HUMAN RESOURCES PRACTICES

In line with its philosophy of continuous change, Ziraat Bank is focused on implementing the most contemporary practices in the field of human resources, creating new employment opportunities and allocating resources to the training and development of its human resources.

In an industry characterized by intense international competition, Ziraat Bank has consistently strengthened its position as the leading national bank. The bank attributes its unique and prestigious position in the industry to its highly skilled human resources, which provide customers with the right value propositions at the right time and through the right channels by virtue of their unique market knowledge and experience.

Ziraat Bank maintained its development efforts to enhance employee competence in 2023, with investments undertaken within the scope of the modern human resources management system which it adopted.

Human Resource Management Practices

Human resources departments throughout all sectors bear significant responsibility related to business continuity, crisis management and ensuring employee motivation. In response to these challenges, Ziraat Bank carries out activities to understand the needs and motivating factors of its employees in order to create an employee experience able to respond to ever changing demands and conditions.

By analyzing the effects of employees’ psychology on performance, Ziraat Bank pressed ahead with its training activities on online platforms to enhance the psychological resilience of its employees. In this context, the Bank developed applications to accelerate the flow of information for crisis management, thereby increasing its ability to take rapid action.

Each employee with a health problem or found to have had difficulty in carrying out this process was contacted on a one-to-one basis, and their needs and requirements continued to be met. Employees received reassurance of the Bank’s support under all circumstances, aiming to create an employee experience which is able to respond to changing conditions.

Employee Profile

Ziraat Bank, which aims to provide modern and reliable banking services by meeting the requirements of banking and international competition, was working with a total of 25,904 employees at the end of 2023.

During the reporting period, the average age of the Bank’s employees was 38, with the employees serving for an average of 13 years. 86% of employees hold an Associate, Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctoral degree.

BREAKDOWN OF ZIRAAT BANK’S HUMAN RESOURCES BY LOCATION, AGE GROUP, POSITION AND EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Breakdown by Head Office. Regions and Branches

Unit	Number of Personnel	%
Head Office	5,548	21.84
Regions	276	1.05
Branches	19,986	76.75
International	94	0.37
Total	25,904	100

Breakdown by Age

Age	Number of Personnel	%
-30	3,354	15.41
30-50	21,102	78.76
51+	1,448	5.83
Total	25,904	100

Breakdown by Educational Background

Educational Background	Number of Personnel	%
Post-Graduate	48	0.21
Graduate	2,314	8.41
Undergraduate	17,752	67.15
Associate	2,245	9.13
Primary and Secondary School	3,545	15.09
Total	25,904	100

In 2023, a total of 2,701 new recruits were hired at various levels within Ziraat Bank for deployment in different positions.

Recruitment

In 2023, Ziraat Finance Group held two separate recruitment tests for young people aspiring to advance their careers in banking. In July 2023, a recruitment test was held for the position of Assistant Specialist at Ziraat Bank, while in December, tests were held for the positions of Assistant Inspector and Assistant Specialist. Additionally, throughout the year, recruitment tests were held to meet the staffing needs of Ziraat Participation Bank, a subsidiary of the Bank, for the positions of Assistant Inspector, Assistant Specialist and Unit Officer.

As part of the principle of “Candidate Satisfaction”, pre-interview preparatory training, including various training and tasks, was provided in order to relieve the anxieties surrounding examinations among new graduates, with the selection and evaluation carried out afterwards through a structured interview process.

Following the recruitment test held in December, a total of 133 Assistant Specialists and 20 Assistant Inspectors who qualified to start Banking School training are currently undergoing training to be assigned to their new positions in the second half of 2024. In 2023, a total of 2,701 new recruits were hired at various levels within the Bank for deployment in different positions.

Education Level of New Recruits In 2023

Educational Background	Number of Personnel
Post-Graduate	7
Graduate	2,326
Undergraduate	94
Associate	274
Primary and Secondary School	2,701
Total

Career Management

There are a total of 36,549 employees working within the Ziraat Finance Group, including both domestic and international subsidiaries. Ziraat Bank is taking firm steps towards becoming a global brand in the banking sector of the countries it operates in, offering effective career, salary, training and development opportunities for all employees working under the Group’s umbrella. The Bank is continuously working to expand Ziraat HR practices not only in its subsidiaries in Turkey but also in its international subsidiaries.

