KCB Group saw 362 of its staff take up its offer of voluntary early retirement last year after the bank opened up the scheme at the request of its employees.
The bulk of the voluntary exits were in the Kenyan operations where 211 staff took up the offer, including 100 employees of the subsidiary National Bank of Kenya (NBK).
The Rwanda unit saw 48 employees take the deal, while a further three signed up for the voluntary exit package in Tanzania.
KCB Group chief executive Paul Russo says the bank has periodically opened up voluntary early retirement (VER) exits in response to requests from some of its staff.
“Many at times, staff will ask for VER, that’s why it’s called voluntary. You might not have a plan to let people go, but as you engage with your staff, they tell you that they have travelled this journey and that the bus needs to stop here so they can get off," he said.
"They then request us to put in a scheme that is favourable for them. One of the things that we have made more of a practice at KCB is that every two years, we take a step back and ask ourselves whether we need to open up the programme again."
Mr Russo notes, however, that staff interested in the programme have not always taken it up, citing changes in the employee circumstances.
KCB had, for instance, budgeted for 400 employees to take up the VER last year, but saw a lower number of takers.
“Staff will always ask for VER but when we open it up the uptake is less than 50 percent likely because they may have wanted to take the payout and start a venture but that outlook changes."
New hires at KCB Group have, however, outstripped departures from the VER programme, with the lender adding 1,751 new roles last year. This lifted its total headcount to 12,221, resulting in a net workforce growth of 1,123.
The bulk of the new jobs were taken up by people aged under 30 at 1,305, while the number of people aged between 30 and 50 was 443. Only three employees aged over 50 joined the workforce in 2023.
Of the group's seven subsidiaries, KCB Kenya added the most staff.
The lender notes that recruitment for the group is driven by key factors, including investment in technology, new business lines or expansion into new markets.
KCB’s entry into the Democratic Republic of Congo through the acquisition of Trust Merchant Bank (TMB), for instance, saw the group’s staff count rise.
“Every now and then, the executive team and the board sit, discuss and review the staffing level, which is primarily driven by three key areas. Centrestage is gains and values from technology investments, new areas of businesses and new businesses like TMB, and the third is voluntary early retirement,” Mr Russo stated.
As at the end of the six months to June, KCB's footprint consisted of 566 branches, 38 million customers, 1,306 ATMs and 28,467 agency outlets. The lender posted an 87 percent jump in net profit to Sh29.1 billion in the half-year ended June, allowing it to reinstate its interim dividend with a proposed payout of Sh1.50 per share.
