BankMuscat wins Hewitt award as Middle East's Best Employer

Notably, BankMuscat is the only institution from Oman to win the high profile Hewitt award based on a study which identified companies that engaged the 'emotional and intellectual energy' of employees.

The survey included prominent companies in the Middle East covering a cross-section of employees, CEOs and heads of HR function, complemented by on-site HR audit.

The award recognised BankMuscat's policies and processes that encourage employees to adopt an entrepreneurial approach in running the business, thereby creating a culture, which encourages creativity/innovation, faster decision-making and better utilisation of resources.

AbdulRazak Ali Issa, Chief Executive of BankMuscat commented, "We are greatly honoured to be chosen for this prestigious regional award. Our HR practices have focused on creating, nurturing and supporting people to meet the ambitious growth plans of the Bank, through a wide variety of initiatives that cover all stages of employee life cycle. HR has been an equal partner along with businesses in our success story."

The Bank has been able to derive maximum mileage out of its HR processes and most of its middle and senior management cadres are drawn from within the Bank.

BankMuscat's achievements in the development of human resources have been recognised locally and internationally. The Bank was declared an Investor in People (IiP) organisation in January 2007, becoming the first banking organisation in the MENA region to be awarded the prestigious global recognition. The IiP standard is a business improvement tool designed to advance an organisation's performance through its people.

The prominent accolades won by the Bank include the 'Best Bank in Oman' and the 'Best Place to Work in Oman' awards in surveys conducted by leading international and regional business magazines. The Bank's commitment to develop its human capital has also been recognised in several international forums.

Commenting on the Bank's HR policy, Salim Mohammed Al Kaabi, AGM - Human Resources said, "Over the last many years, the human resource function has been able to support the ambitious growth and expansion plans of the Bank. HR initiatives of the Bank are not planned in isolation of business/customer needs or because it is nice to have, but are derived from the business plans and strategies and have provided a competitive edge to the business."

In 2008, the Bank recruited 579 new staff members into various functions and branches, thereby achieving an Omanisation of 92% and a total staff strength of 2524.

Hewitt Associates is a global HR Consulting firm with over 60 years market leadership in people consulting. It has been consistently rated among the top 3 HR Consulting Firms in the world and independently ranked number 1 HR Consulting firm in Asia. With over 19,000 Associates, 1700 clients, 88 offices in 37 countries, annual revenue of $4bn, its clients include 75% of Fortune 500 and all of the top 25.