HF Group to retrench staff in new restructuring plan

HF Group has announced the revision of its organisational structure in line with its recently launched digital banking strategy.

The process revolves around the merger, redundancy and creation of new roles in a move that is poised to improve the financial services group’s responsiveness and operational efficiencies as envisaged in its strategy.

The revision of roles is one of the group’s strategic initiatives to provide customers with full service banking solutions, increased accessibility and enhanced experience. It is also in tandem with the need to deliver dynamic, segmented products and enhancing the speed to market of the said products.

Commenting on the development, HF Group Managing Director Frank Ireri said that the organisational restructuring plan seeks to foster customer centrism in decision-making, provide clarity on operational accountabilities, enhance speed to market initiatives and curb operational costs.

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“One of our strategic imperatives is a continuous improvement on operational processes that impact efficiency. Our revised structure provides a perspective built on agility expected of a multidimensional digital financial services bank. By rationalising roles, we are providing the appropriate gearing towards future growth and addressing current issues such as operating costs for the business which have remained high and hindered our ability to operate profitably.”

Under the new organisational structure, some roles such as the finance role will be merged with those of strategy, sustainability and business performance. The merger of the mentioned roles is in line with the group’s endeavor to embed sustainability in its core business operation strategy and governance structures.

The redundancy program will target up to 9% of the group’s total workforce. Those affected will be offered a generous redundancy package approved by the financial services entity’s Board.

The key criterion in the identification of staff will be their fit in the revised organisation structures, based on their skills and experience, standard of work performance, displayed work initiative and respective competencies defined for the different roles in the new organisation design. The exercise will take effect immediately, as guided by the requisite labour laws and will affect both management and other staff cadres.

The move will see HF Group accrue the benefits of improved cost management in the medium term. On the other hand, the organisation will offer entrepreneurship and financial management trainings to the said employees to empower them in future personal financial planning.

The newly created roles include a Chief Digital Officer and a Chief Commercial Officer. The Chief Digital Officer will be responsible for the achievement of revenue growth and customer acquisition targets through effective brand management, communication, and trade marketing interventions under the aegis of digital financial services.

The Chief commercial officer will be tasked with implementation of effective go-to-market strategies, sales, product development; and customer experience to drive business growth and market share for the full service banking entity.

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Apart from receiving the nod on the restructuring from its board, HF Group has also notified the relevant regulators of the process including the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection.