The Success Factor – Producing Dynamic Leaders

As a leading global player in the banking industry, as well as a top foreign bank franchise in Malaysia, your path to success is secure with Citibank. By SC. Chua.

Citibank has come a long way to be where it is today – a leading global financial services company and a household name. Founded in New York in 1812, the company today has some 200 million customer accounts and businesses in more than 160 countries.

In Malaysia, Citibank (founded in 1959 with only 17 employees working out of a two-storey shop-house) is one of the nation’s premier providers of financial services and products. It now has 11 branches in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang, Kuantan, Melaka and Johor, as well as 10 sales and outsourcing centres. It is also the only foreign bank to be rated AAA by the Ratings Agency Malaysia for 11 consecutive years. Just last year, it established a stockbroking company, underlining its continued commitment to the country and to Asia.

If you are clear on what you want out of a career, Citibank is committed to making it happen for you. “Citibankers are uniquely positioned to have access to best-in-class resources in a supportive environment that enables them to grow their potential,” says Aditya Mittal, Country Human Resources Head. “We call this ‘The Citibanker Difference’. It consists of five pillars to illustrate our distinctive strength as an employer of choice.”

Mittal lists the five pillars as Best Talent, Culture of Innovation, Attractive Rewards, Unparalleled Opportunities and Leading-edge Training.

Best Talent: “We believe that talent grows talent. Citibank has a diverse range of programs to attract and engage top talent, enabling us to have the best team in the financial services industry. Research shows that 70 percent of learning happens on the job, so it follows that in jobs with the best teams, the best learn even better.”

Culture of Innovation: “Innovation is fundamental to our success, and a slew of industry ‘firsts’ are tied to the Citibank brand. We encourage our people to come up with ideas and take well-managed risks, training them in the management discipline required to successfully bring ideas to the market.”

Attractive Rewards: “Citibank is a true meritocracy, where your rewards are determined by your performance. Our reward and recognition structure is transparent, competitive and relevant to the needs of our people. As a principle, we design our benefits around employee needs. For example, in 2010 we became the first organisation in Malaysia to implement three months’ maternity leave (in contrast to the standard two months), a move subsequently emulated by other banks and government ministries. Recently we launched CitiKids Care, a company-subsidised childcare centre for working mothers as part of our efforts to become the leading family-friendly employer in Malaysia.”

Unparalleled Opportunities: “With Citibank’s key strengths being our global status and diversity, the sky is the limit for talented graduates. As of November 2010, 511 Malaysians work abroad within Citigroup. Our geographical reach and diversity of businesses enable employees to have diverse and fulfilling careers.”

Leading-edge Training: “Citibank is often referred to as the ‘Banking University’. We encourage you to identify your development areas and give you access to highquality training and development opportunities.”

Getting Your Foot In

As a fresh graduate, your best bet to get on a fast-track progression to senior management levels is as a Graduate Executive (GE) or Management Associate (MA), both preeminent leadership development programs.

“The MA Program is our flagship leadership development program which has been running for more than 40 years in various markets around the world. Citibank’s MA Program has produced premiers, central governors and bank CEOs across geographies. It aims to create a pool of multidimensional managerial talents who are empowered to lead and inspire change,” says Mittal. “Management Associates are given broad exposure across different businesses through structured rotations in areas that include Management, Operations & Technology, Retail Banking, Risk Management, Mortgage, Treasury, Human Resources and Finance. They obtain excellent training and development opportunities, with fast-track progression to senior management levels.” The MA Program is, basically, your route to leadership roles within the company if you perform well.

To qualify for the MA Program, you should have a strong Masters/MBA or a Bachelor degree with a minimum second-class upper and a minimum of two years’ (but not more than three) relevant working experience.

Meanwhile, the GE Program is a structured program that provides exposure to core businesses in the company,” says Mittal. “Graduate executives work on relevant and real tasks from the start via a combination of classroom and on-the-job training and development.” The company also ensures that you rub shoulders with the right people in the industry by organising networking events throughout the program to facilitate your professional growth.

The GE Program is open to highly-motivated Malaysian undergraduates with a minimum of a Bachelor degree with a second-class upper and above and/or a CGPA of 3.0 and above.

“The two programs provide unparalleled exposure and opportunities across different businesses within the Citibank franchise,” Mittal says. “Through hands-on assignments, fast-tracked global career opportunities, formal mentoring programs, leadership training and access to global best practices, graduates can explore their limits.”

And if you show your worth, the bank will reward you with even more knowledge and opportunities to get ahead with its LEAD Program. “The LEAD Program is to make the best better; that is, to provide accelerated developmental opportunities for top-performing employees. Pillars of the LEAD Program include formalised mentoring, structured communication sessions with senior management, cross-business projects and taskforces, and customised training over and above the company-wide calendar,” says Mittal. In order to be considered for this opportunity, you need to serve at least two years with the bank.

Shining Stars

Because of all that it offers to potential hires, it is understandable that Citibank is only interested in individuals who can set themselves apart for these leadership development programs. This means that only those with certain key characteristics will be considered.

So what exactly is Citibank looking for? Mittal is clear on this: “We seek individuals who possess a reasonable level of IQ, a high level of EQ, and a very high level of what I call ‘PQ’ – Passion Quotient. Citibankers are highly driven and passionate individuals who seek not just to manage change, but to be agents of change.”

If you are selected, you can be sure Citibank will invest in developing your talent. “Our development framework is driven by three core strategies: on-thejob experiences, exposure – which is predominantly learning from others; and training,” says Mittal.

You can also look forward to a flexible environment which allows you to take your career in the direction you wish to. “Globality and development opportunities are the cornerstone of Citi’s global footprint. Citibank’s annual Career Fair enables employees to learn about career opportunities in the bank across businesses and leverage on our global presence in 109 countries,” says Mittal

And for those who are interested in working overseas, Citibank will give you that opportunity as well. “We provide global and regional talent programs that help employees move cross-functionally as well as cross-geography.

“With Citi’s strong growth and the region continuing to be a hub of deal activity, it is an exceptional time to be a Citibanker. I would urge you to make full use of the opportunities that come your way to make a difference,” says Mittal..