employee engagement and wellbeing

Employees experiencing high levels of engagement and wellbeing tend to feel more motivated and inspired in their workplaces. At alrajhi bank, employees are provided with conducive, engaging workplaces to thrive and explore their fullest potential. The wellbeing of the bank’s employees, both in terms of physical and mental health, also remains a top priority. The HR Group provides all employees with several financial as well as non-financial benefits, further strengthening alrajhi’s employee value proposition.

Employee Compensation and Benefits

The bank’s remuneration philosophy is to attract, retain, develop, motivate and equitably compensate employees relative to their contribution to the organisation. This philosophy is enshrined in its Remuneration Policy that sets the foundation for the bank’s remuneration structure. As per the Policy, the remuneration structures for various employees should be designed considering effective risk management. Salary levels are monitored periodically. At present the bank calculates the remuneration of employees considering the following metrics:

• Industry standards
• Job grade
• Internal funding
• Inflation rate

Employees are also provided with variable bonus and short-term incentives as per industry standards, their performance, job grade, performance of the bank, behaviour of the employee and their contribution to the bank. Each employee undergoes a performance evaluation at the end of the year based upon mutually agreed key performance indicators (KPIs) with their line manager, in line with the ‘SMART’ criteria: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time- bound. During this process, line managers assess each employee’s contribution towards achieving the targets set by them, with equal emphasis on their behaviour and conduct. The bank pays out variable bonuses in the form of performance bonus to eligible employees. Spot bonus is also provided. Long-term incentives include the Employee Share Grant Plan (ESGP). Senior management is granted deferred bonuses in the form of vested shares in order to encourage a long-term relationship with the bank. The bank also provides its employees with generous severance packages upon retirement, which includes the continuation of medical insurance for an extended duration. alrajhi bank has a Clawback Policy in place and reserves the right to claw back on past bonuses or withhold deferred bonus in specific instances which include behaviour breach, gross misconduct, non-compliance or disregard of bank policies.

Rewards and recognitions are integral to the bank’s philosophy and are structured to ensure an appropriate balance between variable and fixed rewards as well as motivations versus activity. Rewards are provided to high performing employees on the basis of individual performance and contribution to the team with an objective to retain employees of the required high calibre. Employees are nominated by their line managers through a written justification and rewarded in the form of a cash payment, the amount of which varies on the achievement and approval by the MD and CEO. The bank’s Reward Policy is informed by market trends and industry standards. In 2023, the bank automated its Incentive Calculation process with a dashboard for viewing the incentives, with an open channel for employees to raise their concerns or direct complaints on their calculated incentive amount. The nomination and evaluation process of candidate requests for supervisory positions in branches was also automated during the year, with candidates earning the highest evaluation points according to programmed criteria being automatically selected for the position.

In addition to compensation, employees are also entitled to monthly allowances based on their job grade, in alignment with industry standards. This includes the following:

• Housing allowance
• Transport allowance
• Job-specific allowances
• Shift allowance
• Year-end bonus
• Ramadan bonus
• Nursery allowance (for female employees with toddlers)

Employees are entitled to overtime compensation on the basis of their grade post authorisation of the concerned entity. There are several monetary benefits such as leave ticket allowance, education allowance, loans and facilities, medical insurance and employee indemnity fund.

Dedicated programs were also introduced to ensure both physical and mental wellbeing of employees, fostering productive and conducive work environments that alleviate preventable workplace pressures.

alrajhi bank continued to make celebratory payments to employees on special occasions during the year in review, rewarding 4,991 employees in total at the close of 2024 by celebrating personal milestones including marriage, birth of a child, performing the Hajj pilgrimage and educational achievements, while also funding medical insurance upgrades as necessary for individual employees. The MD and CEO of alrajhi bank also extended his well-wishes to employees on their marriages and the birth of a child, while also reaching out to encourage employees receiving medical care and treatment.

The Vacation Allowance of One Basic Salary was also offered in 2024, to further strengthen the bank’s Employee Value Proposition. A number of initiatives were also directed at encouraging a culture of saving and investment among employees of alrajhi bank and its subsidiaries; Savings Scheme 2 – the two-year savings programme launched in 2022 that saw the participation of 5,603 employees from across the group was successfully completed during the reporting period. The bank also launched the exclusive Alwalla Fund in 2023 and 2024, a Private Fund providing employees promising investment opportunities.

There are several non-monetary benefits employees are eligible for, which include annual leave entitlement and paid leave on public holidays. Male employees are entitled to paid paternity leave for three working days. All Muslim employees are entitled to Hajj leave once during their service for up to five working days with pay, given that they have spent two or more years in the service of the bank. Employees who are continuing their education at one of the educational institutions recognised in the KSA are entitled to an examination leave. Other leaves include marriage leave, death/bereavement leave, Iddah leave, child companion leave, relocation leave, English study leave and volunteer leave (for employees volunteering for charitable/community initiatives).

