NORTH SOUTH UNIVERSITY

REPORT ON HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OPERATION

IN IPDC (COUNTRY’S PIONEER NBFI)
BUS 601.5

PREPARED FOR-

DR. NAZMUL AMIN MAJUMDAR

PREPARED BY-

NISHAT BINTE MOHIUDDIN- 211517666

JANNATUL FERDOUS - 2035252660
SUDIPTA SAHA- 2035476660
SYEDA ARIBA ALAM 2035543660
MD SHAHED HASSAN ANTU- 1925349060
Executive summary
Human resource management is one of the most important divisions of an organization. There
is no substitute for human resource management to achieve optimal goals by recruiting and
training the right workers to accomplish the organization's highest benefits and reach the apex
by competitive human resources. "Take our 20 best people away, and I will tell you that
Microsoft will become an unimportant company," Bill Gates said. HRM is a precise blueprint for
expanding an employee's awareness, expertise, personal, and organizational activities. Growth
and training aim to improve the efficiency of their employees' jobs. This role assists their
employees in being more dedicated and influential to the company.

In every way, no company is flawless. Despite becoming Bangladesh's first non-banking

financial institution, IPDC still has some HR management issues, which we will discuss
throughout our research report. In this ES, we will discuss the report's significant findings and
highlight the HR process of IPDC, goals of HR, key issues, drawbacks, and recommendations in
the 21st century and implementations. To be more specific, we will discuss the HR Functions of
IPDC. Example- Recruitment, Training, and Development, Compensation & Benefits,
Methodology, Current Human Resource Management Scenario at IPDC Etc. the goal of HR.
Example- establish productive culture and environment, Formulate and implement HR policies,
Develop succession planning, and Effective management of processes. We will discuss
Employee Growth on Year, Gender Distribution, and Age Distribution of the employee of IPDC.
Then we are going to talk about the HRM issues of IPDC. Example- Company Policies and
Strategies, Human Resource Policies, Company's Production and Operational Policy, Job
Analysis, Government Policies, Level of Technology. Then we will discuss on Key problems and
issues faced by IPDC as Skills gaps, employee management issues, Employment Opportunity,
Turnover rate, Health Issues, Teamwork, and collaboration than we will discuss how IPDC can
tackle the HR Issues. Then, focusing the Challenges is facing IPDC in 21st Century. We will find
out the cause and what steps can IPDC can takes to solve the problems by realizing its goal. We
will try to give recommendations in the light of the HRM we have learned from this course then
we will talk through how we can implement the strategy for making an effective and dynamic
HR team for IPDC.
Table of Contents
introduction.................................................................................................................................................1
Objectives of the Report:.............................................................................................................................2
Methodology:..........................................................................................................................................3
Current Human Resource Management Scenario at IPDC.......................................................................3
KEY ISSUES AND CHALLENGES AT IPDC........................................................................................................8
HRM ISSUES AND CHALLENGES AT IPDC.......................................................................................10
Internal Factors-....................................................................................................................................10
External Factors-...................................................................................................................................11
Human resource planning and functions followed by IPDC:.................................................................11
Key problems and issues faced by IPDC:..............................................................................................12
Skills gaps -...........................................................................................................................................12
Branch employee management issue –..................................................................................................12
Ensuring Equal Employment Opportunity –..........................................................................................13
Attrition and Turnover rate –.................................................................................................................13
Pandemic related Health Issues –..........................................................................................................13
Mental Health, Parenting Issues and Work Efficiency –.......................................................................13
Team work and collaboration................................................................................................................14
Performance Management –..................................................................................................................14
Time Management –..............................................................................................................................14
Employee Engagement –.......................................................................................................................14
How IPDC can tackle the HR Issues faced in the company:......................................................................15
21st Century Challenges for IPDC.............................................................................................................20
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................20
Recommendation:....................................................................................................................................21
Implementation..........................................................................................................................................22
References:................................................................................................................................................23
ORGANOGRAM-........................................................................................................................................24
introduction

The economy is said to be a country's guiding power. The numerous financial institutions are one
of the main contributors to the economy's progress. Financial institutions can be divided into two
categories: banking financial institutions and non-banking financial institution. Bangladesh
Bank is the country's central bank, and also that; it is in charge of regulating and supervising the
banking sector. At the same time, Bangladesh Bank, as the highest authority for indirect financial
intermediation, is responsible for overseeing the activities of all NBFIs. NBFIs were regulated by
Bangladesh Bank throughout their early stages of existence, as specified in Chapter V of the
‘Bangladesh Bank Order 1972.' In 1989, Bangladesh Bank issued a new order called the "Non-
Banking Financial Institutions Order" with the aim of improving the sector's regulation and
supervision. However, regulatory flaws in this order, particularly with regard to NBFI operations
and statutory liquidity requirements, prompted the central bank to issue a new act in 1993,
dubbed the "Financial Institutions Act." Since then, this legislation has required all NBFIs in
Bangladesh to be licensed and regulated. Although lease finance is the prime objective of most
NBFIs, a small number of NBFIs engage in other finance operations such as term lending, home
financing, merchant banking, equity financing, venture capital financing, project financing,
pilgrimage financing, and so on. Textile, agriculture, small and cottage industries, chemicals,
commerce, pharmaceuticals, transportation, food and beverage, leather goods, and construction
and engineering are among the areas where NBFIs provide services.

