BBVA provides international development programs for employees
More than 650 of the bank's professionals have benefited from international experience in recent years. The initiative provides clear rewards for employees, but also for the bank, since the programs foster corporate culture, train staff in strategic skills and build loyalty among in-house talent.
Digitalization and new ways of working are shaping the global talent market to a great extent, opening up the possibility of performing certain roles from anywhere in the world. This scenario enables BBVA to place the best talent at the right time and in the right place by scheduling a range of international moves based on their value to the business and to employee development.
In this context, BBVA has promoted several international mobility schemes since 2018. The bank formally established a framework to support international mobility in order to foster employees' career development. "It's a perfect tool for sharing best practices across country units, attracting and retaining talent, training our professionals in skills that are critical to the Group, and providing them with a global vision," says Mar Morales, Head of Global Mobility at BBVA. The program has also become a powerful networking tool to develop the skills inherent in an international experience.
In 2019, one hundred employees were the first to debut the program in short-stay arrangements. After the hiatus caused by the pandemic, the bank resumed the initiative in 2022. Today, 650 professionals have completed an international experience of this kind. "These are mostly short stays of two to three months, but we also design customized development programs for specific geographies and sectors," Morales explains. This is the case of Türkiye, a strategic country for the bank from the standpoint of talent and corporate culture, where specific plans have been drawn up.
Every program participant is assigned a mentor who advises them throughout their stay. The bank supports them throughout the entire process, from obtaining a visa when required, to the first steps in the host city. The success of the experience lies in designing a schedule with objectives set by the host areas and agreed upon with the employee and his or her managers. "We are implementing a powerful strategy of indicators that measure the success of the programs and the steps taken by participants in their career development over the following years," says Morales.
"The profile is quite diverse. We have very senior employees and reports from the front lines of their areas who come with very clear networking goals to build on the strategic foundations of their fields. And there are also a large number of more junior employees, who are less experienced and for whom this is a recognition of their potential," she explains.
BBVA's international development programs are a highly valued component of the value offered to employees, encompassing a range of actions and initiatives that cover all areas of interest for banking professionals. The model features, among other benefits, personalized development and training plans, guidelines for meritocratic and transparent growth, diversity promotion, flexible work schemes, a clear commitment to manager leadership and a value proposition focused on employee wellbeing.