“Sometimes, you just want to see the
person who makes you smile, even if it means waiting” – and staying one more
day in Karachi, missing your CP graded class at uni.
The day I long waited for, had finally
arrived. It was a beautiful Monday morning. Although I hadn’t slept well that
night, but welcome to the reality! This is Karachi. The fact that I woke up
alive the next morning, was pretty much a blessing.
I woke up early to go to office.
Even though it meant being in office for just one day, Monday still had its
devlishly charm on me. I got ready, and Faiq the ever great, had me set on the
passenger seat. If you know Faiq and never experienced him driving you
anywhere, you have missed on a great deal!
We reached the HBL Plaza in what
seemed like half an hour. We took the executive elevator. It was awesome! It
was like, you go up and up and you think the elevator may stop any minute, but
it just doesn’t. even after you see all the buildings of Karachi, and the sea,
and beyond, it just doesn’t stop. Once you are majestically high in the sky, it
stops somewhere. I thought to myself that HBL could pretty much get into
entertainment business, showing tourists the whole of Karachi – if banking
happens to get obsolete one day ;)
Up on the 19th floor, is
the Payment Services Group, which Faiq Sadiq heads. Faiq was just back from a
two-week long overseas trip, so when he entered the office, everyone got
excited. I secretly envied him for how much his team loved him. He had brought
these small souvenirs with him from China, and he asked all the girls at PSG to
come and claim their share. They rushed to his office, arguing who is going to
get what, without even saying “hi” to Faiq (Explains pretty much about girls J ) Since I happened to fit in the definition of “a girl in PSG –
for a day”, I got my share of gifts too, which felt pretty good – after all, I
am a girl! (just in case you didn’t know)
The layout at PSG was pretty open.
And everyone had custom designed their own work station. PSG employees seemed
to have this crazy obsession about souvenirs. The girls in particular, had a
huge number of dolls and teddy bears on their stations. But that didn’t
surprise me as much as the guyz having dolls on their station. i liked it that
way because it had set the tone for a friendly environment.
I met all the friends I had made at
PSG during the Team Xpeditions, and it was really nice to see them. But soon
after, I got bored! Everyone at the working station doing their job and I was,
well – just there, with no purpose. I asked if I could do any work, and I felt
silly at the request because what could I do in a bank anyway? I did not even
know what Payment Services group technically did for HBL or how was it different
from any other department.
Rabeya Naeem, a charming lady of PSG
and a good friend, gave me a big folder, contained the agreements HBL had
signed with different companies to provide God-knows-what kind of services. She
asked me to put them in alphabetical order. “This I can do, at least”, I
thought to myself. Later when I was done, Mansoor Bawa, who is a techie guy,
gave me a mini training on how the Canteen Management System worked. After a
while, Nida from Cash Management dept (I honestly don’t know what that is)
asked me to punch some kind of service agreement papers. It was pretty long
document. I wondered if the people who sign that huge document actually read
the whole thing? Or they just trust that everything written in there is fair?
I then started interviewing everyone
at PSG. I wanted to know of their opinion about HBL, PSG, their colleague and
work in general. And what I heard from them, was very interesting.
Everyone at PSG, made sure I
understand that PSG and the rest of the departments at HBL were very different.
“it is a very fast-paced department”, they said.
The PSG team also emphasized on
having the “family feeling” at work. They explained that the team members were
supportive of each other. They also said that working at PSG was pretty
challenging, progressive and demanding. “Although extremely challenging, but I
love it that way, and I love working here” one of them stated, “if my work
stops challenging me, I will leave the next day. But that doesn’t quite seem to
happen in PSG, not any time soon”. Another said: “it is NEVER boring at PSG”. A
lady commented on the how the challenging nature of the job helped in her self-development
“I discovered skills I never knew I had”
One employee was critical of the
culture at PSG. He believed that the reward had to be result oriented, and more
opportunities should be given to the middle management, and that the skill set
of middle management is not where it is supposed to be. He also said that there
was more job security at HBL, and the trust in top management was high. I told
him that he is probably not in the right company, and maybe he should work
somewhere else with different culture. (secret :) )
Two newly hired management trainees
happened to be present that day at PSG. They said they liked the supportive and
friendly environment so far, and that the management trainee program of HBL is
the best in industry. A lady who was sitting there having nothing to do for a
while, appreciated at how Faiq took a stand for her and told the team to pay
attention to the new hired team members.
Most employees spoke very highly of
their boss – Faiq. He is vibrant, appreciative, challenging, encouraging,
motivating, and full of energy – were the attributes his team members gave him.
A senior employee stated: “in my 25 years of service, I never had a boss like
Faiq”.
They also spoke of his capabilities and how he was bringing in a change and creating such a hype in the banking industry:
“the PSG at HBL is very different from other banks”
“Faiq’s involvement makes a lot of difference. Xpeditions end silos; it doesn’t happen in other banks. People are very inspired here”
“it is so dead in other banks. I feel a “life” at PSG, and Faiq brings that life”
“he is hyper. And he wants to do things NOW! I, however, want to take my time. I think Faiq and I make a great team, because we are totally the opposite of each other” – a senior executive
They also spoke of his capabilities and how he was bringing in a change and creating such a hype in the banking industry:
“the PSG at HBL is very different from other banks”
“Faiq’s involvement makes a lot of difference. Xpeditions end silos; it doesn’t happen in other banks. People are very inspired here”
“it is so dead in other banks. I feel a “life” at PSG, and Faiq brings that life”
“he is hyper. And he wants to do things NOW! I, however, want to take my time. I think Faiq and I make a great team, because we are totally the opposite of each other” – a senior executive
Some even said that the only reason
they worked at PSG, was because of Faiq. I asked them what will they do if Faiq
one days decides to leave PSG? “if he
leaves PSG, I will resign the next day”, one of them stated. “if Faiq leaves,
someone else will come. But as they say ‘you can replace a man but not his
efficiency’”, a middle manager commented. Another newly hired employee
said: “I came to PSG because of Faiq, and chances are high that I would leave
if Faiq leaves”
This made me wonder what will REALLY
happen to PSG, if Faiq happens to leaves. I mean, if that ever happens!!!
Overall, I loved how everyone took
care of me at PSG. I did not expect such an open and friendly environment. I
don’t know whether it was the Karachi effect, or I was hungry, but I loved the
food at HBL canteen! And needless to say, the majestic building makes you feel
high ;) if you ever visit Karachi, try your way into HBL Plaza somehow –
perhaps by making a friend in there. The executive elevator is one heck of an
experience!
And…
“I will always wait, because you are
worth it” – Anonymous