IPDC is the first non-banking financial institution in the country. “Industrial Promotion and
Development Company of Bangladesh Limited” is the full name of the company. This is a
private sector financial institution that is a public limited company. In 1998, this company
embarked on its first journey. Corporate finance and advisory services in the corporate sector,
mid-market supply chain finance in the SME sector, and retail asset management and retail
finance in the retail sector are among the company's products and services. IPDC Finance
Limited is the country's most trusted financial brand that cuts across borders. Customers'
Emotions are served by the company's financial customers. It shone in the country in an unusual
magenta shade, with the bizarre pay-off line "JAAGO UCCHASHE." Realize an unrestricted
fantasy IPDC Bangladesh Limited was created. IPDC Finance Limited, formerly known as the
Industrial Promotion and Development Company of Bangladesh Limited, was the country's first
private financial institution. IPDC has been the catalyst for producing positive stories in the lives
of its cherished clientele for the past 37 years. The Government of the People's Republic of
Bangladesh, Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, International Finance Corporation,
German Investment Corporation and Commonwealth Development Corporation established the
platform in 1981. The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, BRAC, Aga Khan
Fund, Ayesha Abed Foundation, and BRAC currently hold the majority of shares. Since its
inception, IPDC Finance has played a pivotal role in the growth of the country's industrial

1
landscape. From the first private five-star hotel to the first international quality private hospital,
the first private sector television channel, and the first private sector radio station, there has been
no shortage of firsts in the private sector. Several companies have been partners in the landmark
project, including the first theme park and the leasing business in IPDC. This was Bangladesh's
first of its kind. On February 7, 1995, the company registered as a financial institution under the
Financial Institutions Act. IPDC was a forerunner in developing a number of ground-breaking
projects. IPDC has given funding to new companies to support them with their initial capital
investment, modernize manufacturing facilities, and lease facilities to procure fixed assets,
among other things. IPDC added multiple financial services to provide a full financial solution
for various sectors and purposes in order to meet the increasing demand for diverse financial
needs. IPDC created a vast network of interconnected retail outlets, extension counters, and a
contact center to cater to its clients' ever-changing and advancing needs over time at the
individual level. IPDC Finance's retail strategy is built around network expansion, product
differentiation, customer segmentation, sales efficiency, and delivering excellent customer
service. Aside from the standard offerings, IPDC introduces ULTIFLEX, a no-strings-attached
deposit that allows you to deposit any sum at any time.

Objectives of the Report:

The objective of this report is to assess the following in order to find the underlying challenges
IPDC faces:

2
  Review HR Functions at IPDC and understand the overall HR goals
 Review the current overall Human Resource scenario and find out the impact of the
pandemic on key HRM functions
 Evaluate the problems and issues currently faced by IPDC
 Assess the scope and opportunities within the HR practices and suggest possible
solutions
 Discuss the challenges for IPDC in the 21st Century
 Suggest possible implementation plan and recommendations

Methodology:
Research methodology has been qualitative and was based on the following:
 Primary research through interview with relevant IPDC personnel
 Secondary research using company information from its website, annual report, articles
etc.

Current Human Resource Management Scenario at IPDC

IPDC Finance Limited values its employees and considers them as a driving force to take the
company forward. It tries to create a healthy and supportive environment to promote growth
of its employees as well as encourage them to contribute through innovation. IPDC has also
won Super brands Bangladesh Award in 2018 awarded by Bangladesh Brand Forum which
would not have been achievable without a strong HR support.

The key goals of HR at IPDC are the following:

 Provide an environment that helps employees to be motivated, innovative
and resourceful
 Formulate and implement HR policies that allows IPDC to efficiently explore
scopes of recruitment training, compensation and benefits without any
discrimination on any grounds such as age, gender, religion, political belief
and so on
 Develop effective succession plans for all levels of employee in the
organization
 Ensure that process of selection, appraisal and performance management are
followed thoroughly and effectively

3
 Tenure
GenderAttrition
of permanent
Age
Employee rate atemployees
Distribution atIPDC
Distribution
Growth IPDC
Year on Year
900 5 34 845
24 38
800 Female
700 649
21% 18-30
600 0-5 yrs
500 229 31-40
6-10 yrs
13 394
400 41-50
10+ yrs
300 51-60
138 Male128 8
200 125 79%
100 73
311
0
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
2018 573 2019 2020

The Human Resources department at IPDC puts its efforts to smoothly conduct all HR activities
such as Recruitment, Training and Development and bring in cultural diversity through different
kinds of Employee Engagement Programs. It also offers a competitive compensation structure
to attract the best in the industry and effective succession planning as well as performance
appraisal to retain them. Additionally the HR division is also responsible to promote the values
that IPDC expect to instill its employees and develop organizational culture that a company
stands for. There are 12 members in the HR team with an ever-growing total number of
employees.

Among the 845 employees, 79% are male while the rest of the 21% are female showing that
there is scope to improve the Equal Employment Opportunity within the organization. This can
help to bring in better gender distribution within the organization and contribute in different
business aspects of the organization as well. The age distribution within the workforce show
that the maximum number of employees hovers around the age of 31-40 implying quite a
youth centric workforce working in IPDC. The second highest number of employees belongs to
the age group of 18-30.

