Leaders Contribute to the Learning Culture

Axis Bank Limited: 2025 BEST Award Winner, #19

Mumbai, India

Axis Bank thrives amid steep competition from other banks and emerging financial technology companies, thanks—in no small part—to talent development. The organization sees its TD initiatives as pivotal to cultivating a workforce that drives growth and success, a testament to its commitment to its people.

The TD programs at the company, the third-largest private sector bank in India, serve more than 100,000 employees at more than 5,000 locations across the country, as well as offices in Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and other locations. To ensure the bank offers top-quality financial services to its customers, from retail to corporate banking, the C-suite and leadership team set the tone for a learning culture. In addition to advocating for and participating in training, executives sponsor each of the learning programs, working alongside TD staff to align them to company business strategy.

One example is the Capability Development Framework, which supports the bank's strategy to source recruitment through pipeline programs and internal mobility. The initiative empowers staff to take charge of their careers.

The Capability Development Framework consists of 11 capability factories, each of which relates to one or more skills groups. The bank then divides the capability factories into 18 skill academies, which offer structured learning paths in critical skill areas. The courses use a combination of hybrid and virtual delivery methods, with reinforcement from and accountability for supervisors, to guide employees from beginner to advanced proficiency.

Employees may enroll in any skill academy of their choosing, and the company offers the courses on both desktop and mobile devices to maximize worker access. The modular approach to skills development enables staff to focus on building specialized skills relevant to their roles while gaining exposure to other important areas within the bank.

The TD function also works with executive sponsors to address acute business needs. For instance, the Xpert Write Well program addresses regional disparities in employees' written communication skills—a critical aspect of the company's approach to optimize customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.

The program starts with a baseline assessment to test participants' proficiency in email writing across structure, etiquette, and language. The assessment, which learners complete again at the end of the program, uses artificial intelligence to analyze and grade individuals' skills, highlighting critical areas for improvement. That information, in addition to the worker's role, informs each learner's mix of virtual instructor-led learning, self-paced learning, and real-time expert feedback. So far, the program has served more than 50,000 employees and yielded tangible results for the bank's customer satisfaction scores.

Data-driven results such as those are a common theme for TD programs at Axis Bank. Every initiative receives a set of key performance indicators to measure its success against business objectives, a standard the company established as part of the executive sponsorship process. The organization closely tracks metrics through enterprise dashboards, using them to allocate resources and identify opportunities for improvement.

View the entire list of 2025 BEST Award winners.