the foundation from which a

compensation program should be built. In defining a philosophy specific to your organization, ask:
Where does the bank want to stack up relative to its peers?
What is the right “mix of the total compensation package?
Does it support the business strategy?
Is it aligned with shareholder and stakeholder interests?

Step 2: Determine which total rewards components best fit the organization and the workforce consider salary, bonus,

benefits, awards and recognition programs. What do employees really want? Employees want to feel valued, fairly compensated

and distinctly rewarded and recognized for their contributions to the organization.

Step 3: Review the effectiveness of current pay-for-performance programs. Are they achieving the desired results and

behaviors? In developing or reviewing your existing incentive plan(s) consider the following:

Objective of the plan(s) (e.g. reward for short-term vs. long term-performance)
Is it aligned with the bank’s strategic and business plans?
What are the internal and external influences?
What performance should it reward?
Does it reward high achievers significantly more than others?
Goal setting do the goals still make sense?
Are individual and department goals aligned with the overall strategic plan?
How will performance be assessed? What are the right measures?

It is also important to review the organization’s performance evaluation process to ensure that it is consistent across the

organization, accurate and objective. Employees want equitable evaluations. Again, it’s about employees feeling that they are

valued and treated fairly.

Step 4: Communicate, communicate, communicate. Make certain that all compensation programs are easily understood and well

communicated. Demystify plans so that employees understand how compensation is determined. Employees care just as much, if

not more, about how their pay is determined as what their pay is. When compensation plans are openly and frequently

communicated, employees tend to feel that they are being fairly compensated.

Specific to pay-for-performance plans, make certain that managers and employees have a solid understanding of how the plans

work:

Are the goals clear? Is there a clear line of sight?
Do employees feel empowered to meet goals?
Are there rewards for achieving individual and department goals?
Do employees understand the connection of their contribution to the bank’s success?
Is there a system to track results and provide feedback on a regular basis?

Meeting the needs of employees is not only about compensation. Other highly valued components include career development

opportunities, employee recognition and non monetary rewards, such as flexible work arrangements. In fact, it can be argued

that without these important components, even the most rewarding compensation package is not enough to recruit, motivate and

retain your valuable human capital.

Umbilical cord blood banking lessons for those parenting for the first time

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All parents want their child to be healthy and happy for life time. During the birth of a child, parents make a promise to the baby and to themselves to take very good care of their baby. They try everything that can increase the life expectancy of the baby. Nowadays, parents are being provided with a large number of options that can ensure their child a safe and healthy future. It is umbilical cord storage of the infant. The stem cells found in the cord blood have been found to cure numerous life threatening diseases. Where in the past the survival rate of diseases like childhood leukemia was very low, it has increased in the now. Cord blood is found in the umbilical cord which contains life saving stem cells. The cells possess genetic information for several organs, immune system, nervous and even blood. This means these cells generate new organs and thus help to cure the disease. Bone marrow transplant is a term with which people are very familiar. However, in many stem cell researches it was found that stem cells present in cord blood are able to treat all those diseases that had been cured by bone marrow. The reason that made it necessary to shift to some other alternative from bone marrow was the difficulty in finding exact bone marrow match of donor.

There are several advantages of umbilical cord blood banking during the birth of child over bone marrow. As explained earlier, the first one is low compatibility of bone marrow cells of the donor and low success rate. Bone marrow has always been painful for the recipient and donor and in some cases dangerous also. The cord stem cells show a perfect genetic match to the child rather than bone marrow. The rising popularity of the cord blood banking process can be determined from the fact that a large number of groups have established facilities for storage, research and also treatment of chronic diseases. Parents need to contact them before heading to the hospitals

One does not need to worry about the cord blood banking cost as they have started various programs for the parents. Every company has different payment options and baby registry gifting system. This system invites multiple people to contribute for the cost. You can ask for the doctor’s recommendation to make a choice. Cord blood banking has been used by thousands families till now. One should contact a cord blood storage group to donate cord blood of their child. Usually cord blood is discarded after birth.

