1.

Abstract

The report concentrated mainly on HR activities of Prime Bank Ltd (PBL) since it is one
of the major activities in an organization. An excellent team of management of HR
division conducts all the HR related issues. Their dedicated work enables them to get
suitable people for suitable positions. They maintain an actual flow of each and every
steps of Recruitment and selection process. It is a great challenge for any organization to
find out talented people. So to know the future demand of human resources in Prime
Bank Limited, the Human Resources Division of Prime Bank Limited gives all the other
branches and divisions of the head office a general form at the beginning of the year, to
be distributed among the job applicants. From the information gathered from these forms,
the HR division gets an estimate of the manpower requirements and then they go through
all the necessary steps to further recruitment that has been discussed all throughout this
report. However, the market is competitive, so the recruitment and selection process of
PBL needs to be improved too. Therefore, the policy and process should be revised
although the process they have been adopting so far has been somewhat effective. This
report has provided relevant findings and suggestions to upgrade the selection process as
per the current market

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 2. Objectives and Methodology
Objective of the project are as follows:
To explore and evaluate the selection process at different levels in Prime Bank
Limited.
To find out weakness in the current selection process
To suggest improvements to the selection process.
Methodology:
We have collected data from both primary and secondary sources to prepare this report.
In-depth interviews of some of the employees of Prime Bank Limited have been
conducted to gather required information. We go through text book, the internet and the
annual report of Prime Bank Limited to collect information.

3. Company Profile
Prime bank Limited with a slogan of A bank with a Difference commenced their
operation on 17th April, 1995. It was established by a group of visionary entrepreneurs to
revolutionized commercial bank in Bangladesh. Prime Bank Limiteds vision is to
become the best private commercial bank of Bangladesh. Their mission is to build the
bank into efficient customer focused institute.
The sponsors are well-reputed individuals in the field of commerce from shipping to
textile and from finance to energy. Prime Bank Limited has a highly professional and
dedicated team with a long-term experience in banking sector. They focus mainly
understanding the customers and deliver according to their need.
Prime Bank Limited has been rewarded with several awards including graded as a top
class bank in Bangladesh through globally accepted CAMEL rating. Prime Bank offers
all kind of corporate and personal banking services covering all segments of society
within the framework of Bangladesh Company Act. They have corporate banking, retail
banking, SME banking etc.

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Prime Bank Ltd. Is better placed and poised to take their customers through fast changing
times and enable them compete more effectively in the market they operate.

Branches & Employee Chart:

YEAR BRANCHES EMPLOYEES
2008 70 1551
2009 84 1844
2010 94 2139
2011 102 2292
2012 113 2544

4. Organogram

Chairman

Board of Directors
TOP LEVEL MANAGEMENT
Executive Committee

Managing Director

Additional Managing Director

Company Secretary

Sr. Executive Vice President

EXECUTIVE LEVEL
Executive Vice President
MANAGEMENT
Senior Vice President

Vice President

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 Sr. Assistant Vice President

Assistant Vice President

MID LEVEL MANAGEMENT First Assistant Vice President

Senior Executive Officer

Executive Officer

Senior Officer

JUNIOR LEVEL Junior Officer

MANAGEMENT
Management Trainee officer

Trainee Assistant

5. Overview of the HR process

In Prime Bank, the whole HR division is divided into two parts. First one is Core HR
division and second one is Training and Development.

HUMAN
CORE HR TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
RESOURCE
DIVISION

Only conducts
Operates regular the training
HR activities like programs for
recruitment Prime Bank
selection, employees.
promotion etc.

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The bank not only tries to attract well-qualified candidates but also tries to identify and
recruit people who are really interested to work in the bank for a certain period of time.
And their plan is to recruit-

Yearly Need-
Recruitment Plan
recruitm based
ent recruitme
nts

Prime Bank Limited gets its source of recruitment from within the organization as well as
externally. They usually promote internally first and if there's any more vacant positions
to fill, they recruit from outside.
The main external sources are:
Different universities- Looking for potential candidates and fresh graduates those
which are qualified for the job.
Competitors and other organizations- Employees leaving other organizations also
come for jobs
Unsolicited applicants- Most of the times, individuals voluntarily walk-in the
organization to get a job

General Recruitment Category:

Banking Operation Service Cadre- Banking operation means works which are done in
branches at routine basis and mostly clerical nature, like in cash, credit, general banking
department. All of these works are done by Trainee Assistant
Core Banking Service Cadre- This program selects managerial/mid level trainee for
core banking works in the departments and Head offices. These people are fresh/post
graduates, who are directly commanded by the head of department or managing
directors.
Banking Support Cadre Service- Employees here provide functional needs as
required. They are Executive Leaders too.