Salaries and benefits in 2024

SAR ‘000	2024			2023
	Fixed compensation	Variable compensations		Fixed compensation	Variable compensations
		Cash	Shares		Cash	Shares
Executives	62,740	31,723	82,025	61,015	29,338	77,531
Employees engaged in risk taking activities	618,299	221,631	44,100	598,839	196,498	42,417
Employees engaged in control functions	237,875	50,857	37,966	220,382	46,242	35,694
Other employees	2,075,259	471,550	62,539	1,928,200	337,098	58,537
Total	2,994,173	775,761	226,630	2,808,436	609,176	214,179
Accrued variable compensations	262,280	–	–	256,852	–	–
Other employees’ costs	467,356	–	–	459,808	–	–
Gross total	3,723,809	775,761	226,630	3,525,096	609,176	214,179

Celebratory payments made in 2024

Initiative type	Marriage	Newborn	Insurance upgrade	Back to school	Hajj	Total
Number of employees	198	1,048	0	3,621	124	4,991

CEO customised gifts in 2024

Initiative type	Marriage	Newborn	Medical care/ Treatment
Number of employees	201	936	142

Employee saving scheme

Employee savings schemes	ARB employees	Subsidiary employees	Total
Plan 1 (2019 to 2021)	3,034	0	3,034
Plan 2 (2022 to 2024)	4,565	1,038	5,603

Parental leave by gender 2024 GRI 401-3	2024	2023
Number of female employees that were entitled to parental leave	101	102
Number of female employees that availed parental leave	101	102
Number of female employees that returned to work during the reporting period after parental leave ended	84	101
Number of female employees that returned to work after parental leave ended that were still employed 12 months after their return to work	84	100
Return to work and retention rated of female employees who took parental leave	83%	98%

Employee engagement events

The bank hosts several interactive events such as the Annual Roadshow, strategic off-sites, CEO Recognition Awards, Coffee Chats with the CEO and regular branch visits by Head Office Seniors to enhance employee engagement and morale. Annual employee engagement surveys are also implemented. In 2024, a total of 7 events and engagement initiatives were held, contributing towards enhancing the overall employee engagement rate across the bank.

Of the multiple objectives set out by the bank’s new ‘harmonize the group’ strategy, one is to ‘Ensure alrajhi group is a Great Place to Work’, with its measure of success identified as alrajhi’s employee engagement rate. The HR Group focused on short, medium- and long-term objectives in terms of employee engagement, to achieve a sustainable employee engagement rating. The bank achieved a 20% increase in employee participation in engagement surveys during the year in review, with survey insights showing increased employee satisfaction rates, reflected in an overall employee engagement rate of 74% recorded at the close of the year.

Embracing and fast adopting HR-Tech

Group HR has leveraged internal digital, data and technology capabilities to drive innovation across alrajhi’s HR function, introducing a number of back-end and user-focused platforms and systems that have enriched the end-user experience for employees. These include the bank’s internal mobility platform - Nomu, alrajhi bank’s Recruitment and On-Boarding System, and its Talent Acquisition Process. SAHL – the employee self-service app also improved the bank’s employee value proposition by providing a more enriched and personalised user experience.

Employee grievance redressal

alrajhi bank is committed to providing a safe and inclusive working environment for all employees. A crucial aspect of a safe and inclusive work environment is the freedom to lodge grievances. In line with these ideals, alrajhi bank has initiated a Grievance Policy, with the following objectives:

The bank provides employees with several avenues to report their concerns, including an annual employee engagement survey, employee emails, HR internal communication messages, periodic news broadcasts, HR hotline, townhalls, meetings and messages from senior management, and the HR ESS app. Grievances lodged are then escalated to the concerned person of contact. All grievance related information, including the identity of the person filing the grievance is kept confidential, unless it is required to be disclosed for investigative purposes.

The HR Group is concerned with hearing and investigating the grievances filed and is allowed to take a decision in accordance with the grievance procedure manual and Saudi laws and work regulations at alrajhi bank. With regard to grievance redressal, the HR Group has the following responsibilities:

• Conducting a thorough investigation into the grievance filed, including summoning all concerned parties deemed related to the grievance.
• Cancel or amend decisions regarding the grievance.
• Ensure that the violator is penalised in accordance with the bank’s Violations and Penalties Regulations, depending on the gravity of the violation.

All records in relation to the grievances filed are maintained in line with SAMA requirements and bank policies.