A single donation can help scientists in doing further research and help several people through discovery of further treatments. Till now treatments for about eighty different types of diseases have been discovered and is still in process. The research is being carried out for Alzheimer’s diseases, Lou Gehrig’s disorder, diabetes, also for brain and injuries to the spinal cord. This is how cord blood is benefiting many families. So, every individual should consider the option of safeguarding their family by donation of cord blood during delivery. Single donation today will insure a healthy future of your baby and of the entire family.

About The Authors:-

This article is written by Jackson daren this is having topics on umbilical cord storage, umbilical cord blood banking, cord blood banking cost and many more. For more: http://cryocell.blog.com/

Buffalo Investment Banking – Make the Max From Your Money

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The Caring Capitalist

There are a good deal of us “caring capitalists” out there! Socially responsible investing has turn out to be a booming market in the two the US and Europe with assets in socially screened portfolios obtaining climbed to $2.71 trillion in 2007 (an enhance of around the $two.sixteen trillion counted in 2003- according to the Social Investment Forum’s
2007 Report on Socially Responsible Investing Developments in the United States). So, how do you go about obtaining investments that align with your values?es?

Do You Concur with the Operation Policies of a Business?

“Responsible” investing is as much about what you really don’t obtain as what you do. Appear at how a organization operates, and come to a decision for all by yourself if you concur with their enterprise practices. For example, you may want to screen how the organization handles: worker safety, environmental practices or community investment. Or you could want to eliminate any companies that have publicity to weapons, tobacco, gambling or mining.

Green Investing a Higher Development Market?

A 2nd SRI path to check out is to include Green engineering or new energy targeted development businesses to your portfolio that reflects your individual belief program for the future. Green Investing is a fast increasing sector, and it simply signifies in investing in providers you imagine are leading the way toward a greener long term and steering clear of investing in organizations that do not meet environmental criteria.

Turning into a green investor doesn’t have to suggest investing in little, fledgling firms that no a person has at any time heard of. Some of the sites you probably shop at often make the listing! Some examples of Businesses that are leading the “green” energy are Starbucks and its “bean-to-cup” approach. They make eco-accountability at every stage of their provide chain. By working with recycled-paper sleeves alone, they saved the equivalent of 78,000 trees in 2006. An additional example is Total Meals. The natural and organic-meals large was the 1st main U.S. corporation to obtain ample wind-power credits to offset 100 % of its electrical energy use!

A wonderful book that you can decide on up at your regional Barnes &amp Noble is Green Investing: A guide to earning dollars by means of environmental pleasant stocks, by Jack Uldrich.

Micro-Lending

Micro-lending is a different imaginative way to make investments your bucks for the larger very good. Micro-lending is fundamentally giving incredibly small loans to entrepreneurs who will need a leg up in beginning or increasing a company. Generally, these firms are positioned in establishing nations or bad parts with very little or no access to loans from greater institutions. You might want to think about reading through Banker to the Bad by Muhammad Yunus.

Of program, when you limit your investment to 1 certain sector or firm you consider on great danger. And your investment chance is magnified when you consider investments in organizations that are in budding and very competitive industries like renewable vitality or organic and natural foods providers. Not to sound like a damaged report, but that’s why diversification is the critical to any investment portfolio!

So how do you navigate the dangers and rewards of being “Socially Responsible” investor?

Jay Mcfadden is a monetary specialist with decades of knowledge. He has created quite a few posts on investments and individual finance. To master a lot more test out: WNY Investment Banking – Get the Most Out of Your Can You Make Cash &amp Make a Difference in the Globe?, WNY Investment Banking – Make the Most From Your Can You Make Funds &amp Make a Difference in the Globe?, Buffalo Financial Planning – Make the Most Out of Your Investment

Banker Cover Letter Sample for Banking Job

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Whenever we want to apply for any job or want to switch from one job to the other, the first thing that comes to our mind is a well-drafted cover letter and a resume. Even if you have a professional and well-planned resume, it is of no use without a cover letter. A cover letter provides a professional approach while applying for any job opening in banking sector. For example, if you want to apply for job in the banking sector, you need to draft a professional cover letter for banking jobs. A banker cover letter sample for banking jobs highlight the essential aspects of your resume in a precise and clear manner.

