Standard Chartered Bank reviews

Very slow growth, managers are very baised

Standard Chartered Bank has become utterly Orwellian strangled under the naif specter of operational risk and the organization revels blindly in all the inane toxic suffocating redundancies consequently created. The Human Resources (HR) function at Standard Chartered has always been disconnected from, and absolutely uninterested in anything to do with needs of the people there - its sole purpose remains to rubber stamp ever more disjointed "business call" and as always, filing out reams of doublespeak (jingoistic paperwork that never sees daylight). The hiring criterion has little do with the capability/track record/qualifications or cultural fit of a potential candidate - but rather is a factor of who is the 'cheapest' hire. At Standard Chartered PLC there is no succession planning/grooming. Pick a senior vacancy and they've mostly brought in an external candidate. This when the average tenure of the next-to-senior existing staff throughout the Group has not been less than 4 years. Not only does it reflect an obvious utter absence of investment in the 'talent' the organization already has, what this effectively also does is simple - it terminates the growth pipeline throughout the organization's considerable hierarchy. Internal international movements, much touted at job fairs, is the biggest fallacy at Standard Chartered - not only is grooming of existing staff absent, internal job advertisements are cursory, paper filling exercises - with absolutely no feedback on an application - even for the minority of vacancies where a candidate for the position hasn't already been pre short listed before the job is advertised. For "Group" level roles there is no active involvement in the hiring process of HR nor of the international mobility HR subfunction - nor is any hint given of the active xenophobic 'restrictions' to 'non native' hiring let alone any internal mechanisms to counter/mitigate it - but diversity is purportedly valued "highly" at Standard Chartered. At senior management level, these new hires have no inkling of the ground realities at the Bank, nor any interest in acquiring any modicum of understanding of the same - they each work off a set of preconceived notions that brook no contrary view - not that there are anymore forums where a different view to doing things could be aired or would be tolerated let alone invited. so no, you must not stay in your own house or with relatives while traveling for business, because the policy says you cannot and in any case there is no per diem - just pay the hundreds of dollars out of your own pocket (again as per policy - you lodge a claim once you return, and will be reimbursed some time in the future, only once the dozen forms, approvals et all plus the entire OR bureaucracy is sated) for a hotel room in which you barely will have time to sleep in. And good luck to you if for some reason the hotel didn't give you an original receipt/or you couldn't find it. Try getting the Bank to lend you money interest free for the time it takes to get your out of pocket expense money back. There is no forum nor interest anywhere in the Bank for you to try and simplify this - you cannot ask questions, for none are entertained - even though 'simplification' is the latest 'big' deal. Much touted is "diversity and inclusion", which effectively amounts to touted quotas "enforced" for women with chauvinistic verbal homage tilted to putting up percentages and timelines - to replacing existing non vacant staff positions with women. Utterly no regard to the existing staff pool - because for the 'management' staff are redundant wood blocks. The active discrimination extends to gender exclusive (read women only) events (on which the Bank spends good money), gender exclusive (for women only) mentoring, gender exclusive face time with senior management. None such fanfare exists for existing staff who happen to not be female. At Standard Chartered there is absolutely not the least recognition/ space for any form of orientation diversity, safe work environment, let alone empowerment - the deliberate absolute silence on this could not be less gender phobic even if they tried! Conveniently to cover for their this bias they quote 'cultural sensitives of the markets they operate in' - yet oddly in these same markets they - purportedly - stringently enforce /zero tolerance of internal policies that forbid gratuitous token gift exchanges (a very cultural thing in 'their these markets') for example - at least there is a policy for this and a lot of blurb frequently circulated around it. That as opposed to the utter silence on orientation, safe work environment, tolerance et al. The parallel organizational structures, much reviled by the current CEO when he joined, remain, with all the silos between the various businesses since re-enforced. The erstwhile "bridge" support functions were rendered neutered and headless at the start of his tenure, because they all had 'outsiders' appointed to 'lead' - who have little interest if any in the existing biology of the function/organization - reflected in the diktat that reign as the current "policies" there. So blase are these gents, one and all, that throughout the organization 'facts' no longer matter, 'appearances' are de rigueur - so intolerant of anything but their own view that their directs go to no uncertain lengths to ensure nothing filters up except what syncs with the "desired" state. Their titles increasingly grow remote, with the length /web of hierarchy under them expanding to the effect of leaving the totem pole so tall that even the middle branches are no longer visible (let alone accessible) from the ground. Adopting the stance of the Group CEO are "regional CEOs" - who have little knowledge of, and even less interest in the "geographies" they "rule" - accordingly they grant arbitrary financial targets among their "dominion" and yet control not the spend of their court. They then hold their geographies to account for failing to 'deliver' for these same exorbitant uncured courtly expenses - which the regional CEOs have apportioned arbitrarily back to these same geographies. Courtesy the great 'purge' post the coming of Winter - a grim assemblage of reluctant yes men ekes out existence under increasing strangulation of self defeating policies while battling the redundant ogre of OR all the while waiting for the day to wind down so that they can clock out. Make no mistake this organization is NOT some 9to5 operation - long hours "at" work are expected (with frequent 'productivity' excel based exercises) and the work phone given is guarantee that your attention will remain available whenever asked for. Need further proof? The vaunted 'refresh' of the 'core values' was the the hashtag #beingHuman, with an 'expected' set of "valued behaviors"! Orwellian huh?