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Therefore, three main classifications of recruiting employees would be-
1) Executive Official
2) Management Trainee
3) Trainee Assistant

Step by Step Recruitment Procedure in Prime Bank Limited:

1. Receipt of Application
2. Sorting out Applications
3. Informing Candidates
4. Written Test
5. Interview
6. Final Approval by Competent Authority
7. Physical Examination
8. Joining and Placement

6. Executive Officials
6.1. SELECTION PROCESS CHART:

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SELECTION PROCESS:
Step 1- Initial screening
The first step in the selection process of executive officials is the initial screening. Here
CVs are short listed. Applicants can either send their CVs in application for a specific
vacancy or they can send unsolicited CVs for any suitable post. Human resource division
conducts the initial screening. Sometimes they give the respective division to conduct it
to save time. In times of screening executive officials, Prime Bank sorted out from the
collection of unsolicited CVs. Once that are completed, the applicants are called for an
interview.
Required minimum qualifications:
MIN.
SL POST MIN. QUALIFICATION LENGTH OF
SERVICE
1 DMD 5 years as GM 28 years
2 SEVP 4 years as GM 25 years
3 EVP 7 years as DGM/ 3 years as GM 22 years
4 SVP 5 years as DGM/ 1 years as GM 20 years
5 VP 2 years as DGM/ 5 years as AGM 18 years
6 SAVP 3 years as AGM 16 years
7 AVP 2 years as AGM/ 4 years as SPO 14 years
8 FAVP 3 years as SPO 12 years
9 SEO 3 years as PO 10 years
10 EO 3 years as SO 8 years

Step 2- Interview
Third step in the selection process is the comprehensive interview. However, for Prime
Bank Limited, comprehensive interview is the second step in the process since they do
not conduct employment test.
After conducting initial screening, candidates are being called for an interview. Interview
board consists of Managing Director, Deputy Managing Director and Head of Human
Resource Division. The main intention for this interview is to find out the essential innate
ability, goal, and communication skills, ability to work under pressure etc.

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Step 3- Background Investigation
Normally, Prime Bank Limited does not conduct background investigation. However, for
executive officials bank follows it regularly. Since executive officials hold an important
position in the company therefore, verifying the information provided by the applicants is
important for the company. They focus on the previous record of the individuals in their
previous institutions both on-job and off-job.
Step 4- Medical test
Prime Bank Limited, like for other levels, also conducts medical test for the executive
officials. They are in contract with Popular Diagnostic Center and Chevron Diagnostic
Center. They conduct medical test in both these Diagnostic centers to ensure more
accurate results. This is essential to know whether they are fit for the job.
Step 5- Completed Application
This is the sixth step in the general selection process and fifth for selecting executive
officials. They have an employee form which consists of some information to be filled in.
Information like Name, Address, Skills, Job accomplishments, previous academic and job
related information etc.
Step 6- Permanent Job Offer
This is the last step in the selection process where Prime Bank Limited handed over the
permanent job letter to their selected applicants.

6.2. Findings of Management Trainee selection process:

Written test
Second step in the selection process is to conduct an employment test. However, in case
of executive officials, Prime Bank does not take written test for this. For this kind of job,
Prime Bank Limited emphasizes more in the job experience and training.

Conditional job Offer

The seventh step in the general selection process. However, Prime Bank Limited does not
have conditional job offers or probationary period for executive officials. After
completing the applications, executives are confirmed for their respective jobs.

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 7. Management Trainee
Management trainee (MT) is the high potential fresh graduate and post graduate to be
recruited in PBL. Management trainee is an entry level position. PBL does not do any
long term human resource planning. The Human Resource division usually provides all
the other divisions with a general form at the beginning of year. The Human Resource
division gets an estimate of the human resource requirement for the year from the
information collected from these forms.