In line with its transparent career management approach, Ziraat Bank trains its own management candidates among its staff. Within the framework of promotions, a total of 2,480 personnel were found eligible for promotion to higher positions in 2023. In addition, a further 150 employees who successfully completed the Bank’s Management Trainee Program were appointed to managerial positions in the branches and units in accordance with their needs.

During the year, written exams and interviews for promotion were completed for employees in international subsidiaries and branches, and those found to be qualified for promotion were appointed to higher positions.

Branch Manager and Assistant Branch Manager appointments were carried out in the Algerian Branch, which was granted an establishment license.

Human resources processes, policies, and procedures were established for the newly established subsidiaries, Ziraat Finansal Teknolojiler Ödeme Hizmetleri ve Elektronik Para A.Ş. and Ziraat Dinamik Banka A.Ş., and staff were duly recruited.

In coordination with Ziraat Technology, Ziraat Bank initiated projects such as “Bilge Adam,” (Wise Man), “Long-Term Intern,” and “Technology Stars” to attract young talent.

To meet the personnel needs of its international branches and subsidiaries, Ziraat Bank organized seminars at leading universities in Turkey. These seminars introduced the Bank, its subsidiaries and its international organization to foreign students and facilitated their participation in assistant specialist examinations. Students who passed the examination graduated from the International Banking School in June 2023, completed their internships in the relevant departments of the Bank and then started their duties in the subsidiaries and branches.

Remuneration Practices

The Remuneration Committee is responsible for overseeing and supervising Ziraat Bank’s remuneration practices on behalf of the Board of Directors. The Committee evaluates the alignment of the Bank’s remuneration policy and practices with its ethical values and strategic objectives within the framework of risk management and conveys its recommendations to the Board of Directors.

Within the context of the third term collective bargaining agreement signed between Ziraat Bank and Öz Finans-İş Trade Union and effective between 1 January 2021 - 31 December 2023, union members were granted certain personnel rights including leave in addition to receiving additional monthly payments. In the Bank, which has a unionization rate of around 90%, pay adjustments for 2023 were carried out in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement.

Continuing its focus on reducing overtime, Ziraat Bank maintained the effective use of the system introduced to monitor overtime in 2023, demonstrating sensitivity to maintaining a balance between employees’ work and their personal lives.

Health Benefits and Practices

Ziraat Bank provides its employees and their family members, who are subject to the provisions of private law, with private health services in addition to the services provided by the Social Security Institution. In this context, treatment assistance is provided to members of the Health Aid Fund within the framework of the authority obtained from the Bank’s Board of Directors, and within the framework of the authority obtained from the Fund’s Board of Directors for the Fund members.

Additionally, Ziraat Bank enters special agreements with healthcare providers and communicates them to all employees. In this context, to ensure that Bank members have access to healthcare services of the same quality and at reasonable prices nationwide, an agreement has been reached with the Ministry of Health regarding priority healthcare services from City Hospitals, and services have started to be received from Ankara Bilkent City Hospital as a pilot hospital. Ziraat Bank plans to expand the implementation of Private Health Insurance to all its international units.

With the aim of increasing its contribution to the education, care and development of employees’ children with ÇÖZGER (special needs report for children) and the RAM (Guidance and Research Center) Report, a monthly education support of gross TL 5,230 was provided to 287 children in 2023.

Social Security Practices

In order to ensure that employees who have served at Ziraat Bank for a long period can retire with a higher level of satisfaction and to support them in their retirement, the new retirement project designed in 2022 continued to be implemented in 2023.

Following the tragic earthquakes which struck our country on 6 February 2023, retired personnel residing in 10 provinces were contacted by the Bank to identify those in need. The needs of these individuals such as shelter, heating, clothing and food were communicated to the relevant departments, with efforts made to meet their requests. Additionally, disaster relief payments were provided to retired personnel who were affected by the earthquake.

