Though State Bank of India (SBI) was the market leader, it was facing tough competition from private players such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, etc. It was looking at a steady erosion in market share and its growth was slower than that of its competitors. The company was unable to attract young or affluent customers and its brand image was perceived to be old and staid. The top management team led by Bhatt recognized the need for a transformation. They identified areas that needed to be transformed and communicated the new transformation agenda to all the people in the organization. The top management realized that to achieve the transformation they sought, getting the grassroots level employees on board was extremely important. So a massive internal communication initiative called Parivartan (which means transformation/change) was launched. The initiative was aimed at obtaining the support and acceptance of employees for the change initiatives undertaken by the bank, and explaining to them why change was necessary. The project also sought to bring about a change in the attitude and approach of the employees and to help them develop a more customer-centric approach.

The end of 2008 saw banks across the world, including private sector banks in India, struggling due to recession and stalling their expansion plans. India’s leading bank, State Bank of India (SBI), on the other hand, was drawing up plans to further strengthen its position, besides coming out with the announcement that it would recruit 20,000 clerical staff. The bank attributed its good performance, despite a turbulent phase in the industry, to the various initiatives that it had taken since 2006, including ‘Project Parivartan’.

Parivartan (which means transformation/change) was a huge internal communication initiative aimed at sensitizing the grassroots level employees regarding the changes being undertaken in SBI and the need for such change. According to SBI, the initiative that was launched in July 2007 was a huge success and was instrumental in bringing about the attitudinal change in the workforce that was required to compete in a very competitive environment. SBI was experiencing an erosion in market share in the early 2000s and a slowdown in growth due to its outdated processes and stiff competition from private sector banks. The situation was particularly grim in 2006 when O P Bhatt (Bhatt) was appointed chairman of SBI. Bhatt and the top management team soon put a transformation agenda in place. For the various transformational initiatives to succeed, Bhatt realized that it would have to have the support of employees at all levels of the organization and thus the Parivartan project was launched.

Industry observers appreciated the initiative and said that Bhatt had succeeded in changing the employees’ approach to work, and this in turn, had led to the bank performing well and maintaining its market leadership position in the Indian banking sector.

Soft Skills Journal, Project Parivartan, State Bank of India, Internal Communication Initiative, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), Parivartan.