Benefits for employees

Employee Pension Programme

In 2013, the Employee Pension Programme (EPP) was created at the Bank. The EPP was introduced in the form of a contract on the Bank making basic and additional contributions on behalf of the employees to investment funds managed by PKO Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych SA. Under the chosen form of the EPP, the Bank designates own funds for additional pension cover for employees and regularly finances the basic contributions (3% of the salary constituting the basis for pension and disability pension contributions of the participant). Apart from accumulating funds from the basic contributions, the employees are offered a possibility of saving on their own by making payments to the additional contributions programme. As at 31.12.2013, more than two thirds of the Bank’s employees joined the EPP.

Medical care

The Bank ensures its employees additional, besides occupational health services (resulting from the regulations of the Polish Labour Code), medical care owed to employees according to various packages, addressed to particular groups of jobs as well. All packages enabled employees to have unlimited number of doctors' consultations in all areas of specialisation and to diagnostic tests ordered by them.

In 2011, the medical care for the employees was extended to include a health promotion programme called ‘Zdrowie jak w Banku’, covering, amongst others, a preventive health check and activities directed at health-oriented education and promoting a healthy life style.

The majority of the PKO Bank Polski SA Group entities ensure its employees, besides occupational health services, additional medical care according to the same and various packages depending on rules adopted in those Companies.

Providing broad range of charge medical services for employees constitutes a significant element of additional benefits provided for the employed in the PKO Bank Polski SA Group. 

Social benefits

Benefits granted by the Company Social Benefits Fund in 2013 to employees of PKO Bank Polski SA and formeremployees (pensioners, people receiving pre-retirement benefits) and members of their families

Number of employees

As at 31 December 2013, employment in the PKO Bank Polski SA Group amounted to 27 387 full-time positions, which is a decrease of 1 169 positions y/y. Employment in other (apart from PKO Bank Polski SA) Group entities decreased by 207 positions which resulted primarily from the sale by PKO Bank Polski SA majority of block of shares in Centrum Elektronicznych Usług Płatniczych eService Sp. z o.o. and  as at 31.12.2013 include this company as jointly controlled entity of the Bank (a decrease of 185 full-time positions y/y).

Number of employees in PKO Bank Polski SA and other Group entities (in number of full-time equivalents)

As at 31 December 2013, PKO Bank Polski SA employed 24 641 persons (24 437 full-time equivalents). In 2013, redundancies for reasons unrelated to the employees affected 1 124 people.
Collective redundancies conducted in 2013 in the Bank resulted from the following reasons:

• the increase in the work effectiveness of the Bank’s employees,
• adopting the number of employees to the changes in the manner or scope of tasks realised in the Bank’s particular organisational entities and in the organisational units of the Head Office,
• implementing organisational changes, including the centralisation of functions and processes resulting in changes of the scope of tasks realised,
• implementing new IT technologies supporting cost reduction activities,
• needs of employment restructuring to adopt the qualification of the employed to changes in the manner of performing and in the quality of tasks realised by the Bank’s organisational entities.

Training policy

PKO Bank Polski SA offers its employees various forms to raise professional qualifications. The Bank carries out development projects of hard and soft skills. The team of 60 internal trainers conducts group’s and position’s trainings. In the key strategic training projects, group trainings and workshops are conducted by external companies. E-learning platform, mainly for training on product knowledge, processes and IT applications service, is actively used by the Bank.

All actions taken as a part of the training policy support the execution of the Bank’s strategy and are adapted to the current needs of the employees and the possibilities of the organisation. 

Objectives of the training projects executed in 2013:

• development of skills of the employees to support the execution of the PKO Bank Polski SA's strategic goals,
• promoting the Bank's values through training addressed to selected groups of employees,
• improvement of skills associated with selling techniques,
• maintaining the highest possible customer service quality,
• supporting the positive attitude to changes among the Bank's employees,
• increasing commitment to the performance of business tasks. 

Selected training projects executed in 2013:

1. New Rhythm

Conducting a cycle of comprehensive training during which all employees of the retail sales network gained knowledge on the new working model for the branches and tools implemented as part of the largest project in the history of PKO Bank Polski SA – the New Rhythm project. Training was organised and conducted for nearly 14 thousand people (777 groups) during 10 weeks, thus enabling the Bank to enter the New Rhythm as of 1 April 2013.

2. Customer Retention Programme

Starting a cycle of comprehensive training during which all employees of the retail sales network gain knowledge about the standardised retention process, tools implemented as part of the project and negotiation skills as well as an ability to tailor the offer to a customer’s needs. In 2013, all employees in two regions were trained. The training will continue in 2014.

3. The Bank’s Day

A programme for the key managers at PKO Bank Polski SA to enable active implementation of the strategy entitled: 2013-2015 ‘PKO Bank Polski. Daily the best’ by sharing experience between people providing new solutions and their direct users. The objective of the programme was to better understand the situation and business context of the mutual activities, thus enabling active execution of ‘Daily the best’ strategy.

4. Service Quality Growth Programme

The programme was launched in May 2013. The objective of the programme is to improve customer service quality in those branches of the Bank which obtained weak results in the Mystery Shopper. As part of the programme training was conducted on the subject of ‘Managing through quality’ – dedicated to managers from selected branches and ‘Quality coaching’ – dedicated to sales directors who oversee the work of the branches in the regions. The training will continue in 2014.

5. Counteracting robberies and procedures to be followed in dangerous situations

Conducting a cycle of comprehensive training aimed at showing the branch and agency employees’ potential threats and the most frequent mistakes or instances of negligence which increase the risk of robbery or other threats which may occur during work. During such training the employees gain knowledge about the principles of safe conduct when coming into contact with a criminal or an aggressive customer. The training will continue in 2014.

6. Manager’s Academy

The comprehensive soft competencies development programme was continued for the Bank’s managers in the form of workshops and training co-financed by the European Union as part of the European Social Fund. The project value was nearly PLN 12 million and covered over 4 thousand people. The training and advisory activities as part of the Manager’s Academy were closed in April 2013.

Training policy in the PKO Bank Polski SA Group entities is adapted to the needs of individual Companies and is aimed at supporting the professional development of employees, including the adaptation of their knowledge and skills to the changing legal and economic conditions, growth of skills related to sales techniques, an increase in quality of customer service and the development of managerial competencies.