What it does: Offers services in commercial and personal lending, deposit accounts, electronic banking, wealth management, financial trading and treasury to customers in Malaysia.
Best known for: Malaysia’s first Islamic bank.
Staff stats: Around 4,500 employees.
The good bits: Reported to have a friendly work environment and an adequate work-life balance.
The not-so-good bits: Slow career advancement and workplace politics.
Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad is the country’s first Islamic bank established in 1983. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, the financial institution is wholly owned by BIMB Holdings and ranks among the smallest commercial banks in Malaysia. It has total assets of US$15 billion and a profit of US$142 million in 2018.
The company was launched mainly to serve the financial needs of Malaysia’s Muslim population. It introduced to the public banking products and services that are Sharia-compliant, which means loans, credit cards and deposit accounts are interest-free.
With 148 branches nationwide, the firm began in 2019 its three-year transformation programme called CODE21 aimed at leading the bank towards cultural, operational and digital excellence by the end-2021. The initiative also involves the improvement of the company’s business processes and controls as well as staff retraining. Over the three-year period, the bank will spend over US$70 million on digital initiatives and information technology
The organisation claims it promotes values that engender a positive work culture and work-life balance. Management is said to be supportive of employees by valuing their skills and contributions through fair remuneration and regular training. The firm also encourages employees to participate in outdoor or indoor activities and organises the bi-annual Sports Carnival programme to promote sporting activities and healthy living.
Since 20008, Bank Islam Malaysia has been involved with PINTAR Foundation, a non-profit group that provides access to quality education for Malaysian students. The company adopted 20 PINTAR schools nationwide. The chosen schools are within the vicinity of the firm’s branches and are in need of financial assistance as most of the students belong to the low-income and underprivileged families.
Employees will look forward to working in a company that prioritises a healthy work-life balance. They will be motivated to increase their efficiency, resulting in higher productivity and lower absenteeism. However, the sluggish career growth partly brought about by workplace politics may undermine their long-term plan of staying in the organisation.
The organisation looks for assertive, resourceful and detail-oriented candidates who have strong multi-tasking, interpersonal and problem-solving skills. They must also possess solid analytical capabilities coupled with excellent verbal and written skills.
Aspiring candidates can send their resume and credentials online through the company’s recruitment portal or its third-party websites. For faster processing, they can first take the online video interview available on its website. They must introduce themselves, answer the questions posted on the site and then submit the video.
Within a week, selected candidates will receive an email informing them the date and time to take the personality test and two interviews at the head office.
After the personality assessment, the human resources (HR) will interview the candidates to further evaluate their attitude and behaviour. Some questions may include:
The hiring manager will lead the next interview to determine the candidates’ core competencies. Job-related skills and qualifications will be asked such as:
The organisation will conduct a background check on the candidates’ credentials, financial and credit histories. Successful candidates will be contacted within two weeks after the interview and will be given the formal job offer. They will also be required to sign the non-disclosure agreement and the code of ethics and conduct.
For interns, the reported monthly allowance during their six-month training is 550 RM (Malaysian ringgit). On average, the monthly salary for the positions of bank teller, marketing assistant, HR assistant, accounting assistant, junior analyst, customer service representative, administrative assistant, data processing clerk range from 3,000 to 4,000 RM. Employees enrolled in the Young Leaders Programme receive a monthly salary of at least 4,000 RM.
The company also offers non-monetary benefits such as healthcare, life insurance and disability, training and tuition fee reimbursements, paid sick leave, paid paternity leave of up to seven days and maternity leave of up to 90 days.
The organisation offers the Bank Islam Internship Programme for Malaysian undergraduate students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in a recognised university. Through this programme, candidates will experience hands-on training in the banking industry and will receive professional guidance from supervisors. During the six-month course, they will gain work-life experience and industry knowledge as well as build their own network.
Fresh graduates with above-average academic records can join the organisation’s Young Leaders Programme, a comprehensive training initiative that will provide them learning and development opportunities. The two-year course will allow the candidates to undertake a specific project and to be assigned a supervisor to guide them. They will also participate in a series of classroom training, job rotations and assignments in the different business areas of the company.