The attrition rate of the organization was in an increasing trend till 2018 reaching about 24%, but
gradually decreased to 8% in 2020, one of the indirect positive impacts of the pandemic. The
attrition and turnover rate must be reviewed thoroughly and measures must be taken to
prevent it from increasing again.

The average Tenure of employees within the organization is 0-5 years and very few are retained
6 to 10+ years in IPDC. It shows that there is further scope to develop HR strategies to retain
more experienced and seasoned employees within the organization to avoid workflow
disruption and build in-house leadership.

4
 Investment
Types ofinTraining
Employeein 2020
Trainings
Social Media-
Functional IPDC
In BDT millions
Soft Skillwebsite Online Portals
57 54 LinkedIn

2020 2.3 Recruitment at IPDC occurs internally as well as

External externally. Different recruitment sources are
Referral
Agenciesused that complements the respective positions
6 7
2019 9.3 such as online portals, referrals, LinkedIn etc.
Virtual Physical However, the Recruitment process often
becomes lengthy as the right skilled resource is
often not found at the right time causing workflow disruption and undue pressure on existing
base.

IPDC conducted a total of 124 trainings in the year 2020 among which 111 were conducted
virtually and only 13 were conducted physically due to the ongoing global pandemic. Only BDT
2.27 million was invested for all types of trainings in 2020 compared to BDT 9.30 million
invested just in the previous year. The training cost significantly decreased due to the increased
focus on virtual trainings. This presents a huge scope of cost efficiency for IPDC to explore since
budget constraint for HR has been a key issue before the pandemic.

At IPDC, different engagement activities are implemented throughout the year to increase
team bonding and rejuvenation. This year, due to the pandemic, the engagement activities
were modified and adapted to the current situation. All activities were digitized and carried out
with full boost to minimize social isolation and its subsequent mental implication on the
employees.

o Townhall by MD and CEO

ENGAGEMENT BY o HR Hour by CHRO
MANAGEMENT o Sales Summit
o Seminar
o 1st Challenge: Healthy Diet
STAY HOME, STAY FIT
o 2nd Challenge: Physical Fitness

5
 o New Year
o Pohela falgun
o Valentine’s Day
CELEBRATING
o Women’s Day
FESTIVALS
o Pohela Boishakh
o Eid Reunion
o Men’s Day
o Daily employee calls
EMPLOYEE o Sessions on Parenting during pandemic
WELLBEING o Corporate Agreements with prominent hospitals
o IPDC Subsidized covid tests
o New Born Baby Celebration
PERSONAL TOUCH o Employee Birthday Celebration
o Long Term Service gathering

Performance appraisals at IPDC occur twice a year which is used as a main tool for identifying
individual career development objective as well as employee succession planning. It consists
of three major phases i.e. Objective Setting, Mid-Year and End-Year Review as is based on
three goals: business goals, values and competency demonstration and individual
development goal. Like all other activities, the performance appraisal occurred virtually with
the same criteria. However, the appraisal strategy needs revamping since it is often difficult
to evaluate one’s challenges and contributions effectively especially on qualitative aspects on
the digital platform.

Business
KEY ISSUES AND Objectives CHALLENGES AT IPDC
Human Resource Management (HRM) is
embraced by numerous organizations in light of its
Individual
advantages. And yet, Values & Development different difficulties and issues
Competencies Plan

6
may arise front of managers of human resource division while performing their obligations
(Maharjan, 2018).

HR planning is influenced by Internal and External factors. Everything we need to think about
the elements influencing human resource planning. The components that influence HRP can be
arranged into internal elements and external factors as under:

Internal Factors

These are the factors that identify with what is as of now occurring inside the business.

Company Policies and Strategies:

The association's approaches and techniques are identified with extension, expansion, and so
forth, decides the human resource demand regarding amount and quality.

Human Resource Policies:

Human resource policies of the organization are about the nature of HR, remuneration level,
nature of working conditions, and so on, impact human resource planning.

Company’s Production and Operational Policy:

Company’s policies regarding how much to produce and how much to purchase from outside
for manufacturing the final product influences the number and kind of people required.

Trade Unions:

In case it is declared by the unions that they will not work for more than 8 hours in a day, it
affects the human resource planning.

Job Analysis:

Job analysis means detailed study of the job involving the skills needed for a particular job.
Human resource planning is based on job analysis which determines the kind of employees to
be procured.

Time Horizon: Company’s planning differs according to the competitive environment, for
example, companies with stable competitive environment can plan for the long-run whereas
firms without a stable environment can only plan for short-term (tutor2u.net, 2017).

External Factors:

7
External factors are those influences, circumstances or situations that a business cannot control
that affect the business decisions that the business owner and stakeholders make. These
include following:

Level of Economic Development:

Level of financial development determines the level of human resource development in the
country and in this way the stockpile of HR in the future in the country.

Business Environment:

Business climate implies the inward and outside factors that impact the business. Business
environmental variables impact the volume of a mix of production and thereby the supply of
human resources in the future in the country.

Government Policies:

Various policies of the government like labour policy, industrial policy, policy towards reserving
certain jobs for different communities and sons-of-the-soil, etc., affect human resource
planning.

