http://www.gosbook.

ru/node/71716

Dmitry Leus: How

to Motivate
Employees
Dmitry Leus, Chairman of Bank

Any bank with long-term ambitions uses a system

of employee motivation. We spoke with Dmitry
Leus, Chairman of Bank , and asked him to which
motivational techniques he has recourse.

- Dmitry Isaakovich, what do you understand under

the concept of motivation and what is its
application?
- Dmitry Leus: Motivation designates the incentive to act
or, more precisely, the activation of motives pre-existing in
every human being. Its importance in the world of
business, and in particular in the service industry, is to
attract and keep the most valuable assets we have human capital.
Since spring 2011, our Bank has been carrying out an
active regional expansion strategy. Within two years, we
have created from scratch 40 branches in different regions
of the Russian Federation. Accordingly, it was necessary to
also create a system of motivation transforming a mere
geographical presence into a centre of human excellency.

http://www.gosbook.ru/node/71716

Thus, psychological factors prove to be as important as

economic ones in achieving a high return on investment.
In general, good motivation systems are a win-win game:
they must reflect the interests of all stakeholders of an
enterprise - employees, management, and its
shareholders.
- Financial incentive is doubtlessly a very effective
means of motivation. Does Bank also offer career
growth?
- Dmitry Leus: Yes, we also offer the opportunity of
career and professional development, which is a very
important consideration for increasing an employees selfesteem and his reputation within the bank.
Our corporate Intranet provides an appropriate platform
for professional development and the creation of a sense
of unity and purpose. For example, a wall of honour
showcases the achievements of our best talents. In
addition, we display sales figures for each branch on-line.
This allows regional branches to compare their results with
other regional branches and creates a spirit of healthy
competition, thereby stimulating outliers to turn into
performers and performers into leaders. The Intranet also
helps management communicate with staff and spread
strategic newsletters; alternatively, it may serve as a
forum on which expert communities exchange ideas and
innovations.
As part of our motivational programme, we also hold
internal competitions for management vacancies within
Group. Regardless of his geographical location, every
employee from the Altai Republic to Kaliningrad is eligible
and has the opportunity to become the head of a newly
opened regional branch. This way we seek to foster a longterm relationship between the Bank and its employees
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and to strengthen loyalty among our people.

- Dmitry Isaakovich, employee training is the
cornerstone in any system of professional
development. For example, on-the-job training
allows a company to bring new employees up to
speed quickly and expert seminars may enhance
the skills of senior staff. Today, many banks have
their own in-house learning platform. Does Bank
have anything similar to offer?
- Dmitry Leus: Of course. We recently launched a project
called the Learning Tool - a most useful platform
whereby the employees of our newly opened regional
branches can actively develop their skills. Also, in addition
to in-house seminars, we regularly organize external work
groups and corporate retreats during which new business
processes, product lines, or the Banks overall strategy are
on the agenda.
- In other words, motivational techniques are a key
instrument in the successful development of the
Bank?
- Dmitry Leus: Yes, absolutely. Like any bank in full
expansion, our heartbeat is always in tune with the
challenges of modern life and their financial repercussions
on the capital markets. Our system of motivation has been
instrumental in scaling up our regional presence and has
shown that numbers alone do not add up unless motivated
by human effort.

- What are the components of your motivational

system?

http://www.gosbook.ru/node/71716

- Dmitry Leus: All the employees of our regional front

offices have a basic salary, in addition to a performance
bonus at the end of each month. The programme further
aims at keeping the growth rate of the basic salary under
control over time, in favour of the performance bonus.
Such a system of extrinsic (that is, monetary) rewards is
based on the principle that financial bonuses indeed
encourage an employee to achieve the best results.
Although the theory of extrinsic rewards cannot be
generalized to all situations, there is a general consensus
that in the world of banking, which derives its meaning
from the universe of numbers, psychological motivation
may be created through, and measured in, monetary
terms.
However, rewards must not be attributed based on
managements own discretion and opinion, but according
to measurable and verifiable indicators, lest subjective
preference give rise to inequality and damage the teams
sense of unity and common interest. In the context of its
remuneration policy, the Bank therefore monitors staff
performance in three specific business fields.
The first one is business and sales performance. We set
quantitative targets for our front office staff measuring the
acquisition of net new money and the successful sale of
lending products to prime borrowers. In the second field,
we set up indicators for quality of service. In fact,
customer service must keep track with the Banks
geographical expansion and the growth of its customer
base. Put differently, quantity and quality must grow in
tandem. In the third field, we measure the effectiveness
and quality of overall processes, which is the key
prerogative of our Moscow head office.
Alongside performance rewards, the Bank has recently
also come to rely on bonuses for successfully completed
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project management. As we are currently actively growing

in size, some of our products, processes, and structures
need to be adjusted to reflect this. Hence, our need for
project management has grown in proportion.