Intellectual capital most important in Islamic banks

The main challenge faced by the Islamic banking in the Sultanate today is building up solid knowledge and experience among bankers about Islamic finance while keeping pace with the demand in the market. "Recruiting potential front-runners in this area and providing the right knowledge dosage at the right time is key success element. Retention is always a challenge in the banking sector and it is rather more intense towards persons who already started working within Sharia-compliant products and practiced Islamic banking", said Mohammed al Balushi, Chief Human Resources Officer at alizz Islamic bank.

With more than 20 years of experience in the banking sector, Al Balushi said it is important for human resources leaders to have a good knowledge about the industry they work in because understanding business requirement is a key success factor in this area. alizz Islamic bank was founded in November 2012 following the Royal Decree No 69/2012 and started operations in September 2013. The bank provides retail and corporate finance through branches, online, and mobile devices. The bank offers customers an enriching banking experience designed for today's modern world and is focused on its investments on the valuable human capital and superior technology.

The bank aims to serve both corporate and retail customers in Oman through transparent processes, innovative Islamic products teamed with exceptional and responsive customer service. While highlighting the human resources strategy at the bank, he said, "alizz Islamic bank believes in strengthening its intellectual capital through specific development programmes, creating a lasting performance culture and introducing best practices to enhance the level of employee's productivity". The human resources division implemented HR policies, procedures and practices at the national and international standard. Furthermore, the bank shows our strong commitment to development of nationals with a high Omanisation ratio since the bank's establishment, he said in an interview to Observer.