UBS CEO Ralph Hamers is further shaking up military-style hierarchies in the banking group. Now, the UBS boss is taking on the titles.
«Form follows function» is the architectural concept which in the future will apply to the internal personnel hierarchy at UBS. As «Bloomberg» reports, bank boss Ralph Hamers admonished his approximately 70,000 employees to use their function rather than title in the future. For example, «Managing Director» now becomes «Head of Trading.» At the same time, titles disappeared from the internal directory of the organization, according to the story.
Becoming Agile
UBS confirmed the move to «Bloomberg,» and the new policy on titles supports the bank's efforts to streamline decision-making, reduce hierarchies and improve the work experience. The new focus on roles and expertise also supports agile transformation. Hamers is a big fan of the working method that originated in IT, with 9,000 UBS employees currently on their way to becoming «agile.»
Resentment among people who pride themselves on their titles is likely to be smoothed over because giving up titles will have no impact on pay.
As of January 1 of this year, UBS discontinued all corporate ranks above managing director, including group managing director, divisional vice chairperson, and regional group chairperson.
