Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-09

| BY i. A. FLEMANO.
| An additional position and new
| title has been added to the offcia
roster of many Of the largest banks Of
! the country. This has come through
! the enlargement of the clerical forces
made necessary by the vast enlarge
ment in the business of the banks.
director of the personnel" is the
/ title and in the name is suggested tne
| duties of the new olncer-tnat Is, W
study the employees of the company. &c
| familiarize himself with tnelr moi
vidual abilities for the positions the!
occupy perhaps their preparedness fol
| advancement in their line to higher
nosition. perchance, and. this is the un'
| fortunate part of the director OF per
sonners duties, to determine that TINS
ar that clerk is entirely untitled tol
the position he occupies, perhaps lol
hank work entirely. In which event
| elimination from the service SnoulC
come speedily and before any grea'
damage has been done.
But the director must be prepared
to 90 much further than this. ne mus,
! be what is known as good niAel,
not in the one-time sense OF the Term
but that he is there to be OF service
of the various employees must conVince
them that he Is not monitor, .nas az az
is not expected to be tale bearer It
his s,lperiors. not to spy on their work
hut that he is there to beb OF service
to the emnloves of the bank. to heir
them II nossible and that he the bettel
fills his own position II ne oetVer'
theirs.
Should Know More.
while the director is in no sense OF
iaie ov11n10VHTS lnSlSI
that he should know something OF tne
character and private life OF the en-
Moves, ALWAYS with view OF assist
ing and advancing that interest OF tne
worthy employe and naturally win 9
view Of separation of the employe whose
nrivste life suggests possible trouble IN
the future for employe and DanK as
we'll. or+hv
l. r,uch easier than to walt Tor the
discovery Of trouble. .+ no
director of the personnel must ne
a dinlornat. He has hard posltlon 70
All. but once ne has obtained the cofiI-
dence of the force 1t will be easy ~. ~.
the harmonious working OF all III "ie
interest Of the bank. g.;
When a small or r1oderate-slIeo NJ
stitution has little need for a dlrec.oi
of personnel. the cashier ana ms 90
sistsnts will be able to handle the maj
ter.
The Bank of italy. that great inssi-
Triton that has literally covered slle
state Of California with branches, naS
an entire personnel bureau. Necessaiii..
" having hundreds OF employes, =, :,
is anxious that they snoulo De az y
white, all wool and 100 per cent noti1 ca, :
ana thev make use of the bureau OF per-
sonnel for that purpose. The BANK
of Ttalv is now in the Federal Reserve
system and Is a factor OF the greaCesC
Importance in It's State: ..,.+
Some Of the great banks and trust
companies Of New York nave peel,
forced to introduce the new omclai III
their business. ,.- h.v.
reached the stage of action, but one.
at least. the American Security a. trust
CO has taken advantage OF the OPP
nortunity to install director.
A Personnel Directors Views.
Here are his views regarding his po..
sition and the work he Is doing ana
can do: ...,,t
made late in 1926, have been most Deile-
flcial. the main one being a great re-
duction in the annual turnover OF EN-.
nloves. The officers and stan OF tne
con,nanv have accorded the personnel
denartment the utmost cooperation
and the employees especially seem 10 De
thoroughly conscious of the fact tnat
fine personnel Is one man VINO is ever
alert and on the Job In their interests.
Thev know that with the establishment
~ a personnel department complete
emnlove records would be kept ana tne
comnlete history of their services IN tne
company made available to the omcer
In charge. .,,.,;+,,
attendance and efficiency rating. Inc
most beneficial result OF the EMERGENCY
rating has been the closer SUPERVISION
by officers and department neaos o. =
their respective departments. 1n IL
does not mean driving tactics with tne
s,nervisors constantly nagging clerks
On Ia reater speed and accuracy. nor
dnes II mean that the big stick OF
threats of dismissal has been held over
the heads of employees. 1t mas taHen
more the form OF an ever-ready gulolne
hand and mind.
Reports Every 30 Days.
"The officer knows that every three
months he will be requested 10 give a
rating on each person under MS supeI-
vision With this fact ever IN nina nc
gives careful attention to the work, APP
nearance and mode Of conduct OF each
individual in his charge.
Under the old method new en-, III
Moves were allowed to come lnto oul
ORGANIZATION and drift along for perhaps
a wear or two. and finally 1t was DIS
covered in certain cases that they were
totally unsuited for bank work. Alter
s,,ch neriod of time personal attacn-
nents had been formed and dlsmlssal Oh
fine employe was indeed very olsagree-
able thing for all concerned.
"rhis state of affairs has ell peen
changed with our new system IN opera
tion The new employe comes IN lot
trial and his every move is so carefully
watched and recorded that IN very
short period of time 1t is evident
whether he or she will make the grace
and become q valuable or just weak
link in the chain.
"When the rating of an old employe
drops below par the personnel director
nays visit to the department mead or
officer in charge and after conference
has definite knowledge OF just how TINS
clerk is falling down on the job. With
these facts in hand he takes steps TO
'pep' this man up and In practically all
cases has him back with satisfactory
rating the next quarter
"The practice In force with this COM
Financial HIGH Liof