Royal Bank of Scotland launches Sikh network

The Sikhs at the Royal Bank of Scotland plc. (RBS) have launched RBS Sikh Network to celebrate diversity across the bank.

Some 300 guests attended the network’s official launch on 21 March 2018 with celebratory events in London and Birmingham attended.

“Both events had inspirational panel guests who shared their experiences, challenges and gave everyone so much to think about. Feedback has been phenomenal and of course the challenge now is to deliver on our objectives and continue to be totally inclusive in everything we do,” RBS Sikh Network chair Amrit Singh Bahia said in a statement emailed to Asia Samachar. Amrit is a customer experience director at RBS.

The network is the bank’s newest employee-led network, but with over 600 members already, it is set to become one of the most popular. Open to employees from all kinds of backgrounds, it has formally set out its remit as a support network designed to help colleagues achieve their true potential, through promoting diversity and inclusion within the bank, according to the statement.

The network’s objectives have been set around the three basic principles of Sikhism:

• Honest Living (Kirat Karo) – Organising business networking events, profiling role models and mentoring activities.
• Meditate on The Divine (Naam Japo) – Supporting colleagues with spirituality and wellbeing.
• Share with Others (Vand ke Shako) – Participating in a number of community projects.

The London event, held at RBS Bishopsgate, was preceded by a number of activities, which saw staff, including many of the bank’s executives, fully immerse themselves in learning more about the network. Some experienced wearing a turban, having creative henna tattoos applied and there were also a wide range of stalls to visit hosted by Sikh artists, charities and humanitarian organisations. Of the 300 guests attending launch celebrations, over half the attendees were external professionals.

The network’s executive sponsor James Holian said RBS was proud of the proactivity of all its employee led networks and believed that by harnessing diversity and celebrating cultural differences they could understand and serve customers even better.

On the event, he said: “The tone throughout was open, challenging and welcoming – exactly the culture we want to have everyday.”