Sarkaari banks trump private peers in drawing fresh talent

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank have recorded an attrition of between 34% and 50%, large PSBs like State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda (BoB), Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Canara Bank have reported an attrition of less than 5% as they are seen as more stable employers.SBI, India's largest mass lender, said its attrition including resignations, retirements and VRS was a mere 3% on an employee base of 250,000. Chairman Dinesh Khara told ET that an elaborate recruitment process and regular training and development are some of the reasons PSBs can retain talent.«People who sign for a PSB job have usually made up their minds to serve because they go through an elaborate recruitment process which is not the case in private sector banks.

Secondly, our staff regularly go through training and development programmes which help them upgrade their skills and keep them motivated which is also not done regularly in private sector banks,» Khara said. The trend is true across large PSBs.

Canara's attrition rate was 4.26%, while at BoB and PNB it was just above 1% in FY23. Besides public sector job security, the entry- to mid-level salaries at PSBs are much better in comparison with those at private banks.

«A new officer at a PSB could get anything between ₹60,000 and ₹80,000 per month today, which is sometimes 30% to 40% higher than private sector employees. This gap continues until the mid-level, after which private sector salaries rise sharply and there is no comparison after that,» said a public sector bank CEO, explaining the divergence in attrition.Benefits package Higher salaries and public sector perks like housing, pension and easier work hours make people stick to their PSB jobs longer.