Level of Technology:

Innovation can be deciphered as the utilization of information to commonsense errands which

lead to new developments and disclosures (managementstudyhq.com, 2021).

Human resource planning and functions followed by IPDC:

IPDC is perhaps the most trusted and liked non-banking financial institutions (NBFI) of
Bangladesh. This para is a little short about Human Resource management functions are
practiced by IPDC Finance Limited and challenges those the HR division face in order to operate
HR practices. IPDS follows some functions in order to operate HRM activities smoothly. IPDC
trusts that its quality human resources are pivotal strengths of its development. The company
keeps on producing and achieves strong human resources approaches to inspire its
representatives and guarantee their optimal responsibility. With a strong encouragement that
HR infuses a significant competitive edge, they keep on recruiting the best ability accessible in
the business. The HR department handles many essential elements of their business is involved

8
HRM ISSUES AND CHALLENGES AT IPDC

Human Resource Management (HRM) is embraced by numerous organizations in light of its

advantages. And yet, different difficulties and issues may front of managers of human resource
division while performing their obligations (Maharjan, 2018).

HR planning is influenced by Internal and External factors. Everything we need to think about
the elements influencing human resource planning. The components that influence HRP can be
arranged into internal elements and external factors as under:

Internal Factors-
These are the factors that identify with what is as of now occurring inside the business.

Company Policies and Strategies:

The association's approaches and techniques are identified with extension, expansion, and so
forth, decides the human resource demand regarding amount and quality.

Human Resource Policies:

Human resource policies of the organization are about the nature of HR, remuneration level,
nature of working conditions, and so on, impact human resource planning.

Company’s Production and Operational Policy:

Company’s policies regarding how much to produce and how much to purchase from outside for
manufacturing the final product influences the number and kind of people required.

Trade Unions:

In case it is declared by the unions that they will not work for more than 8 hours in a day, it
affects the human resource planning.

Job Analysis:

Job analysis means detailed study of the job involving the skills needed for a particular job.
Human resource planning is based on job analysis which determines the kind of employees to be
procured.

Time Horizon: Company’s planning differs according to the competitive environment, for
example, companies with stable competitive environment can plan for the long-run whereas
firms without a stable environment can only plan for short-term (tutor2u.net, 2017).

9
External Factors-
External factors are those influences, circumstances or situations that a business cannot control
that affect the business decisions that the business owner and stakeholders make. These include
following:

Level of Economic Development:

Level of financial development determines the level of human resource development in the
country and in this way the stockpile of HR in the future in the country.

Business Environment:

Business climate implies the inward and outside factors that impact the business. Business
environmental variables impact the volume of a mix of production and thereby the supply of
human resources in the future in the country.

Government Policies:

Various policies of the government like labor policy, industrial policy, policy towards reserving
certain jobs for different communities and sons-of-the-soil, etc., affect human resource planning.

Level of Technology:

Innovation can be deciphered as the utilization of information to commonsense errands which

lead to new developments and disclosures (managementstudyhq.com, 2021).

Human resource planning and functions followed by IPDC:

IPDC is perhaps the most trusted and liked non-banking financial institutions (NBFI) of
Bangladesh. This Para is a little short about Human Resource management functions are
practiced by IPDC Finance Limited and challenges those the HR division face in order to operate
HR practices. IPDS follows some functions in order to operate HRM activities smoothly. IPDC
trusts that its quality human resources are pivotal strengths of its development. The company
keeps on producing and achieves strong human resources approaches to inspire its
representatives and guarantee their optimal responsibility. With a strong encouragement that HR
infuses a significant competitive edge, they keep on recruiting the best ability accessible in the
business. The HR department handles many essential elements of their business is involved in
providing labor law compliance, record keeping, hiring and training, compensation, relational
assistance and help with handling specific performance issues. These capacities are basic on the
grounds that without those capacities being done (Abd-Al-Rumman, 2019).

10
Key problems and issues faced by IPDC:
The HR operational risk is the risk of financial losses related to the breakdown of internal control
and corporate governance processes. Such breakdown can be the consequence of human error,
deficient or failed internal processes and technical systems, fraud, or any other adverse internal
events (ipdcbd.com, 2019). From a recent interview of a former employee of IDPC we can
address some real key issues faced by IPDC. According to the interviewee there are 3 main 3
departments under HR division; those operate organizational development by handling training
and employee engagement compensation, benefits & HR operations and recruitment. The
interviewer also says about IPDC that the recruitment is a little lengthier Sometimes it’s really
hard to find the right people for the right role. Sometimes the process may take a year to get the
right candidate. In a result, during incomplete process of recruitment exiting employees wait for
long, get work pressure and in a log run it also decreased productivity & revenue, delayed
product development and damaged company reputation. Few more problems and issues faced by
IPDC’s HR division have been addressed from the statement of that former employee
(interviewee) of IDPC –

Skills gaps -
IPDC generally requires employees with excellent managerial skills to manage the business
goals, financial expertise as well as good communication skills since they have to deal with a
number of clients. At times, it becomes quite difficult to find a competent candidate suitable for
the role which delays the entire recruitment process. This impacts team morale and in turn affects
the efforts of the team to achieve business goals.

