Diverse workforce
Arion Bank employs a diverse team of people with wide-ranging experience and varied educational backgrounds.
At the beginning of 2014 there were 969 employees occupying 911 full-time equivalent positions. At the end of 2014 the Bank had 911 employees in 865 full-time equivalent positions, 65% women and 35% men. A total of 46 new people were hired in 2014, 45% women and 55% men. The employee turnover was 12%.
The proportion of employees with a university education has increased in recent years and now 59% of employees have a university degree.
The age distribution is rather equal. The average age of Arion Bank employees is 42. The retirement age at the Bank is 67. Many employees have remained very loyal to the Bank and its predecessors. Some employees have been with the Bank for more than 40 years. The average length of employment is 10.4 years.
In 2014 the number of full-time equivalent positions decreased by 46, mostly in Retail Banking and Operations. This reduction is mainly attributed to more focused application of IT, outsourcing and branch closures. Moreover, a number of debt resolution cases, such as the recalculation of currency-linked loans, are being brought to a conclusion.
During the year a part of the branch back office was merged with the call centre to form a new unit. These changes will help improve services to the branch network and customers and is also expected to boost efficiency.
At the beginning of the year the Bank took over some of the activities of the SPRON bankruptcy estate (Drómi hf.) and acquired all loans to indivduals and hired some of Drómi's employees.
Training and professional development
Professional development is promoted at the Bank through goal-oriented employee training and a wide range of courses. There is a keen emphasis on enabling employees to develop their professional and personal skills. It is also required that employees have a sound knowledge of the laws and regulations which apply to their jobs. For us, education is just as much the responsibility of the management as the employees themselves.
There is a keen emphasis on enabling employees to develop their professional and personal skills.
- Greater focus on management training in 2014 which will continue in 2015.
- In 2014, 11 employees studied to become qualified stockbrokers. A total of 87 employees have already completed this course.
- In 2012 banks in Iceland started to offer specialized courses for financial advisers with the aim of improving customer service. Today, Arion Bank employs 36 qualified financial advisers and a further 19 will qualify in the spring of 2015.
- The average cost of acquired services for educating and retraining employees in 2014 was ISK 102,000 per employee.
Human resources policy
Arion Bank has a united team of hard-working employees. We are proud of our place of work and are constantly striving to improve our results and the services we provide to our customers. Arion Bank is a relationship bank and we do our utmost to develop good, long-term relationships with our customers and colleagues. We work professionally and think in terms of providing solutions. We are flexible, progressive and dedicated in everything we do.
Equal Opportunities
The Bank has set out a clear policy to ensure equal opportunities and terms for employees of both sexes. Any kind of sexual discrimination is contrary to the Bank’s equal opportunities policy and equal opportunities legislation. The CEO is responsible for implementing equal opportunities at the Bank and he is represented by an equal opportunities committee comprising Bank employees. The committee is responsible for reviewing the equal opportunities policy and devising and implementing action plans. Converting plans into action is the responsibility of the Bank’s HR department in cooperation with the management. The tasks of the equal opportunities committee are divided into eight categories: Salary equality; equality in committees; vacant positions; working groups; professional training and further education; instruction on equal opportunities; coordinating work and family life; combatting bullying and sexual harassment.
The CEO is responsible for implementing equal opportunities at the Bank and he is represented by an equal opportunities committee comprising Bank employees.
The equal opportunities action plan was approved by the executive management in 2013 and its aim is to foster equality and equal opportunities for employees regardless of their sex. This includes the right to work, terms of employment, professional development and taking positions in committees and working groups. The action plan is reviewed every two years.
During the spring of 2014 the CEO signed UN Women’s CEO Statement of Support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles and the UN Global Compact on behalf of the Bank. The Bank also applied for equal salaries certification and the aim is to obtain it in 2015.
