Social policy: central training.
the negotiations for a new collective labour
agreement, the employers implemented their
last offer, with the result that employees in the
banking industry received a lump sum payment
equal to 1V2 of their annual salary as at
1 October 1985 and also a salary increase of
1V2% with effect from that date.
In addition, the scheme introduced in 1983 and
providing for voluntary retirement at the age
of 61 was extended for a further year from
1 January 1986.
At the end of the year it appeared that the
climate was right for a resumption of the
negotiations, but now of course for a collective
agreement for 1986.
A successful year such as we were privileged to
enjoy in 1985 goes a long way towards ensuring
jobs and good conditions of employment, not
only material conditions, but also the working
atmosphere. Success is a powerful stimulus, and
for this reason alone it makes a major contribu
tion to a favourable development in future.
But however important success may be, it is not
of course the sole ingredient for creating a
climate in which a bank's principal asset, the
quality of its staff, shows to maximum
advantage. The staff, for their part, must be
willing to do their best for the company and to
adapt to changing circumstances. It is a source of
pleasure to us that we again found ample
evidence of this willingness in both the domestic
and foreign services.
We are required to develop a policy which
ensures the best possible compromise between
the demands of the organization on the one
hand, and on the other the qualities of the staff
and the dedication which they demonstrate.
Among the principal facets of the policy in 1985
was the job assessment project, which not only
affords greater clarity from the employee's point
of view, but also offers opportunities for
improving the organization. The facilities for
career planning are also being extended. The
growing need for sound training is another factor
of importance. In 1985, a credit training
programme was started for our foreign staff. The
existing management courses for the domestic
service were completely overhauled.
Plans are now in hand for a major effort in the
provision of training for cashiers and other
counter staff.
The use of new technologies, also in training, is
being studied. An experiment is now under way
to establish the value of computer-based
education.
While not new, the close attention paid to
improving internal communication in 1985 is
certainly worthy of mention. The daily news
paper circulated to all members of staff in the
Netherlands has assumed a role of importance.
We anticipate that the opportunities created by
new technologies will have a major impact on
communication, not only between staff and
clients, but also between members of staff
themselves. We support the further
improvement of internal communication, if only
as a means of disseminating the Bank's policy
clearly and unambiguously.
Service and quality will increasingly become a
precondition of success in banking. A scheme
was launched in 1985 with the aim of alerting all
in the organization to the importance of these
concepts. The results will be visible in 1986.
The Central Employees' Council, together with
the individual councils and sub-committees,
again played a significant role in the formulation
of the social policy. A new Central Employees'
Council, elected for a period of three years, took
office in June 1985. We are pleased to say that,
in spite of the many new faces, the settling-in
The ABN staff association in Amsterdam celebrated its fortieth
anniversary with festivities attended by thousands of members.
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