Our People & Communities

Our Sustainability Performance Across Five Strategic Pillars

Our People & Communities

“We are committed to nurturing a diverse, performance-based, and growth-oriented work culture, which is essential for the Bank’s success and of every individual who becomes part of the ABC family. Mentoring our young staff is a cornerstone of this commitment, as it empowers them to build confidence and self-belief. By investing in their growth, we not only shape the future leaders of our organisation but also cultivate an environment where everyone feels valued and inspired to contribute their unique perspectives.”

Ehab AlMaskati

Group Head of Human Resources

Our People Our Communities

Our Approach

At the core of Bank ABC’s operations and culture is fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace, ensuring that all colleagues are treated fairly, equally and with respect. This is fundamental to our success and dedication to delivering excellence to our customers and generating a positive impact on our communities.

We strive to attract and retain talent by nurturing a diverse equitable and inclusive environment and maintaining a culture that empowers individuals to reach their full potential.

Our strategy involves a data-driven approach to assess representation and establish plans to enhance diversity and inclusion across the organisation. Key indicators of any progress in gender equality include a higher proportion of women being promoted, a greater percentage of female external hires and a declining female employee turnover.

The Bank is also committed to supporting employee growth and development at every organisational level. Aiding early career development, accelerating mid-level talent progression into leadership roles and identify opportunities for our leaders to grow into our most senior roles. While recognising that we are early in our journey and still have much more to do, we remain focused on creating a more diverse, equitable and inclusive culture.

Health & Safety

Bank ABC has put in place a structured and uniform process to implement Health and Safety (H&S) Procedures and is committed to high standards of health and safety across its global network.

Non-Discrimination

Bank ABC’s approach to non-discrimination is set out within its Employee Relations policy.

Collective Bargaining Agreements

Bank ABC supports collective bargaining agreements in regions where these are regulatory expectations.

Nationalisation

Bank ABC supports all relevant government nationalisation initiatives including the Bahrain Economic Vision 2030.

Child and Forced Labour

Bank ABC has a zero-tolerance approach to child and forced labour across all aspects of its value chain, including its own operations, supply chain and client activities.

Human Rights

Bank ABC supports the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, as set out in its internal ESG Risk Standard. The Bank has set out a human rights positioning statement, in line with its values and industry best practice.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Grade

The Bank continues to accelerate its efforts to build a more diverse and inclusive workforce, broaden our talent pipeline and provide equal opportunities for growth at all levels.

Career Development

There has been a concerted focus by the Bank on allocating more resources to developing our pipeline of talent at all levels. This is evidenced by a sharp rise in the total training hours to 35.8 hours per full-time employee (FTE) in 2024, up 35% from 26.5 hours in 2023.

Watch Suzanne Stevens, Head of People Development at Bank ABC talk about the Bank’s various career development initiatives.

Next Steps

Bank ABC remains steadfast preserving and promoting an inclusive working environment where all individuals are treated fairly, equally and with respect. We set up a working group to review our approach and set out initiatives to identify room for betterment and accelerate improvement. In parallel, we are expanding our career development programme with a focus on soft skills such as emotional intelligence, collaboration and building resilience, all of which are essential skills for a rapidly changing environment. Our mentorship programme will be expanded, with an increased number of mentors to widen the opportunity to participate.

Initiatives

Develop an action plan to strengthen Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.

Develop initiatives focused on improving our gender-relates ESG KPIs.

Benefit:

Avoid homogeneity and ‘group think’.
Lead to greater innovation and financial performance.
Promote employee engagement, productivity and job satisfaction through inclusivity.
Promote a culture of fairness.

Build employees’ skills.

Expand mentoring programme and introduce new soft skills training modules.

Benefit:

Increase access to the Bank’s leadership.
Futureproof employees’ skills.

Sustainability Performance
Our People & Communities

Our Sustainability Performance Across Five Strategic Pillars