Performance Management

Ziraat Bank utilizes its Individual Performance Management System to determine the personal achievements and rankings of its employees based on objective and measurable criteria over the periods. Through the performance system, structured in two fundamental dimensions (numerical-based and competency-based) the Bank transfers its strategies into the field.

Indicators related to customer orientation, profitability, efficiency and risk management significantly affect the numerical performance score. The individual rankings, which are compiled by combining the numerical performance scores calculated with the measurements taken on the dimensions of targets, development and size, form the basis of the performance bonus payments.

The individual performance bonuses, which are determined and paid on the basis of periodically conducted individual performance reviews, are intended to strengthen the Bank’s customer-focused business model, to promote an approach to work which is focused on marketing and effectiveness, to increase company loyalty by motivating personnel and to provide tangible benefits to those whose individual achievements are compatible with the Bank’s corporate objectives.

The current budget determined by the Bank’s Board of Directors is paid out to recipients as an individual performance bonus at three-month intervals together with their monthly salaries in the months of February, May, August, and November and is based on objectively defined and numerically expressible specific criteria.

In the Individual Performance System, which has been set up to focus mainly on marketing in line with the Bank’s strategies and targets, bonuses are paid to reward those who contribute more to the realization of the Bank’s strategies and targets. While calculating bonuses, different coefficients are used according to branch segment and scale, individual performance ranking and job position criteria. Sales group personnel bonuses are calculated in direct proportion to the individual performance points in each section.

Aiming to motivate employees towards increasing their corporate engagement and to reward individual achievements aligned with the Bank’s corporate strategies, Ziraat Bank included all Head Office units within its performance management system in 2018, as well as the units subject to numeric performance measurement, taking into account the competence-based evaluation system.

Within the framework of the basic approach of the Ziraat Finance Group, ongoing efforts to include all foreign subsidiaries within the scope of individual performance and competence evaluation and bonus system applications applied in domestic subsidiaries reached the final stage, with the bonus system being added to the Russian subsidiary in 2023 after having been added to the subsidiaries in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Bosnia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in 2022. The other subsidiaries are planned to be added to the system in the near future as well.

Premium payments started to be offered to employees of foreign branches from the third quarter of 2022. The results in all subsidiaries and branches abroad will be followed closely in the coming period, and systematic improvements will be made.

Equal Opportunity and Diversity

Ziraat Bank’s human resources policy, which focuses on people, aims to ensure that employees look to the future with confidence. In line with its Continuous Development Philosophy, the Bank attaches importance on its employees being able to adapt to the requirements of the times, being open to change and development, inclined towards teamwork, success-oriented, and having a strong sense of responsibility.

Ziraat Bank is focused on respecting human rights in all regions where it operates. By applying the principle of suitability for the job requirements in employee recruitment, the Bank avoids all forms of discrimination. It does not make distinctions based on race, religion, language, or gender among its employees, and takes measures to prevent any physical, mental, or emotional mistreatment of employees within the Bank.

Creating and maintaining a positive and professional working environment for its employees is a fundamental principle for Ziraat Bank. The Bank operates in accordance with global ethical principles concerning employee recruitment, promotion, career development, compensation, benefits and diversity, and strictly opposes forced labor, child labor, all forms of discrimination, and harassment.

Ziraat Bank supports its employees throughout their careers, drawing on its extensive domestic and international branch network to provide them with career opportunities which offer job satisfaction.

Employees who complete the training provided to them and develop their knowledge and skills towards their career goals have the opportunity to move between different job positions.

Ziraat Bank has clearly defined vertical career paths for employees entering their banking career in different positions through its human resources regulations, based on the characteristics of their current title and field of responsibility.

Recognizing that each role creates different value, the Bank creates horizontal career opportunities for all employees to work in different job positions within the framework of the Bank’s new job position structuring.

Preferring to develop its managers internally, Ziraat Bank provides its employees with the opportunity to take part in exams for promotion and training based on their performance and competencies, as well as their current title groups. Breakdown of Human Resources by Educational Background according to Positions

Employee Satisfaction

Ziraat Bank prioritizes the satisfaction, happiness and management of experience of its most valuable asset, its employees. In this regard, the Bank continues to strengthen its communication channels to support employees in managing not only their careers, financial situations, or work environments but also their expectations and concerns about life.

