[1mm Finance Talk] "Reward Where There Is Achievement"... A Bank's Bold Experiment Breaking Seniority Hierarchy

▲ Woori Bank Building

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A bank known for its conservative organizational culture has embarked on a bold personnel experiment. By breaking away from seniority-based personnel practices and introducing a performance-based HR system, the bank is making various attempts to establish a 'performance-oriented culture' under the principle of "reward where there is achievement," offering exceptional rewards to talented employees and drawing significant attention.

According to the financial sector on April 29, NH Nonghyup Bank recently announced a sweeping overhaul of its HR system to establish a performance-based organizational culture, including moving its annual promotion decisions to the first half of the year. The 'Performance HR Enhancement Plan' centers on three main initiatives: ▲ exceptional rewards for outstanding employees ▲ support for the re-employment of excellent branch managers after voluntary retirement ▲ strengthening data-driven performance evaluations. This was one of the key tasks outlined by CEO Kang Taeyoung after taking office this year. Kang has regularly held meetings with employees, emphasizing the importance of a performance-based approach during these sessions.

The most notable change is the exceptional treatment for outstanding employees. Approximately 120 employees who achieved the best results in the first half of the year in non-interest business sectors such as investment trusts, bancassurance, digital finance, and in the foreign exchange sector, will receive special promotions. Promotions, which were typically held at the end of the year, will now also take place in the first half.

Furthermore, during the regular year-end personnel decisions, special promotions?previously limited to the Best Banker and credit sectors?will be expanded and subdivided to include wealth management (WM), digital finance, debt management, and foreign exchange. The plan is to apply the principle of reward and punishment not only to traditional profit departments but also to non-banking sectors.

In addition, high-performing branch managers will be given the opportunity to continue working even after reaching retirement age, and incentives will be provided based on business performance in the year of voluntary retirement. These are among several measures being implemented to boost morale.

The bank will also introduce data-driven quantitative indicators to measure employee performance, aiming to create an environment where anyone who delivers results can receive appropriate recognition.

Kang Taeyoung, CEO of NH Nonghyup Bank, stated, "Through performance-oriented HR innovation, we will strengthen our human resource competitiveness and enhance fairness and transparency by conducting comprehensive quantitative evaluations."

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Woori Bank has also decided to provide exceptional benefits to outstanding employees starting this year as part of its efforts to establish a performance-oriented personnel culture. Employees who have received many in-house awards will be designated as 'Woori Crown,' while those who have obtained numerous difficult certifications will be named 'Woori Elite,' with both groups receiving special bonuses. Each year, a total of 18 employees?9 from each category?will be selected by division. Considering that there are approximately 9,600 eligible employees, this means only the top 0.1?0.2% will be chosen. For Woori Crown, the top employee in each division will also receive a special one-step promotion. For Woori Elite, the top employee in each division will be given preferential selection for MBA training, as well as opportunities to attend the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and Mobile World Congress (MWC).

Additionally, to strengthen 'performance-oriented' HR practices, Woori Bank will remove information such as educational background, military service, and place of origin?which are not closely related to job performance?from employee personnel records. This reflects CEO Jeong Jinwan's intention to establish a personnel culture based solely on merit.

Since the beginning of this year, the bank has also been operating a 'Self-Development Challenge,' in which employees set individual goals for training and certification to strengthen their professional capabilities.

A Woori Bank representative stated, "The growth of our employees is the bank's competitiveness," and added, "We will continue to implement HR policies that fully support the growth of high-performing employees and ensure fair rewards for effort and achievement."

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