There are certain cover letter tips that you need to follow before drafting a banking cover letter, such as your cover letter should carry relevant information and should match the information with the enclosed resume. The cover letter should follow a professional format i.e. it should have the same font-name and font-size throughout the cover letter. The cover letter should be divided into sections, highlighting the objective and your credentials in a positive manner. Make sure that the cover letter should be error free i.e. there should not be any spelling mistake and the sentence construction should be perfect. And, finally proofread the cover letter at least twice or thrice before sending it to the recruiter.

A cover letter for banking jobs is basically divided into 3 sections: The first section deals with the aim or objective for drafting the cover letter. Do mention the reference or source from where you came to know about the job vacancy and also include the job code and designation for which you are applying.

The second section includes your educational qualifications, professional summary, important duties and responsibilities that you undertook in your the current and previous bank, extra-curricular activities, achievements, and hobbies. This is also known as informatory section; therefore do remember to include your contact details correctly, so that the employer can contact you for further discussions.

The third and last section includes salutations to the employer for their valuable time that they put in going through the cover letter. Use ‘dear’, ‘sincerely’, ‘faithfully’ in this section to show regards to the employer and compel them to schedule an interview round with them. Make sure that you have attached the essential documents with the resume along with the cover letter.

The above information will help you in drafting a well-planned cover letter for banking jobs. You can also refer to free sample cover letter examples for banking jobs on different websites, as it will provide you with a clear picture of how to draft banking cover letters.

Become Educated About Breeze Mobile Banking

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When Standard Chartered Bank decided to develop a unique mobile banking solution, which would ultimately be named Breeze, they took a very different approach into the design and development. For starters, instead of offering their customers the same features and functionality seen with other mobile banking solutions, a tremendous amount of research was conducted directly with the customers. With this, bank officials were able to capture the essence of what customers wanted to see in a mobile banking application.

Beyond that, officials with Standard Chartered Bank realized that other online and mobile banking solutions simply did not provide the type and degree of security needed to keep information online safe. Obviously, if this bank was going to launch Breeze as a comprehensive solution, it had to be designed for the people and by the people, but the bank needed to put additional or different security measures in place so all personal and financial information would be protected.

Well, changes are already being seen in a new version of Breeze being called Typhoon. Standard Chartered Bank wants to be careful as they move forward with mobile banking, knowing they will continue to provide customers with the functionality and features needed to conduct personal and business banking but they also want to choose the timing for offering new versions carefully.

Additional information is important to understand, helping financial institutions identify the areas in which their system is weak. As an example, the amount of money allotted to IT departments for overall operations includes less than 5% being spent on training for security awareness. Additionally, of companies interviewed, as much as 90% stated the company had some type of computer security incident within the past 12-month period.

Because information such as this is easy to come by, it should be used by all businesses with online presence, especially for financial institutions. If more banks would conduct research and put appropriate security measures in place, incidences of cybercrime would decrease. For the people at Standard Chartered Bank, they wanted to make sure that when their mobile banking application was used on the iPhone, and soon the iPad, customers would have peace of mind knowing their information is protected. The way this was accomplished was to implement a type of second-tier protection.

The second change seen with the newer version of Breeze is that mortgage accounts, investments, and other loans can be viewed. The first version of Breeze was excellent but accountholders were not able to access accounts such as these. Now, the Typhoon version of mobile banking will be more liberal, providing the opportunity for customers to confirm the receipt of payments, changes in interest, current balances, and more.

The new version of Breeze will have another feature, allowing credit cards for paying bills. The first version was relatively flexible in this area but again, some limitations existed that have now been enhanced. The final change seen in the new version of Breeze is that customers can request to have the second, temporary password sent via SMS to the iPhone resent.

Initially, this second PIN was initiated once the bank customer logged into the Standard Chartered Bank website with the standard user name and password. From there, the customer would wait for the SMS to be received, at which time he or she would return to the site, enter the second password, and then have account access. With this change, if a customer were to log off only to remember another task needing to be done, rather than go through the entire process again, a request could be sent via Breeze on the iPhone, at which time the bank’s system would initiate a different temporary PIN. As time passes, more changes will be seen with Breeze, something of which bank customers are excited.