Ziraat Bank expanded its “Satisfaction Barometer” survey, which it initiated in 2020, by widening the options pool in 2022 and extending it to its international branches and subsidiaries. With this survey, employees were monitored on a daily basis in 2023. In addition to identifying general reasons for discontentment, specific reasons for individual discontentment were determined through one-to-one interviews with participating employees, and plans were put in place to address these issues.

HUMAN RESOURCES BY EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND ACCORDING TO POSITIONS

Duty	Doctorate	Post Graduate	Graduate	Associate Degree	Primary and Secondary Education	Total
Top Manager	2	6	9	-	-	17
Manager	22	525	1,666	25	10	2,248
Officer	17	1,118	6,538	235	104	8,012
Assistant	7	553	6,333	984	721	8,598
Counter Assistant	-	110	2,927	667	582	4,286
Support Assistant	-	2	279	334	2,128	2,743
Total	48	2,314	17,752	2,245	3,545	25,904

Internship and Career Fairs

Ziraat Bank participated in Career Summits and Regional Career Fairs in cooperation with the Presidential Human Resources Office in order to meet university students in 2023, as in previous years.

In addition, approximately 2,000 university students were offered internships in various units of the Bank in 2023 within the scope of CBIKO Internship Mobilization. Participation in these events and internships aimed to raise the career awareness of university students and strengthen the Bank’s employer brand value, thereby attracting talented young individuals to the Bank.

Projections for 2024

The advance in technological developments, digitalization of work processes and the new generation’s changing expectations of working life require new designs for the employee experience, especially in the recruitment, career management and talent management processes.

In this context, in the forthcoming years Ziraat Bank will continue its activities to transform processes into an agile structure which is able to respond to changing needs more quickly, to increase employee satisfaction, to design processes to enhance the employee experience, to expand digitalization and to use data analytics. The Bank’s priority projects in 2024 will be aimed at integrating employee experience and smart technologies into HR processes.

HUMAN RESOURCES AND TRAINING

Ziraat Bank attaches importance to training and development activities aimed at enhancing both the professional knowledge and skills and personal talents of its employees within the framework of the “Investment in Human Resources and Learning Organization” strategy.

Ziraat Bank supports its employees at every stage of their business life by contributing to their development and adding value, and aims to discover, evaluate and develop talent efficiently. In this context, the Bank has diversified its comprehensive training content by taking into account different user needs, and conveyed these to its employees through a number of channels.

Training Activities

Providing its employees with continuous professional and personal development opportunities, Ziraat Bank offered an average of 24.24 hours of in-class training and 34.59 hours of online training per person in 2023.

The training activities and development programs provided for employees at the Bank include:

• “Interview Preparation Training” to support candidates who have succeeded in the recruitment exams during the interview process.
• “First Step Training” to help new personnel joining Ziraat Bank get to know the Bank, help them adapt to the corporate culture and acquire the necessary basic knowledge and skills,
• “Career Training” is provided in accordance with the position of employees and aims to provide the basic knowledge and skills necessary for employees to fulfil their duties and responsibilities,
• “Development Training”, which is tailored to the individual, based on the data in the Individual Performance and Competence Evaluation System, to meet training needs in line with the Bank’s goals and strategies or to transfer new products, services or information on legislation,
• “Legal Obligation Training” connected to legislation,
• “Managerial School Training” to prepare personnel with the title of manager for leadership roles in their positions,
• The “Branch Manager Development Journey” program organized for the Bank’s managers, coaching and mentoring training and practices, “On-the-Job Trainer Training” program and the “Development Journey of Managers switching to the Field” program,
• The “Educator Training” program in order to expand the Bank’s internal trainer pool,
• “Certificate Programs” for employees seeking to determine their own career paths within the Bank and prepare for their future positions.

In 2023, a 5-week Managerial School Training Program was conducted with 189 participants, and 13 online-certificate programs launched and offered to employees to contribute to their professional development.

During the year, the following special certificate programs were provided with the aim of increasing the competencies of employees, with certificates provided to the employees who completed their training.

