DBS Bank unveils innovative recruitment strategy to woo talent

“Behind the Scenes@ DBS” initiative underlines the bank’s commitment to identifying and nurturing future leaders.

DBS Bank on Thursday launched a “Behind the Scenes @ DBS” tour, an innovative recruitment initiative to reach out to graduating students at the three Singapore universities. The move underlines the bank’s commitment to identifying and nurturing future leaders to support DBS’ strong growth across Asia.

This tour, which gives potential employees a rare opportunity to have a behind-the-scenes look at DBS, supplements other initiatives such as career fairs and campus talks by the bank to engage and recruit young talent.

These efforts have been well-received. For example, the DBS Management Associate Programme, which typically hires about 70 high-potential graduates each year regionally, attracted over 9,000 applications for the August 2011 intake.

This year, DBS also introduced the Technology & Operations Graduate Executive Programme in Singapore, a 24-month, intensive, high-profile induction across various technology and operations functions within the bank. The regional programme, which is designed for young talent in Asia, received over 700 applications for 37 positions.

The “Behind the Scenes @ DBS” tour attracted about 90 participants from National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University.

The tour encapsulates DBS’ lineage as the Development Bank of Singapore, and covers a route which traces the bank’s role in shaping and developing Singapore over the years.

Participants will set off from DBS’ 50-storey headquarters at Shenton Way – which broke the glass ceiling for office construction when it was built in 1974. Along the way, they will also pass by a number of iconic projects, which DBS helped finance in trailblazing firsts over the years.

For example, DBS financed Singapore’s first multi-storey shopping mall, Plaza Singapura, and pioneered the anchor tenant concept which was a creative marketing concept for retail space in 1975.
Four years later, DBS undertook the largest commercial development in Singapore with Raffles City; a massive project comprising hotel, office, convention centre and shopping facilities, with investment exceeding SGD 1 billion.

This was a catalyst for the Singapore government’s vision of developing the city state into a major convention centre.

The participants will also tour DBS’ new smart banking branch DBS Remix at *SCAPE and DBS Asia Hub at Changi Business Park, as well as catch a glimpse of the bank’s new headquarters at Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower Three. DBS employees will move to MBFC Tower 3 from the second half of 2012.

During the tour, participants of “Behind the Scenes @ DBS” will also visit training facilities such as the branch simulation centre at the DBS Academy at DBS Asia Hub. The academy was launched this year, to provide continuous training and development for DBS staff. A comprehensive and holistic suite of training and development programmes, including functional training and leadership forums, is offered at the academy’s three Learning Centres which operate out of Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai, according to a DBS Bank report.

Apart from showcasing the bank’s leadership in Singapore through the decades, “Behind the Scenes @ DBS” also aims to convey the values of embracing Asia’s past and shaping Asia’s future, which is what DBS is about.
Samantha Mark, Chief Operating Officer for DBS Singapore said, “As the largest bank in Singapore and a leading player in Asia, DBS presents a wide range of career opportunities. As we are constantly looking for innovative ways to reach out, we thought it would be a good idea to showcase the career opportunities on offer by giving potential employees a behind-the-scenes look at the bank. This way, participants can get to know the bank better, interact with staff, and feel the verve of being in an organisation that’s plugged into a dynamic Asia.”