Strategic Role of Skill Development in Leveraging Employee Engagement for Competitive Advantage in Public Sector Banks A Study on Canara Bank, India
Abstract: Workforce considered engaged,and in possession of the necessary skills, knowledge and expertise is crucial for any organization that aspires to achieve high levels of business success. Employee Engagement is arguably the most critical metric for organizations in the twenty first century and a key measure that reflects organizational performance. In the current competitive business environment, learning and development has never mattered more as a cause to keep employees engaged and maintain that competitive dominance. The Indian banking industry has been continuously going through a process of transformation since the nineties and has become more competitive than ever. Private and public sector banks are competing to outperform each other and in view of that, banks now have to play a proactive role in equipping their employees, to meet challenges. Organizations that thrive rely on the consistent performance of their people. Skill development therefore is of paramount importance ,as in banks it will strengthen the organization and along with helping to realize objectives, vision and dreams, foster and hone talent, thus helping people to harness its positive effects and better their performance Efficiently undertaken it can show the way to competitive advantage by providing the means to drive, inspire and leverage engagement like never before, compelling employees to visualize the connection between where they are now and where they expect to get to and convince them to see how training is going to bridge this gap. This paper analyzes the skill development practices in Canara Bank in India and explores the proposed link between skill development and employee engagement.