• The Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Certificate Program, completed by 49 individuals,
• The FRM Certificate Program, completed by 9 individuals,
• The PMP Certificate Program, completed by 19 individuals,
• The Scrum Master and Scrum Product Owner Certificate Program, completed by 10 individuals,
• ISO/IEC 27001: 2022 Information Security Management System Lead Auditor Training, completed by 10 individuals.

Ziraat Bank aims to enhance the academic aspect of its training programs and enable its employees to complete a Master’s degree through these programs. In this context, the Bank continued its postgraduate programs in the Banking School in collaboration with Ankara University, one of our country’s prestigious institutions, with 19 employees of the Bank graduating from the program during the year.

Widespread adoption of technology in the field of education

In line with its “Digital Solutions” strategy, Ziraat Bank keeps its finger on the pulse of the latest technologies and applications in the field of education. In this vein, the Bank increasingly values e-learning, which enables a larger number of personnel to receive training in a short time and at a low cost, allowing employees to access training materials at their preferred time and location.

Ziraat Bank has restructured its e-learning catalog based on the Bank’s core, functional, and managerial competencies, and expanded it with new content supported by units to contribute to employees’ professional development. The e-learning catalog, which contains over 6,000 items, offers a variety of e-learning courses, videos, audio files and documents of interest to all employees seeking to develop themselves professionally or personally.

With over 7,000 employees completing at least one training program from the e-learning catalog, Ziraat Bank has also made the “MIT Leadership and Development Program” available to managers.

The “Ziraatli-comment” forum, which enables employees to share their knowledge and experience with other employees, was used by 8,070 employees and 29 articles were added to the forum in 2023.

In 2023, 75% of Ziraat Bank employees participated in training on the “Prevention of Laundering Proceeds of Crime and Financing of Terrorism”, a mandatory training program required in accordance with legislation.

Ziraat Bank’s website offers special training for both customers and children with “Special E-learning Courses for Kids” for children aimed at raising awareness of savings and introducing basic financial concepts. These courses offer a chance for children to enjoy learning about topics such as the relationship between money and banks, how banks operate, internet and phone banking, awareness of credit and credit cards and the prudent use of all resources, from money to electricity and water, with themes like “Money-Bank Island, Savings Island, Credit and Credit Card Island, Budget Island.”

Additionally, the website provides training on secure credit card usage for customers, as well as agricultural insurance topics.

The First Step digital platform has been implemented to contribute to the development of university students who are interns at the Bank and to ensure that they use the time during their internships efficiently. This digital platform includes over 100 videos, with e-learning materials, reading materials and other content provided for the use of students.

Successful human resources practices crowned with awards

Ziraat Bank won five major awards in 2023 through its organized training programs, including one National award and four International awards.

The use of Educational Technologies with the Education Management System, the Data School Training Program were all recognized in the Best Competency and Skills Development category, while the Manager School and Manager Training programs were recognized in the Best Leadership Development category with bronze awards by Brandon Hall, one of the world’s most prestigious institutions.

The Banking School Program was handed the BEST award in the category of Development Programs Supporting Young People’s Participation and Development in Business Life, the most prestigious award in corporate adult education and development in Turkey, by TEGEP (Turkish Education Development Platform Association).

In the 2024 ATD* awards, Ziraat Bank’s “Banking School” program won the “Excellence in Practice” award in the Education and Development category. Ziraat Bank was the only institution in Turkey to receive an award in 2024.

ATD, established in the United States in 1943, is the most prestigious international association in the Talent, Education, and Development sector, with over 30,000 education and development professionals from over 120 countries among its members as of 2023.

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY PRACTICES

Ziraat Bank implements a comprehensive range of regulations to ensure occupational health and safety in working environments and to improve existing health and safety conditions.

Ziraat Bank aims to provide a safe and healthy working environment within the framework of the Occupational Health and Safety Management System, which is based on continuous improvement and compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Law and related legislation and regulations. In this regard, the Bank carries out activities to analyze and minimize health and safety risks within or outside the working environment.

