A Comprehensive Reflection Of An Intern In Citibank

1. Introduction

1.1 Purpose

This report aims to provide a comprehensive reflection of an intern in Citibank throughout the six-month internship. This includes one key challenge faced by the banking industry, two recommendations to tackle the challenge and the holistic reflection of the intern’s personal achievement and development plan.

1.2 Scope

This report covers three main areas namely:

1.2.1 Key Challenge facing the Industry

In every industry, there are bound to be challenges that the companies have to overcome. Therefore, the first sub-section will touch on one of the key challenges faced by the banks. The second sub-section will elaborate the impacts and implications caused by these challenges.

1.2.2 Recommendations for Company

To stay

However, the manpower issue is the most pressing matter that requires more attention as it will greatly affect the performance of not just the department but also the entire bank. According to the Compdata Surveys’ BenchmarkPro in 2012, the banking and finance industry ranked second in terms of employee turnover with a percentage of 16.5 (Michelle Willis, September 12, 2012). During my twenty-two weeks stay in Citibank, the similar can be seen as I bade farewell to four colleagues and have welcomed aboard another three colleagues. There are mainly three factors that lead to the fluctuation of manpower: non-fixed working hours, unpromising wages and an influx of foreign talent.

2.1.1 Non-Fixed Working Hours

In the banking industry, people in the office are required to work long hours to perform repetitive tasks on a daily basis. In some banks, people are expected to work overtime as they are worried about the supervisor’s impression of their work attitudes which may affect their evaluation. This work-life imbalance leads to high anxiety and stress levels among the employees. In 2014, the suicides and death of several banking staff suicides such as the Bank of America intern Moritz Erhardt and J.P. Morgan employee Gabriel Magee made the headlines (Alanna Petroff, April 2, 2014).

2.1.2 Unpromising

As demand of employees becomes greater than the supply, the overall performance of the bank will be compromised due to the low productivity of the existing overworked employees. This will eventually lead to low morale in the workplace and leaving their jobs in search of others. Furthermore, the new hires to the bank require time to adapt to the environment and get familiarised with the job scope.

In Citibank Retail Banking Department, I am tagged to the service team, which comprises of twelve staff including the supervisor. During my internship, there was a period of time whereby we were only left with seven people in a team as two colleagues has just left their jobs while the other three were on medical leave. This increases the workload of the remaining colleagues as we had to share the responsibilities of not just the departing teammates but also those who are on medical leave. My time management skills were also put to the test as I had to complete the tasks assigned within the allocated