Shashank Advait graduated from FORE School of Management in the year 2007 and joined HDFC as a relationship manager. Banks used to operate in a completely different space back then and Fintech wasn’t quite the buzzword. In this candid conversation with InsideIIM, Shashank Advait, Vice President of Kotak Mahindra Bank, discusses the changing paradigm of the banking industry, what sort of skills you should be developing now and how he stayed on top of his game after spending 15 long years in the banking sector. Here are the excerpts:
You have spent over 15 years in the banking industry after your MBA. What according to you are some of the major changes that the industry is experiencing?
Banking has indeed changed a lot in the last 15 years. The major change that has happened is the big shift to digital technology & analytics. 15 years ago, Internet Banking was widely prevalent but app use was limited. These days, most transactions take place through apps & Phone Banking.
The second is the lower use of cash. Demonetization in 2016 only accelerated the change that was happening towards digital transactions.
Banks are also creating different digital product journeys so that customers can do transactions, avail loans & other products in just a few clicks sitting at home.
Besides these, banks use analytics to identify and reach out to the right customer for the right product at the right time for product offering & cross sell. The use of digital channels for communication & product offering has also increased significantly.
Looking back, why did you opt for an MBA from an institute like FORE. What were some of the things that you were looking for while making the selection of your B-school?
While researching MBA options after my graduation, I came across FORE and was impressed with its long track record in management education. I wanted to focus on financial services / banking and the list of recruiters at FORE was another attractive aspect. Besides that, faculty profiles, their partnerships, alumni body…everything was a tick mark.
What were some of the learnings that you carried along with you from your B-school that helped you in the first-ever job that you landed in?
I joined HDFC Bank as a Relationship Manager for Premium Banking after FORE. This was a critical role and is the link between the bank and the customer. The role required 3 key skills:
- Knowledge of investment products and financial planning
- Communication skills in interacting with High Networth customers and cross selling products
- People skills in dealing with customers, understanding their needs, and interacting with internal product teams for customer needs
At FORE, I was thoroughly initiated into all these aspects. My specializations in Marketing and Finance gave me an all-round perspective on all of the above aspects. This took care of the technical requirements of the role. Besides this, the focus on extracurriculars and presentations built my communication and people skills to a large extent.
You started managing marketing campaigns for HDFC Bank in the year 2009. Tell us about how these campaigns are planned and what should a B-school student keep in mind when they go out designing them in near future?
As a Campaign Manager (Marketing) at the Corporate Office of HDFC Bank, I was tasked with designing direct to customer (D2C) campaign strategies, creating different customer’s personas, segments, communications and managing its end to end execution. Co-ordinating & working with product teams & bank leadership was also part of the job, besides my colleagues in marketing.
The design of the campaigns depended on a thorough analysis of business opportunity, customer profile, product holding, transaction pattern, use of digital channels and customer life cycle stage. This requires background knowledge of banking products, customer needs, and your own execution capabilities. We also used a scored based analytical model, next best product or services, machine learning tools to plan focused marketing strategy. We also used to assess the campaign effectiveness through campaign performance in terms of business & impressions. It was a fun experience overall.
You shifted to Axis Bank next, where you last worked as a Deputy Vice President. What sort of roles and responsibilities did you manage?
Initially I joined Axis Bank as a Senior Manager in their Retail Liability Portfolio team where I was handling Premium Banking Portfolio & Campaigns. Subsequently, I moved up to Assistant Vice President (AVP) in Retail Liabilities Portfolio - Head of Liabilities Analytics Campaign, OCC Prime Portfolio & NTB Portfolio and later moved up as Deputy Vice President Premium Banking, I was Head for Premium Banking Analytics Campaign, Virtual Premium Portfolio & Virtual NTB onboarding.
You have recently joined Kotak Mahindra Bank, where you work as a Vice President. What sort of roles and responsibilities did you manage?
I joined Kotak Mahindra Bank as Segment head in Campaigns & analytics where I am handling Business Banking & Business Assets campaigns.
How do you make sure that you manage teams effectively? How important do you think it is to develop people skills as you grow up the ladder? Do you think a B-school education helps you in formulating these skills?
Managing teams is something I had to do fairly early on in my career at Axis Bank. Given the complexity of operations, it meant handling many moving parts apart from my own direct reports, and this has not changed even today.
I feel managing teams well is perhaps the most critical factor in getting ahead and it keeps getting more critical as you move up the ladder with more responsibilities for more people. Their performance reflects on yours and your performance on theirs. B-school is an ideal setting to learn the theories behind team/people management and practice them in the opportunities presented by team projects, extracurriculars, etc.
Tell us a bit about your most challenging campaign/client/deliverable so far that you still look back and take lessons from?
Most challenging campaign is to win back customers. It's very difficult to activate a customer who has stopped banking with you. We have designed various campaigns to arrest attrition at the right time so that we don’t lose a customer. Those are some incidents/challenges that you never forget.
What skills or qualities do you look for now while you hire?
Technology skills have become critical at every level currently. And this is not just about using MS Word or MS Excel or being able to use internet/applications. It is about knowing how to access, use, and analyse data, which is the most valuable commodity for a bank these days. This quantitative skill is a must have in a candidate at least at some elementary level for them to get hired I feel.
What would be your advice to students who are looking forward to making a career now?
Follow your passion & interest. No matter which domain you are targeting, the basics do not change. People skills are paramount in any field unless you are in a role that is 100% about individual performance, which in my opinion does not exist and definitely does not at senior levels. Develop yourself holistically because the world is not unidimensional and neither is any role, job, or career. Know things on the periphery of your vocation and not just everything at its core.