RCBC

Rowena Subido

Workforce Experience Strategist

Through this interview, Rowena Subido, First Senior Vice President & Group Head of Human Resources at RCBC, discusses the bank’s strategies to enhance its digital banking leadership through comprehensive learning and development opportunities. She highlights the people transformation of RCBC by rebranding the RCBC Leadership University to RCBC University with three main components. the RCBC Leadership Academy, the RCBC Digital Academy, and the RCBC CX Excellence Academy. These initiatives aim to equip employees with the skills needed for exceptional customer service, supporting the bank’s focus on digital transformation and customer-centricity.

1. What specific strategies or initiatives have you implemented to drive people’s transformation?

As RCBC establishes its leadership and continues to grow in the digital banking space, the Bank is fully committed to provide learning and development opportunities across all job levels throughout the organization with its various development programs and seminars.

In support of the People Transformation Initiative of the Bank, the RCBC Leadership University was rebranded to the RCBC University with three major pillars: (1) The RCBC Leadership Academy, (2) The RCBC Digital Academy, and (3) The RCBC CX Excellence Academy.

2.How do you ensure that employees are equipped with the necessary skills and mindset to deliver exceptional customer experiences through the process of transformation?

Management shows its commitment to valuing employees by investing in their learning, development, and advancement. This involves opportunities for training, workshops, and mentorship programs for the benefit of the employees’ future, which will redound to providing excellent customer experience and the ultimate success of the organization.

The Bank has launched a People Transformation campaign to achieve Digital and Customer-Centricity Culture transformation. This includes the Digital Training Courses, Customer Experience (CX) campaign, and courses under RCBC University.

The Digital and Customer Centricity Culture Transformation aimed to enable our business units to adopt, embrace, and practice a digital mindset and customer centricity, aiming to improve its service delivery to its customers. Significant programs that support them in this transformation are Virtual Consultative Selling and Design Thinking.

In support of the Bank’s growth strategy and plans, Management is committed to organizational capability building. It continues to lead programs and initiatives on talent management and development, leadership continuity, retention programs, employee well-being- and corporate social responsibility.

RCBC is also committed to providing a solid learning and development platform for all employees across all job levels. The HRG continued to strengthen the talent pipeline and brought further competencies on the job by facilitating various training programs and seminars, addressing the competencies of Leadership, Customer Service, Sales Planning and Management, Product and Technical Knowledge, Risk Management, AML/Compliance, The Bank continues to invest in its employees through various training programs strategically focused on digital transformation and customer-centricity, sales planning and management, product knowledge, leadership, risk management, and technical skills.

On top of that, we instill a culture wherein all line managers are directly responsible for coaching, mentoring, supervising, promoting, disciplining, training, and monitoring the performance of employees. Because our staff’s actions are considered their own, management ensures that everyone follows bank policies and procedures and is equipped with the knowledge, competencies, and skills necessary to achieve RCBC’s vision, mission, and strategies.

2. What advice would you give to other organizations looking to embark on their journey of people transformation to enhance customer experience?

Focusing on CX excellence as the main driver is a way to provide the best customer experience possible. It has to always start from the top. Key officers, including the President and CEO, HR Group Head, and Marketing Group Head, should be the first to receive Professional Certifications in CX. Then, identify CX Champions across the organization. Each business unit should be represented, as this is culture building. Every employee in the organization has to undergo the CX workshops until everyone has been indoctrinated.

It is advised that organizations adopt a smarter approach to customer segmentation and personalization at scale. They will form squads led by their CX–CX-certified employees to institutionalize, indoctrinate, and advance their culture of customer obsession across the organization. They will redesign and audit primary journeys to ensure that they elevate the experience of their customers and employees.

Corporate strategies should be interconnected and sufficiently support each other to increase business growth. This will allow them to invest in digital acceleration and adoption, which will, in turn, help them attract and acquire even more customers.

"Rcbc’s Commitment To Sustainability Assures Investors That Investment Proceeds Go To Green And Social Projects That Will Ensure A Healthy Environment For Future Generations Of Employees And Clients " 

Lastly, organizations should also recognize individuals and teams, whether customer-facing or non-customer-facing, who go out of their way to provide an excellent and remarkable customer experience. This will set an example for others to follow until this mindset becomes part of the corporate culture and second nature to everyone.

3. What are the future trends or priorities in people transformation that will further elevate the customer experience landscape?

Digitalization and efficient use of Artificial Intelligence will continue to be essential in analyzing metrics to recognize trends, anticipating future requirements, and developing datadriven decision-making. Organizations should consider that when sourcing their manpower requirements to deliver the most professional, cost and time-efficient output.

Organizations should also continue to value employees by investing in their learning, development, and advancement. This involves opportunities for training, workshops, and mentorship programs that will benefit the employees’ future and contribute to the organization’s success.

As organizations prepare to accelerate their growth momentum, they should do so with a longer-term view and ensure that they get involved in sustainability. For instance, RCBC’s sustainability journey has been centered on three focus areas over the past year: Pioneering Responsible Lending and Sustainable Finance, Championing Inclusive Funding and Digital Finance in the Philippines, and, most importantly, Empowering Employees through Programs on Resilience, Digital Transformation, and Sustainability.

RCBC continues to develop and issue sustainable financing instruments (SFIs) for projects with clear environmental and social benefits, which aligns with its sustainable finance framework. Since 2019, the Bank has issued USD 1.4 billion worth of SFIs that refinanced our funding for over 8,000 sustainable projects. RCBC’s commitment to sustainability assures investors that investment proceeds go to green and social projects that will ensure a healthy environment for future generations of employees and clients.