7.1 SELECTION PROCESS CHART:

SELECTION PROCESS:
The selection process of management trainee is discussed as follows:
Step 1- Initial screening
At first PBL publish advertisement under the caption Career Opportunity in at least two
(2) national dailies. PBL also post job vacancy advertisement in job portals and in their
own official website. The applicants are given at least three (3) weeks to apply. Within
this period the potential candidates send their CVs in application for the vacancy. After

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getting CVs from the applicants the HR division then short list the CVs by analyzing
them. They short list those candidates whose qualifications match the criteria of vacancy.

Educational and other qualifications for MT recruitment are following:

AGE: The candidates for the post of Management Trainee must not be over 30 years
of age on the date of application.
Academic Qualification and performance record: The candidates must have at
least two first divisions in their academic result in public examinations and no 3rd
class /division/CGPA in any examination.
Computer knowledge: The candidates must have minimum computer knowledge on
Windows Operating system and MS office applications (MS Word, MS Excel, MS
PowerPoint etc).
After short listing of the CVs, HR division informs the candidate over the phone or email
about written test.
Step 2- Written test
The short listed MT candidates must go through a written test. The written test is
generally aptitude test which measures candidates verbal ability, numerical ability and
reasoning ability. The subject matter includes general knowledge, Arithmetic, English and
Economics/Banking as may be decided by Management. Sometime PBL HR division
organizes the written exam by their management. Sometime BIBM/IBA takes written test
on behalf of PBL. The minimum required marks to qualify to appear before interview is
60%.
Beside the general process of recruitment, PBL also directly recruit students holding high
CGPA from listed universities. These students do not have to seat for written exams. They
used to be recruited based on performance in interview with the Selection Committee.
Written test will not be required for the following:
MBA/ MBM from IBA and BIBM with minimum CGPA 3.00
BBA/MBA from Prime Banks other approved universities with minimum CGPA
3.25. The PBL approved universities are North South University (NSU), East West
University (EWU), BRAC University, Independent University Bangladesh (IUB) and
American International University Bangladesh (AIUB).

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Step 3- Interview
The qualified candidates from written exams appear before interview board of PBL.
PBL has an interview panel consisting if HR professionals and top level management to
conduct bias-free and smooth interview session. For selecting Management Trainee
basically Managing Director, Deputy Managing Director and Head of HR conduct
interview session. After the interview session the candidate are evaluated by the interview
panel. The management team decides which candidates will be selected. After that an
Offer letter is made for selected candidates. Once the candidates accept the Offer
letter, they are given the Appointment letter. Rejected candidates are not informed.
Step 4- Medical test
PBL take physical examination of the selected employees to ensure whether the employee
is fit for the job or not. PBL has contract with Popular Diagnostic Center and Chevron
Diagnostic Center. The whole check up is conducted by these two diagnostic centers.
Step 5- Completed application
PBL provide candidates a form where candidates name, address, skills, accomplishments,
previous academic and job related information are required to be filled.
Candidates must give references in the application form. As a result, PBL can generate a
complete employee profile and use the information for background investigation.
Step 6- Conditional job offer
Once the candidates passed physical examination, they are given the Joining and
placement letter. The newly recruited employees are asked to report their respective
joining place on specified date. There are two categories of Management Trainee
recruitment and placement profile. They are discussed below:
a) Graduate MT cadre: Graduate MT employees have B.B.A. or other Bachelor
degree. They get the position of Senior Officer after two (2) years of joining.
b) Post Graduate MT cadre: Post graduate employees are those who have received
MBA, MBM and Masters Degree. They get the position of Executive Officer after
two (2) years of joining.

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The newly recruited MT must go through a probation period of one (1) year. After
competition of probationary period they will be confirmed in service. The MT basically
receives two (2) days long orientation program at Training and Development center after
joining which covers briefing on company overview, background, service rules and
functions of different departments an branches.
Then MT must go through twelve (12) months traineeship period in the following
portfolios:
General Banking Management-training duration 4 months.
Credit Management- training duration 4 months.
Foreign Exchange Management- training duration 4 months.
Step 7- Permanent job offer
Management committee conduct performance appraisal and interview at least a month
before competition of 12 months. The MT employees who receive satisfactory result in
the appraisal get confirmation in service.