Branch employee management issue –

In the case of some particular branches situated outside of Dhaka or in difficult locations within
Dhaka, a discomfort raises from employees when they are stationed in those branches. This
becomes challenging for the HR team to find a win-win solution in such cases and encourage the
employee to put in his/her best effort at work. Moreover, since the HR functions are centralized
at the Head Office, communication is at times hindered and employee grievances cannot be
addressed quickly in case of any HR issues. Even some HR processes and operations remain
pending for branch employees as everything is done at the Head Office.

Ensuring Equal Employment Opportunity –

The current male to female ratio at IPDC is 79: 21 which appears to be a low ratio in terms of
female employment. If IPDC wish to bring diversity in the workplace and use holistic
perspectives while designing its products, a greater effort needs to be given to ensure better
Equal Employment Opportunity.

Attrition and Turnover rate –

The attrition rate at IPDC was in an increasing tend till 2018 reaching about 24% and was about
13% in 2019. However, the Turnover rate was still high which affected team collaboration as
well as the progress of the projects in the pipeline. During the pandemic, the attrition rate

11
dropped to 8% and the turnover rate also reduced due to concerns regarding job security and the
job market slowing down. Once the impact of the pandemic dies down, IPDC may face similar
Attrition and Turnover challenges if no plan or strategy is adopted to address this issue.

Pandemic related Health Issues –

As the pandemic raged in 2020, a number of employees throughout IPDC were affected directly
or indirectly for COVID which caused a crisis and interrupted workflow designed to meet
strategic goals. The HR team quickly devised a plan to track employee health through regular
calls and formed an emergency health team comprising of functional heads to provide
ambulance, doctor consultation and general support. The HR team also formulated a booklet
called a comprehensive COVID guideline which included the dos and don’ts to be followed
while attending office. Additionally, applications for medical insurances, personal loans or
motorcycle loans spiked up, since employees needed to seek medical treatment as well as
arrange personal transport as public transport was not available and posed a lot of risk. Overall
the HR team had to track employee health condition to control the spread among its employees,
devise guidelines, ensure physical wellbeing and extend support through emergency team while
ensuring the work was uninterrupted. Taking these steps in such a short time put undue strain on
the HR team and at times affected the quality of the outcome. With the Pandemic still ongoing, it
is important for IPDC to predict such situations and have processes in place to respond
effectively without putting a lot of stress on the system.

Mental Health, Parenting Issues and Work Efficiency –

Staying at home for such a long time without any social interactions are having direct impact on
employee mental health as well as their motivation to work. At the same time, a number of
employees are working parents who have to manage office while fulfilling their parental duties
which is a daunting task in itself. These can be long term impacts as predicted by most experts
and IPDC should take measures to address this issue.

Team work and collaboration

Team work and collaboration has been affected the most, be it for new joiners or for existing
team members. As the physical workplace or atmosphere is difficult to recreate virtually
activities such as brainstorming, team discussions, feedbacks and even bonding among team
members are being affected gradually. This in turn, will have impact on the workflow and
collaboration within and among teams since the team spirit necessary to create synergy to bring
out brilliant outcomes, are slowly eroding away.

Performance Management –
Working virtually can become difficult to gauge the entirety of overall employee performance
and directly witness or stay in connection with the challenges s/he has to overcome to perform
well. In cases where employees put in extra effort to enhance his/her performance, it, at times
goes unnoticed by the line manager and does not reflect on the performance appraisal leading to
employee dissatisfaction.

12
Time Management –
The work schedule has been distorted severely and fixed working hours are no longer followed
due to increased flexibility and accessibility provided by the virtual platform. Employees are
increasingly expected to work till late hours beyond their work schedule which creates
irregularity and affects physical and mental wellbeing, work life balance and ultimately
negatively influences his/her work quality.

Employee Engagement –
IPDC arranges different Employee Engagement programs such as retreats, town halls and
festivals. However, it is difficult and next to impossible to completely replicate the environment,
atmosphere and the liveliness on the digital platform. This is affecting motivation and bonding
among employees as well as rejuvenation efforts of the connection with the organization.

How IPDC can tackle the HR Issues faced in the company:

IPDC believes in quality human resources being the “pivotal strengths” of its development. The
company keeps on producing solid human asset approaches to inspire its representatives along
with guaranteeing their ideal commitment. With a solid encouragement that HR infuses a
significant competitive edge, they keep on recruiting the best ability accessible in the business.
The HR department handles many essential elements of their business and is involved in
providing labor law compliance, record keeping, hiring and training, compensation, relational
assistance and help with handling specific performance issues. These capacities are basic on the

13
grounds that without those capacities being finished. HR function can be thought of as having six
menus:

