We pioneered theBank of Whittier RF Open University. The university
is convened twice a year. Each session lasts 45 days, meeting every weekday
from 8:00A.M.to9:30A.M. A rigorous curriculum was prepared, and the
faculty consisted of upper management, invited guests, and experts in bank-
ing. The training program is enhanced by videos and hands-on training. In
addition, we use outside auditors in all fields of banking operations to train
our staff. The auditors were asked to engage the staff members in order to
conduct their audits and to train the employees at the same time. This ap-
proach proved to be very successful. In a matter of 12 months, the employ-
ees started to operate efficiently and to be in full compliance with the
auditors’ findings. We also instructed the staff to consider the auditors their
coaches, and not to argue or justify the errors they committed but rather
listen and learn. In addition, management met with the auditors at least
once each day to discuss any noncompliance issues and get the staff to fix
them immediately. This policy has won us wonderful reviews from the out-
side auditors and the regulators.
In addition, we also recruited students at the business schools who
aspired to become bankers to serve as tellers. This job gave them a chance
to learn, to evaluate the bank staff ‘‘family,’’ while at the same time ena-
bling us to get to know them and to recruit from amongst them for future
staff at the RF bank. It is important to note that management very closely
reviewed the grades the candidates achieved in every course to identify
where they would best fit. For example, if the candidate received an A or a
minimum grade of B and mostly A’s in the accounting courses, it would
qualify the candidate to start in the treasury department. If the candidate
received top grades in mathematics and financial analysis and had good ver-
bal skills, she or he would qualify for the credit analysis department. In ad-
dition, superior staff members who provide outstanding performance in
two years are sponsored by the bank to study in a three-year part-time
banking MBA program in one of the superior-rated business schools that
specialize in banking and finance. The program is held for two weeks every
year; in the interim period, the candidate remains in touch with the faculty
and is given assignments via the Internet. These reports and the results of
the tests are reviewed by upper management.
The purpose of the Bank of Whittier RF Open University training pro-
gram is to graduate qualified and high-caliber RF bankers within two years
by familiarizing the employees with an overview of all U.S. banking regula-
tions and other banking operating codes, as well as different U.S. banking
acts. All new employees who join the bank are required to receive the same
training within three months of their employment.
The following is a summary of the Open University curriculum. It is not
exhaustive, but gives a quick reviewand highlights of the important seg-
ments of the training program.
332 THE ART OF ISLAMIC BANKING AND FINANCE