National Bank of Canada

National Bank Receives IRIS Award from Quebec Order of Industrial Relations Consultants

National Bank of Canada is proud to announce that it has been chosen by the Quebec Order of Industrial Relations Consultants to receive the IRIS award for contributing to organizational change.

The IRIS award is intended to highlight the role of members of the Order who have made a contribution to a major organizational change. The National Bank was chosen for the award in recognition of its human resources certification program first launched in 1997. In particular, the program's goals are to improve training for the Bank's personnel and ensure retention of the most valuable employees in terms of both performance and expertise. The program was set up in response to the transformation of the banking market and clients' growing needs for advisory services. This method of quantifying human resources management practices is a first for a Canadian company.

Among its initiatives in this regard, the National Bank entered into an agreement with the Université du Québec à Montréal in 1996 to design university studies programs especially for Bank employees. These training programs enable employees to earn diplomas or graduate degrees from UQAM and, to date, nearly 4,600 National Bank employees have taken advantage of these educational opportunities. The first groups of students have already received their diplomas or degrees.

The Bank's human resources certification program also led to the development of integrated personnel management approaches and related training for managers. The goals in this case were geared more specifically to ways of identifying the best candidates for hirings and promotions, and of enhancing communications between management and employees on an ongoing basis.

The IRIS award for contributing to organizational change recognizes the National Bank's commitment to its employees. The Bank, for its part, would like to take this opportunity to highlight the outstanding commitment shown by its employees to the goals and values of the human resources certification program.

National Bank of Canada is an integrated group whose mission is to provide comprehensive financial services to consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporations in its core market, while offering specialized services to its clients elsewhere in the world. The National Bank offers a full array of banking services, including all the investment banking services required by large corporations. It is an active player on international capital markets and, through its subsidiaries, is involved in securities brokerage, insurance and wealth management as well as mutual fund and retirement plan management. The National Bank has assets of over $70 billion and, together with its subsidiaries, it employs over 17,000 people. The Bank's shares are listed on the Toronto stock exchange.