 Recruitment & Selection, Training and Development, Performance Appraisal, pay

structure, Incentive & benefits, Organizational Development and HR Operation &
Service delivery.
 IPDC Finance Limited in itself is such a planned institution, leading in almost every
aspect in comparison to the competitors, that there are very few things to recommend
them. However, in accordance with some of the problems addressed, we can give
recommendations in certain aspects.
 We are aware how a working place can come up with various conflicts with
mismanagement and communication gap, it highly affects the organizational environment
negatively. IPDC Finance is very much aware of the issue to prevent any kind of
conflicting situation among workplace.
 There should be a dedicated team named “Employee Satisfaction Team” working hard to
communicate with employees of each level so that they can find out any conflict and
solve it before it results in chaos and spreads out. The Employee Satisfaction Team shall
consist of representatives from various departments with a wide range of experiences &
qualifications. The purpose of this team shall be to create a forum where all employees
can discuss relevant issues and queries, not just that, they should be welcomed and
motivated to propose innovative ideas and solutions in order to boost up employee
morale. Having said that, employees should also be provided opportunities to
communicate their concern directly to the Managing Director unanimously by placing
their suggestions in a “Talk to Me” or “Let me Know” Box.
 In order to maintain this promisingly, IPDC should ensure following certain guidelines to
maintain the efficacy of the survey of the employees. The employees need to know that
they won’t face repercussions for giving honest feedback, if they are given that assurance
or sense of security, they will not provide their honest opinion holding it back. Also,
when conducting the survey, it’s vital that the employees are asked for information that
they can use to drive meaningful change in the organization, it cannot be made
unnecessarily lengthy, given the chaotic and busy time we live in. However, it cannot be
too vague either. Some of the questions included in the Survey might include the
following questions for example:

 How do you feel about your responsibilities at work?

 Do you find it meaningful or worthless?

 How satisfied are you with the salary & benefits that you receive?

14
  Are you happy with the opportunities we provide you with to get promoted?

 How likely are you to recommend our company as a good place to work?

 How comfortable do you feel around the members of your team?

 How often do you receive recognition & appreciation for your work?

 Are you satisfied with the way we provide to develop your skills at work, or do you find
it inefficient?

 If you were to quit your job tomorrow, what would your reason be for leaving?

 Are there any changes you can suggest that would improve your job satisfaction levels?

Furthermore, in IPDC there has to be Equal employment opportunity which does not exist as the
female to male ratio is 21:79%. In such a case, it is crucial to maintain an affirmative action
program in order to establish fair access to employment opportunities to create a workforce that
is an accurate reflection of the demographics of the qualified available workforce. Therefore,
more should be done to encourage and increase the employee tenure in order to have experienced
& seasoned employees with a balanced age distribution as well. It will be the responsibility of
the Human Resources leaders in IPDC to ensure that their affirmative action programs have the
funding, resources, and support them need to be effective. That starts with being vocal and
reminding their company’s leadership of their existence and importance.

It sometimes doesn’t record the attendance despite approving the confirmed person's finger.
System upgrade/change of device is needed to avoid such malfunction. Now, as IPDC is
gradually advancing towards technological development, a proper functioning & advanced
automated leave management software should be installed because manual adjusting leave is
raising the question from the employees about the accuracy to the HR department. Also, the
interview process in IPDC is a bit lengthier as mentioned in the HR problems addressed.
Sometimes it is difficult to find the perfect candidate for the role resulting in a delay extending to
even one year at times, due to which the existing employees many a times are bombarded with
work pressure, resulting in decreased productivity, output which may tarnish the reputation of
the company in future.

In such a case, a structured hiring process will not only be cost effective but will also streamline
how to find and qualify candidates in the right time, without further ado. Moreover, it will also
provide measurable, tangible results for IPDC by helping them to avoid damage caused by any
bad hires. IPDC should map out their entire recruitment journey, from both perspectives: what

15
the recruiter sees, and what the candidate experiences. This will firstly enable them to identify
the areas that can be automated and improved.

In addition to that, one of the most effective ways IPDC can use to reduce their time to hire is to
“Build a Talent pipeline ahead of time” A talent pipeline, or a group of pre-screened candidates
is one of the most powerful ways to reduce time to hire. IPDC should identify the roles they
often hire for; based on that they can determine the requirements for those specific roles, then
they should have a fixed place in mind where they could get the ideal candidates like Bdjobs,
LinkedIn, Glass door etc. Then they can identify the candidates who look good fit based on the
requirements of IPDC and should reach out to them. It should not just end here; they should keep
in touch with these candidates by sharing personalized messaging & maintaining a cordial
relationship, for future openings. The Job responsibilities and specifications should be carefully
displayed to the candidates so that they can apply accordingly, free of any confusions.

Building a talent pipeline will be a helpful and effective way of sourcing candidates for IPDC. In
addition to that, in IPDC some of the employees are reluctant to work on certain branches, due to
the tough location or working condition and so the company faces a Branch Employee
Management issue which can be taken care of through HR Business Partnering Model. An HR
Business partner should be assigned for each branch or at least the ones who face problems so
that the professional can become the point of contact for such HR issues & operations. In such a
case, a good way would be for an HR professional to identify individuals best equipped to fill the
company’s strategic needs. By assessing past experience, personalities, strengths and
weaknesses, they’ll match individuals with managers and teams that will allow them to thrive.

Furthermore, given the attrition rate in the company that was in an increasing rate till 2018
reaching about 24% and 13% in 2019, IPDC along with ensuring the strategies mentioned above,
should also implement additional effective practices to reduce the turnover rate. Apart from the
ones highlighted above like Hiring the right people, providing competitive pay & benefits,
appreciating, training and guiding them towards the right direction, I would like to focus here on
one of the issues and that would be to allow flexible work schedules. Based on the comments of
some employees who are currently working or used to work in IPDC, the working hours are not
flexible, sometimes being too tiresome. If there is a dire need to keep employees in the
workplace for a longer period of time, the company needs to ensure they are comfortable in
staying and working longer, enjoying it instead of feeling bored and anxious to leave.

