HF Group Fine Tunes Roles as it Adopts New Digital Banking Strategy

By Virginia Nyambura

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

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

 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 the said products.

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

 “Our revised structure provides a perspective built on agility expected of a multidimensional digital financial services bank. By rationalizing 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,” said Mr. Ireri.

 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 percent 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 criteria in the identification of staff will be their fit in the revised organization structures, based on their skills and experience, the standard of work performance, displayed work initiative and respective competencies defined for the different roles in the new organization design.

The exercise will take effect immediately, as guided by the requisite labor 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 organization will offer entrepreneurship and financial management training to the said employees to empower them in future personal financial planning.

 The newly created roles include 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 sponsorship of digital financial services.

The chief commercial officer will be responsible for the 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.

 HF Group has also informed relevant regulators such as the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the process.