Union Advith Qorus-Infosys Finacle Banking Innovation Awards 2025 - Winner

Concept and Objectives: The Union Advith program is a comprehensive Leadership Development Program (LDP) designed to nurture high-potential executives (Frontline Leaders – Chief Managers (Scale IV), and Emerging Leaders – Assistant General Managers & Deputy General Managers (Scale V & VI)) within the bank. Its core objectives are to: • Equip participants with tools for self-awareness and unleashing their true potential. • Drive significant improvements in technical skills to address evolving industry needs. • Develop expertise in functional areas for effective role performance. • Establish strong linkages between leadership development (behavioral competencies) and tangible business outcomes. • Enhance leadership skills, strategic thinking, communication, decision-making, and emotional intelligence. • Create adaptable leaders capable of navigating diverse challenges and driving organizational success.

The program is structured across four major phases: Diagnosis, Design & Development, Planning & Execution (including assessments, classroom conclaves, coaching, and business projects) and Capability Building & Knowledge Transfer.

Reasons Behind: The bank operates in a rapidly evolving banking landscape, necessitating leaders who embody the right behaviors, possess necessary skills and acquire relevant competencies to lead with vision, inspire teams and propel sustainable growth. Recognizing that effective leadership is crucial for organizational success and strategic goal achievement, the bank sought to collaborate with a premier external institution/ consultant to develop this program. The success of the first year of Union Advith, with its positive impact on various organizational levers, underscored the essential need to sustain and amplify the program for future years.

State of Competition: The program aims to build a robust internal leadership pipeline and institutionalize a leadership culture within the bank. This approach provides a scalable and significantly more cost-effective model compared to continuously relying on external, off-the-shelf programs, while also empowering internal trainers for sustained development.

Sources of Inspiration: The program's design is informed by an in-depth review of existing competency and skill repositories, a gap analysis of current leadership practices against "best-in-class global HR practices," and research into emerging trends and advancements in leadership development. Direct inputs from the MD & CEO, ED, HR, and other senior management also shaped the program's strategic objectives.

Departments Involved: The HR Department, particularly the Learning & Development (L&D) Division, is centrally involved. Internal committees of Chief General Managers (CGMs) and General Managers (GMs) are responsible for quarterly reviews and oversight. Various functional areas across the bank, including Frontline and Corporate Office roles, are involved through participant selection and business project implementation.

Main Results So Far: The first year of the Union Advith program has yielded significant positive results across all tiers of Kirkpatrick's training evaluation model: • Reaction: Outstanding feedback from participants, with average overall feedback for classroom conclaves at 4.7/5, coaching sessions at 4.6/5, and pulse checks at 4.5/5. • Learning: Participants demonstrated clear transformation, with significant improvement in functional and new-age topics (e.g., GenAI, ESG, Cybersecurity) as evidenced by pre- and post-training assessments (Cohen's D impact values of 0.40-0.45, indicating significant improvement). • Behavior: Managers rated participants higher on key leadership skills post-program (e.g., Work Ethic 5.0 from 4.4, Adaptability 4.9 from 4.2). Participants self-reported increased productivity, confidence, improved ability to drive business results, and positive influence on career growth (average ratings of 4.4-4.6/5). Coaches also noted significant improvements in communication, delegation, and overall leadership potential. • Results: Early positive signs are visible in business growth and individual productivity. Advith participants in Field roles widened their lead over top-performing peers (Q3 %ile score 91.5% vs 88.6% for non-Advithians). Advithians in CO roles also continued to outshine peers (Q3 %ile score 97.3% vs 95.4%). Most notably, Advith participants showed significantly higher success rates in the FY25 promotion cycle (99% applied vs 86% for non-Advith for Scale V & VI 95% applied vs 77% for non-Advith for Scale IV, 80% cleared written test vs 58% for non-Advith in in Scale IV).