Given the current situation of Covid, not only a number of employees are getting affected but are
also going through a mental & emotional crisis, many of them are jobless, on the verge of losing
their jobs or at a constant paranoia regarding their job security. All of these can take a heavy toll
on the psychological well-being of the employees. IPDC Finance Limited, one of the most
promising financial institutions in Bangladesh, focuses on winning in the marketplace in order to
be successful. Given the current Covid situation globally, IPDC is trying their best to beat the

16
competition by making sure that they have the best products, the highest levels of customer
service and best employees, actively monitoring the COVID-19 situation to inform their decision
making.

Despite the Pandemic, the company maintained good capital and also registered growth with net
profit by setting aside adequate provisioning in anticipation of difficult times ahead. In 2020, the
company's customer deposits increased 20.5 per cent to Tk 4,278 crore from that at the end of
December last year, the company said in its press release. Also, the company successfully
managed to tackle the Job Insecurity issue without any downsizing or reduction of salaries;
rather increment, performance bonus & promotions were awarded which is applaud able. In
addition to that, from the interview taken, we can learn how IPDC tackled the Covid situation
which is praiseworthy, they did a contest named “Stay Home, Stay Fit” where employees were
encouraged to walk in their house or rooftop or around their house and their steps were tracked
through an app on the Mobile Device. Each and every employee had to do 5 km or more steps
and the team with the highest step count were awarded exciting gifts like Air pods, wrist bands
etc. The festivities of Pohela Boishakh were not ignored either, where the function was done
online, music, dance, comedy and all other entertaining performances were ensured. During
Ramadan, a contest was done where every week a team had to prepare a healthy Iftar item,
submitting the photos to HR, the HR would then forward it to the functional heads who then
selected the best photo of the week and the winner was awarded a prize.

It is worth appreciating how IPDC is handling the situation. Adding to that, we can give some
recommendations here. The company can open a Group on Facebook or Slack where they can
have competitive contests, share entertaining posts, upload motivational posts encouraging full
house participation. IPDC, embracing magenta as its brand color represents the company's
vibrant approach. During IPDC's transition to its present-day glory, the CEO had the all-
important job of leading the institution from the front. Over the last four or five years, he has
always worn something magenta. People even started saying that he is a flamboyant person
whose appearance is not like a financial institution's CEO.

But Mr. Islam said he did this because he believes it is important for CEOs to take their brands to
heart. IPDC should continue its good work this way ensuring customer & employee satisfaction
to the optimum level, and the shortcomings they are facing can be managed as well if they focus
on the solutions instead of overlooking them, even if it seems like a minor problem. In a chaotic
& uncertain time that we are residing in, IPDC should maintain team collaboration and bonding
which has been affected given the work from home situation. It is important to introduce gaming
sessions online where teams can collaborate and have a fun time getting a mental break amidst
the gloomy situation. Also, performance review is utmost important as well, because in many
cases, some of the employees work overtime which can go unnoticed, it is essential to applaud
them and appreciate their efforts. There is no need to flaunt it, creating a sense of jealousy
amongst others, but instead the employee can be appreciated along with motivating others that

17
their hard work will not go in vain either, it will surely be noticed. Employees who go beyond
their work schedule face irregularity affecting their personal wellbeing. It is not unknown to us
how domestic abuse or problems have increased during the pandemic; it is a fact. So, HR in the
company should monitor time maintenance, one way could be to make employees give updates
on their Daily Stand-up meeting after work is over or fill up the Database sheet inputting the
time, they are done working, what they learned from today’s work, what barriers they faced, how
they plan on overcoming it, and what they plan on doing tomorrow.

21st Century Challenges for IPDC

Now a day, the role of human resource management departments has become crucial for 21st
century modern businesses. Especially HR function has a very serious role to play in order to
help and navigate through evolutions. Therefore HR needs to increase its apparent as well as real
value. An effective HRM tries to get extraordinary results from average people.

Besides hiring the correct person for correct job at correct time, HRM is also liable for employee
motivation, satisfaction, training, long term development & retention. One of the biggest
challenges for IPDC today is to develop employees in accordance to global environmental
factors.
18
In the last four years, IPDC has grownup tenfold. 21st century approach of HRM is to develop
the knowledge and expertise of people efficiently and effectively to meet organizational targets
as their profit has also risen by four times and their share value has expanded as well.

Now they want to build their capacity significantly better than before in terms of human
resources, in terms of their branch networks and in terms of their technical network. In today’s
era, organizations are coming across numerous challenges about 21st century human resource
that includes employing new technology, globalization, everyday innovations, political as well as
economic instability and ethical & ecological challenges. Hence, along with other important
business units of an organization the HR is also in a need to take the lead in keeping up IPDC to
focused on the SME sector as it has a great role in generating new jobs.

Conclusion

IPDC Finance Limited offers standard financial facilities for both our retail and institutional
clients. It is registered on both Dhaka Stock Exchange Limited and Chittagong Stock Exchange
Limited. IPDC Finance Limited is one of the most promising financial institutes in Bangladesh.