Regulating duties, powers, responsibilities, rights and obligations regarding occupational health and safety within the bank, preparing training programs to raise and develop awareness among employees in this field and taking necessary precautions to protect against work accidents and occupational diseases are among the areas which Ziraat Bank focuses on.

In this context, the Bank receives services from Joint Health and Safety (OSGB) Units established to provide occupational health and safety services for all units, equipped with the necessary infrastructure and personnel.

Activities within the framework of Occupational health and safety at Ziraat Bank’s Istanbul Finance Center Campus

Occupational Health and Safety Committee

The Occupational Health and Safety Committee convened twice with the participation of employer representatives and committee members on 29 September 2023 and 20 December 2023.

Emergency and Evacuation

• The emergency procedure was prepared.
• An e-mail message was sent to department heads regarding the establishment of emergency teams and teams. Training will be assigned to the teams in question by the Talent Department Head.
• An agreement was entered into with the “Etik Mühendislik Danışmanlık Tasarım ve Eğitim Hizmetleri “ company to create evacuation plans. The study is planned to be completed within two months.
• A drill will be held after the emergency processes are completed.
• A total of 522 fire extinguishers were positioned on the tower and podium floors of the Bank’s Istanbul Finance Center campus for protection against the risk of fire.

Risk Assessment

• A risk assessment procedure has been prepared.
• Letters of appointment for the risk assessment team have been drafted.
• Risk analysis of the Podyum 3 gym has been conducted.
• General risk analysis studies for Tower-1 are ongoing.
• Building-wide updated risk analyses are being conducted along with field inspections.
• Risk analyses will be updated at the end of the building handover process.

Occupational Safety Building Inspection

• Building observation reports are prepared on a monthly basis by occupational safety specialists.
• The prepared observation reports are communicated to the relevant units by email for necessary action.

Periodic Inspection of Work Equipment

• A tracking table has been created to monitor the periodic inspections of all work equipment within the Bank.
• The periodic inspections of work equipment reported to occupational safety are recorded in the tracking table.
• In the tracking table, work equipment with expired periodic inspection periods are communicated to the relevant units to ensure the renewal of periodic inspections.

Monitoring Work Accidents

• An accident tracking table has been created to monitor all work accidents which occur within the Bank.
• Accidents intervened by the health unit are recorded in the accident tracking form and shared with occupational safety.
• Root cause analyses are conducted for all work accidents to prevent their recurrence.
• In the event of work accidents, post-accident training is assigned by the Talent Management Department.
• Work accidents are reported to the Social Security Institution for Turkey Statistical Institute data.

Environmental Measurements

On 28-30 November 2023, the “Bilgelab Occupational Hygiene Test Analysis Measurement” company conducted the following environmental measurements at the Istanbul Finance Center Tower-1:

• Lighting measurements
• Thermal comfort measurements
• Ambient noise exposure measurements
• Ambient breathable dust measurements
• Chemical (VOC) measurement

Subcontractor Tracking

• Monitoring of OHS assignments
• Monitoring of employment training
• Health checks
• Checks of training and directives
• Follow-up of legal certificates and documents
• Risk analysis, emergency and OHS committee follow-up
• Supervision of work equipment and use of PPE
• Monitoring of MSDS forms
• Warehouse and field work checks
• Work accidents and near miss checks

The installation process of the OHS software purchased for the purpose of carrying out the activities listed below continues:

• Collecting a wide range of data about work activities, managing and analyzing this data to provide insights into potential workplace accidents, and taking preventive measures,
• Submitting to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security any requested documents and information,
• Tracking and managing occupational health and safety obligations for all units from a single centralized location.

During the construction of the Ziraat Towers in the Istanbul Finance Center, a high level of attention was given to workplace accidents, as well as the associated risks of death and injury. In this context, a total of 19,000 people were provided with pre-employment training to inform employees of their legal rights and responsibilities regarding OHS, to inform them of the occupational risks they may be exposed to and the precautions they should take against these risks, and to raise OHS awareness and train them with respect to the behaviors appropriate for the job.

A total of 90 Occupational Health and Safety Professionals, a clinic with four Occupational Health Physicians and two Health Officers, along with a 24/7 ambulance service are present at the construction site.