One of Sri Lanka's largest state-owned banks unifies HR self-service and real-time attendance across 700+ branches

Challenge

People's Bank is one of Sri Lanka's largest state-owned banks by branch network and customer reach. Founded in 1961, the bank has a nationwide presence and serves millions of Sri Lankans through one of the country's largest branch networks. As part of its broader modernization strategy, People's Bank set out to transform manual HR processes into a unified digital platform that could support employees across the country.

• Manual HR workflows: Leave applications, payroll processing, attendance tracking and record-keeping were handled through paper forms, spreadsheets and siloed systems.
• Limited scalability: As the bank grew, manual HR processes made it difficult for HR to keep up with organizational needs.
• Fragmented employee records: HR information was spread across disparate files and records, limiting a single source of truth across the bank.
• Change management complexity: Moving long-tenured staff to new digital ways of working required phased adoption, training and communication.
• Compliance and data migration risk: Legacy data had to be migrated accurately, while new workflows needed to comply with public-sector HR regulations and union agreements.

PeoplesHR Solution

People's Bank partnered with PeoplesHR to implement a unified HR Information System capable of supporting the full employee lifecycle, from recruitment and onboarding to retirement. The project began with requirements analysis, followed by phased implementation, staff training, legacy data migration and workflow configuration for the bank's operating environment.

• Single source of truth: PeoplesHR created a centralized repository for employee information, replacing disparate files and records across the bank.
• Digital leave and self-service: Employees could apply for leave online or through the mobile app, track balances and receive faster manager approvals, replacing paper-based workflows.
• Real-time attendance: Attendance machines across 700+ branches were linked to the HRIS, giving managers instant visibility into team attendance and leave data.
• Compliance and reporting: Automated workflows, audit trails and real-time reporting improved accountability, policy consistency and reporting speed for audits and regulators.

Results

The transformation helped People's Bank move from manual HR administration to a modern, cloud-enabled HR platform, improving process speed, data accuracy, transparency and employee experience.

"Partnering with PeoplesHR has been a pivotal step in our digital transformation journey. For an organization of our scale, moving from manual processes to a fully digital HR system was not just about technology. It was about empowering our people."