Accordingly, they focus on winning in the marketplace in order to be successful. They are trying
to beat the rivalry by making sure that they have the best products, the top levels of customer
service and best employees. By confirming this now they have created a very tough position in
the market. The reason behind of their success is has structurally planned its organization
facilitating superior communication, awareness and meaningful work at various levels.

Though it’s a brokerage firm but they are constantly trying to give importance on their HR
department because if their HR is not well maintained then it would be very difficult to find the
correct people for the correct job. IPDC is aware that to make a strong position in the market is
not possible without talented manpower and it can be maintained through human resource
department. IPDC always confirmed enough training program throughout the year as investment
not as expense. But need to more concern about smooth HR processes through HRIS. IPDC
earns reputation with its performance and facilities to their customer. Customers and clients also
very faithful to IPDC that is why they are flourishing in capital market with in a very short time.

Recommendation:

 Long term health impacts will be there due to Covid-19 related complicacies---continue
support through health insurance, regular health checks /insurances even for their

19
 families, proper nutrition. Also ensure job rotation and proper succession planning to
ensure smooth operations in case of someone’s absence as well as build future leadership
within the company

 Through HR policies IPDC should simplifying process to reduce Turn Around Time
(TAT) and providing technology-led solutions
 Change of MIS for performance management.
 Enlarged the number of customized training programs.
 Continued with the interviews for recommended employees for promotion.
 Enhanced the quality of orientation and training plans for the new recruits.

 While lower turnover is good for the company, HR now has to keep in mind the resource
they have at hand needs to be nurtured and managed well because they will remain with
the company for a longer period and hence largely impact the outcomes of the
organization. So they need to effectively manage the resource they have, kept their
morale to work extremely high. Additionally, due to lower turnover, there is won’t be
much fresh blood joining the organization and hence ideas within the teams might
stagnate. So they need to find ways to keep the employees skills growing and rejuvenate
them to bring fresh new ideas on the table by expanding their horizon. Also build their
Technical Skills and Technological skills since world is moving towards technology and
automation

Implementation

Succession planning allows IPDC to promote from within the organization and groom present
personnel for key management positions, if and when they become vacant. Besides promoting
career development, succession planning also ensures that customer relationships and operational
processes are not dependent on one employee and that the company continues to run smoothly
following proper handover of duties. It is the responsibility of the mentor and Human Resources
to ensure that the person who would succeed in that position undergoes both formal and on-the-
job training in that position

Technological innovation is reshaping the industry and IPDC want to stay at the forefront of it to
take advantage of any market opportunities. So they complete the implementation of digital
platform for supply chain finance backed by block chain technology, which is going to

20
revolutionize the industry. In addition, they are going to implement a new core banking system
to support the growth trajectory of the company.

The Company is managing the Operational risk through written procedures, regular training, and
awareness programs and monitoring of the implementation of these procedures. IPDC does not
have an annual appraisal system of the board’s performance. However, an evaluation of the
Board is performed through self-assessment and by the shareholders at the Annual General
Meeting (AGM). The management reports, quarterly financial statements and implementation
status of boards’ directives provide a basis against which the Board can assess its own
performance. The directors are elected by the shareholders in the AGM and the shareholders at
the AGM can comment on the performance of the Board against which the Board can take steps
to enhance its performance.

References:

1. https://www.ipdcbd.com/areport/Annual_Report_2018.pdf, IPDC Annual Report 2018.

2. https://www.ipdcbd.com/home/campaigns, IPDC Ongoing Campaignsz.
3. https://www.thepeoplespace.com/ideas/articles/seven-lessons-learned-hr-business-partner-model , HR
Business Partner Model.
4. https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/ipdc-finance-far-pandemic-blues-1996205 , IPDC Finance
far from pandemic blues.
5. https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/ipdc-roll-1742176, IPDC on a roll.
6. https://www.ipdcbd.com/aboutus/ataglance, IPDC at a glance.

7. Interview : Suzana Erfan, Ex HR Manager, IPDC contact: 01755558474

8. Maharjan, P. (2018). Challenges and Issues in Human Resource Management - Businesstopia.

Retrieved 3 May 2021, from https://www.businesstopia.net/human-resource/challenges-issues-
human-resource-management

21
9. Tutor2u.net. (2017). Internal and External Influences on Human Resources | tutor2u. Retrieved 5
May 2021, from https://www.tutor2u.net/business/reference/internal-external-influences-on-human-
resources
10. Managementstudyhq.com. (2021). Factors Affecting Human Resource Planning. Retrieved from
https://www.managementstudyhq.com/factors-affecting-hrp.html
11. Abd-Al-Rumman, S. (2019). Report On Human Resource Management Operation In IPDC Finance
Limited [Ebook]. Retrieved from
http://dspace.bracu.ac.bd/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10361/13715/15364029_BBA.pdf?
sequence=1&isAllowed=y
12. Ipdcbd.com. (2019). RIGHTS SHARE OFFER DOGUMENT [Ebook]. Retrieved from
https://www.ipdcbd.com/rightshare/IPDC-ROD.pdf

22
ORGANOGRAM-

23