Unibanco values its human capital, its largest and most important intangible asset. The staff helped the bank conquer the prominent position it now occupies in the market and guarantee excellence in all the group's activities.

The Human Resources department creates and manages strategies, policies and processes of human capital management to support and sustain business results, adding value to the decision process.

Its strategic objectives are:

Ensure the right person in the right place right now, seeking to attract the best professionals and optimize internal opportunities.

Ensure that the right person will be in the right place tomorrow, through training and development systems and tools capable of obtaining the best possible leverage of performance and potential for the employee and the group.

Establish competitive compensation systems and policies to stimulate a balance between optimal levels of performance at the individual and group levels.

Promote transparency, to safeguard a challenging and inspiring organizational environment.

Be present at forums and organizations that influence social change and the progression of laws and regulations (Fenaban, Fórum Nacional do Trabalho and unions).

One of the Human Resources department major challenges in 2004 was to spearhead the process of change - cultural and structural - promoted at the conglomerate level, in addition to intensive training of managers and commercial areas staff.

People management tools

The Integrated Model of Human Capital Management in 2004 consolidated all personnel management tools. The new model increases accuracy in the selection process, guides the development of staff and helps choose the best suited training programs for specific organizational needs, besides nurturing a culture of meritocracy.

Training and Development

Unibanco in 2004 spent some R$24 million in corporate training, directed at training, refining and developing new skills, preparing the staff for a corporate culture open to change.

A core focus of training was the improvement of personnel management quality, through the development of managers and leadership tools. Over 2,000 managers concluded the Stage I of the program, "Performance and Recruitment Management", and another 470 finished the Stage II, "Styles in Communication and Leadership".

For the sixth year in a row, Unibanco promoted the Brazil MBA course, in a partnership with Fundação Dom Cabral. So far the program graduated more than 150 professionals. Another R$2 million was directed in 2004 at the international MBA program, for managers chosen through a highly selective process,
granted to 36 executives since its inception in 1996.

Unibanco also invests to prepare future employees, admitting, in 2004, 260 interns and 11 full time trainees.

The training of staff assigned to the various commercial units is conducted through courses developed in partnership with the University of São Paulo and other institutions. More than 1,900 employees took courses in sales skills through this program.

Clique Conhecimento is an online skill-development tool available through the corporate portal. In 2004 it registered 227,000 visits, with over 33,000 courses completed.

Talent Retention

The stock option program recognizes outstanding performance and commitment. By December 2004, 229 executives were rewarded through this program.

The Intelligent Future is a new pension plan designed for the staff and launched in July, offering a signing bonus to all participants, retired or active. By year-end, more than 6,600 employees had joined the plan.

Organizational environment management

The Employee Satisfaction Survey is the main guidance tool for actions aimed at improving morale and has been regularly conducted since 1997. Based on its results, the bank defines actions to provide a stimulating and challenging work environment, in addition to identifying ways to induce personal and professional growth for employees. The latest complete data available is from 2003 and revealed a satisfaction index among employees of 86%.

Unibanco was chosen as the third-best place to work among companies with more than 15,000 employees, in a survey conducted by business daily Valor Econômico and the Hay Group, a consultancy specialized in management and research of organizational environment. In the same survey, Unibanco AIG Insurance and Pensions ranked fifth among companies with staffs between 1,001 and 2,000 people.