7.2. Recommendation on Management Trainee selection

process:
The PBL HR division applies an effective and updated selection process. The following
recommendations can make their selection process more effective to select efficient
employees.

PBL does not always check references properly. It is important to verify

candidates background information and ensure that organization is aware of any
serious problems in the candidates past.

PBL does not keep any record of rejected CVs. Rejected CVs should be kept in a
database for possible future interest.

PBL should introduce performance simulation and assessment centers. These are
job related knowledge tests. During these tests candidates participate in a series of
activities similar to those that may encounter in the actual job.

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 8. Trainee Assistant
Trainee Assistants (TA) is the entry level position in PBL. TAs are recruited in two
categories:
a. Trainee Assistant (General)
b. Trainee Assistant (Cash)

8.1.
They are recruited either through:
(a) Press Advertisement: Every candidate who applies in response to the press
advertisement shall have to appear at a written test & appear before the Selection Committee
for an interview.
(b) Direct Recruitment: Candidates who are selected by head hunting will have to appear
before the Selection committee for evaluation.

Screening the applicants: People having ordinary result and talent are mostly recruited.
Qualifications: Candidates must not be over 30 years of age and should have minimum 8
points based on educational qualification & no 3rd class/division in any examination. The
candidate should also have minimum computer knowledge on Operational system:Windows,
Word Processing : MS Word, Spread Sheet : Excel

Written Test:
Ability to write both in Bengali & English
General arithmetic
General knowledge
Test organized by bank management or outsourced (IBA/BIBM/Others)
60% out of 100% marks will qualify a candidate to appear before interview panel.

Things to look for in an applicant during Interview:

Appearance

Verbal communication

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 Spoken English (moderate)

Attitude & Behavior

Family background & need

Reference personnel

Willingness to stay

Finally a medical test is conducted before the job placement. TAs are put on probation
period for one year after which a successful candidate is appointed as Junior Officer.

8.2. Hence, an overall findings relates that-

PBL usually follow internal recruitment but when the need arises they go for external
recruitment..

PBL always likes to hire people for long period of time.

Bank gives more emphasis on them who wants to get promoted to mid level
positions.

The corporate culture of PBL is to form a family and they have a close bond which
motivates them to work as a team.

A suggestion to PBL-

PBL can make a set of different universities from which to select potential applicants, in
category of experience, result, and other traits of an individual.

They can add recruitment sources too-

Company website- Post of vacant position can be advertised on the web.

Internship- Students can join Prime Bank for their internship program as per their
academic requirements.
Creative Adds
Sometimes Employee referral/recommendations are also one of the ways of recruiting
employees internally.

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 9. Conclusion

Selection of efficient human resource is one of the major tasks for any company. Without
the support from employees, the organization may find it difficult to achieve its goal.
Selection process allows an organization to choose the best personnel who will serve the
organization in the future. The success of a commercial bank depends largely in the
quality of service provided to the clients. Quality of service depends on the efficiency of
the employees. The selection process of Prime Bank Limited (PBL) is very developed
and effective one. However, they have some major changes to do. If they can these
changes the human resource of PBL will be more effective and efficient.

10. References
1.Annual Report, Prime Bank Limited, 2012
2.The selection process of Prime Bank Limited(PBL), Official website of PBL.
3. Senior Vice President, Prime Bank Limited

Appendix
Sample questions from our analysis
Here is the sample question that we have asked the person we meet at Prime Bank
Limited:
1. Would you kindly tell us the about the hierarchy and organization structure of Prime
Bank Limited (PBL)?
2. What processes PBL HR division use to recruit employees?
3. What recruitment sources PBL follows?
4. What recruitment categories PBL follows?
5. How PBL post vacancy advertisements for recruiting candidates?
6. What are the criteria (educational and professional experience) PBL follow to select

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candidates to appear for written exam?
7. How PBL evaluate candidates during written exam and interview?
8. Do you take any medical test of the candidates who pass the interview?
9. What type of information do you ask in your employee application form?
10. What is the policy PBL follow regarding probation period of employees?

We are really grateful to the following person whom we met at Prime Bank Limited for
sharing the information with us
NAME: Shahidur Rahman Khan
POST: Senior Vice President
Prime Bank Limited

THE END
THANK YOU

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