Talent Centric
we don’t start to think differently and do
things differently we will not survive,” she
states bluntly. “Look at Blockbusters and
HMV; certain organisations don’t exist
today because they didn’t see the signs and
carried on doing what they’d always done.”
A multi-generational workforce
For the finance sector, disruptors are multi-
faceted and certainly include technological
change. Santander is looking at its digital
processes around assessment and how to
make it more accessible in a mobile age.
Automation is clearly a trend that
needs careful consideration from a people
perspective, but Bakhshi sees it as an opportunity
rather than a threat: “There are certain spaces
where tech will eradicate roles; but there are
areas where it is augmenting them, and spaces
where it’s creating brand new roles we hadn’t
thought about,” she argues.
“I think technology is just one part of it,”
she adds. “Another aspect is the way people
work; the nature of your office; the way people
are working together – the shift in cultural
mindset. Today, 52% of our workforce is already
made up of millennials, but we actually have
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five generations within it. So yes, the
millennial population, coupled with
technology, is having an impact on
how we operate, but it’s important
to recognise the dynamic of a multi-
generational workforce; that’s at the
heart of the future of work.”
Creating a diverse and inclusive
workplace, that accommodates the
skills and needs of these different
generations, is core to future proofing,
argues Bakhshi. However, she places the
emphasis squarely on inclusion.
“I think if I were to take a future lens
and look at diversity, I would question
whether our traditional approach would be as
impactful in the future,” she says. “How we view
diversity today is rooted in legacy issues.
“Don’t get me wrong, I think there is absolutely
disparity in some areas,” she continues. “But I
think the approach will be different, and the focus,
looking forward, should be more about inclusion.
There’s a piece around the economic background
of individuals and making opportunities fair and
equal: social mobility.”
One practical move in this direction has
involved Santander embracing the apprenticeship
agenda, with an initial apprenticeship scheme
launched in 2016. “We’ve typically focused on
graduate hires, but we’ve shifted our thinking,
it’s definitely growing,” says Bakhshi.
D&I is a proven factor in staff engagement
and therefore a tool in attracting and retaining
talent. Engagement cannot assume too much
importance in a competitive marketplace.
“I think there will always be a battle for the best
people, especially as we move into a more digital
space,” says Bakhshi. “We’re competing for a
skill-set we haven’t had to look for before. We’re
hiring into roles we haven’t hired before. That’s
the nature of a changing industry. It’s important
to think about how you attract that talent. No
matter how tech shifts that recruitment space,
you’re still engaging with the person. That
personal element is really important.”
Keeping things ‘human’ includes engendering
trust in your organisation and ensuring
authenticity: “When you look at it from an HR
perspective, the important part is being clear
about what your organisation stands for; people
want to be clear about this, whether it’s who they
bank with or the company they work for.
“For Santander, what has resonated is making
sure everything we do is ‘simple, personal, fair’.
This principle was initially centred around one
of our products and the way we bank, but that
“If I were to take a
future lens and
look at diversity, I
would question
whether our
traditional
approach would be
as impactful in the
future”