SBI PO 2019: Career path of a STATE BANK OF INDIA PROBATIONARY OFFICER

2019-04-23 | Team PendulumEdu

After clearing the SBI PO exam, the selected candidates are to be exposed to basic banking knowledge, before joining, through an online course and will have to complete this course before joining. The selected candidates, on joining, are termed as 'Probationary officers' and as per the term, they will be kept on a probation period for a time duration of two years during which they will be under continuous internal assessment.

Almost every high ranked bank officer has started as a probationary officer and entered via SBI PO exam. The career graph after passing PO exam is still considered to be one of the fastest progressing one as compared to other government exams. Even the chairman of SBI and other associated banks started their journey as a PO. There are fast promotions, rewards, reputation and much recognition in the career trajectory of SBI PO. Good performers get promoted every 3-4 years on an average and reach the highest posts in their banking career. The best thing about promotions in this field is that there are actual exams for promotions and a very well defined system to promote the deserving officers. There are a number of annual appraisals and the system is very transparent.

The following points will give an insight into the career path of a SBI PO:

1. Joining: Graduates of almost every field can apply and after selection, they will get joining as a scale I officer after passing the SBI PO exam. In the very beginning, one has to join as a probationary officer for a time duration of 2 years during which the officer will undergo intense training in banking. During the entire probation period, the POs will have to follow the instructions of seniors and gain an experience of various fields like loans, foreign operations, savings and current account etc.  On completion of the probation period, all the POs go through a screening process which is aimed at screening out the ones with extraordinary performance and awarding them with a promotion to a higher post, i.e. Officer Middle Management Grade Scale-II. However, the others who qualify in the test but fail to achieve the standards set for placement in Middle Management Grade Scale-II will be awarded the post of Officer Junior Management Grade Scale-I. Also, the ones who fail to qualify the test itself will have to resign from the job.
2. Promotions and appraisals after joining: The system for promotions is quite transparent in SBI and that helps the officers track their progress easily. The schemes and procedures for promoting POs is almost same in all the banks but SBI overweighs other banks by having the largest network of banks spread across the entire nation. Having more branches and wider reach helps SBI allow more and faster promotions to their deserving officers.
3. Postings and promotions after clearing SBI PO exam: There is a wide range of postings available for officers of SBI in and out of India. SBI now has a network of around 200 branches in foreign countries which allows the promoted officers to explore and understand global banking with more perks and higher salaries. The general hierarchy of Scale I officers goes on as follows: Junior Management Grade – Scale I: Officer i.e. PO

            Middle Management Grade – Scale II: Assistant Manager

            Middle Management Grade – Scale III: Branch Manager

            Senior Management Grade – Scale IV: Chief Manager

            Senior Management Grade Scale V: Assistant General Manager

            Top Management Grade Scale VI: Deputy General Manager

            Top Management Grade Scale VII: Chief General Manager

            Top Management Grade Scale VIII: General Manager 

However, an officer is supposed to exhibit excellent communication skills, leadership qualities and crisis management and good knowledge of general banking to progress faster in their career. The selected candidates, at the time of joining, will have to execute a Bond for a value of 2.00 lac ( Two lac only) to serve the Bank for a minimum period of three years. The Bond will be invoked by the Bank if the candidate resigns from the service of the Bank before expiry of three years from the date of joining.

Responsibilities of a probationary officer: With all perks and benefits of working as a PO, there comes a lot of responsibilities as well. The general responsibilities of a PO include:

1. handling the money
2. Bringing new business and promoting services and products of the bank
3. Clearing payments and handling official communications

General schedules and working hours of a PO:

An average week of a PO consists of around 35 working hours with the timings being approximately 9:00 am to 4:00 pm (having extreme limits of 8:00 am and 6:30 pm). All the employees are allowed civil leaves, medical leaves, maternal leaves, medical allowances and pensions. A total of 12 casual leaves along with other public holidays and paid leaves are also awarded to the employees.

Salary structure and available allowances:

Almost all the banks, may it be a private bank or government, has an almost same starting salary ranging from 22,000 to 25,000 INR. However, SBI offers other allowances beyond this salary all of which are listed as follows:

1. Dearness allowance
2. Special allowance
3. House rent allowance
4. City compensatory allowance
5. Additional perks

All in all, SBI PO is a very good option to choose when one seeks a fast growing career and good earning as well. The progression and success rates in this field are significantly high and the career trajectory is far better than many other career options. At last, there is a sense of satisfaction due to the system being transparent enough to directly reward the hardworking ones.

0 LIKES

0

COMMENTS

Comments

COMMENT

Share Blog