The Bank of Bermuda HSBC may never achieve a 100 percent Bermudian workforce, but it is working hard towards that target.

That is according to Yolanda Outerbridge, the bank's newly-appointed head of human resources (HR) and latest executive management committee, who reckons there are not simply not enough qualified locals to fill the positions available.

But she believes the ratio of Bermudians to expatriate workers can be improved and that outside talent can offer a different perspective to the Island's own expertise.

The bank's CEO Philip Butterfield has long championed the cause of Bermudians within his organisation, quoting a figure of 90 percent locals compared to 10 percent expats, the latter of which many work in the senior management team.

"I don't know if we will ever be at a stage where we are a 100 percent Bermudian workforce because we don't produce enough Bermudians to fill the jobs available at the bank, but we can improve the ratio we have, while recognising that it is good to have a different perspective sometimes," said Ms Outerbridge.

Ms Outerbridge said the most important part of her role is assessing the talent needs of the organisation, working closely with Mr. Butterfield and his team of managers to understand the skills required to drive the business forward.

Specifically she will be looking at developing talent in house as well as attracting new candidates externally, all while the HSBC Group continues to integrate its local businesses and streamline its operations.

"A typical day for me could be anything from key hiring or resourcing to dealing with an employment relations matter," she said.

"I have a focus to ensure that the market understands what our brand is so we can continue to attract talent to the organisation."

In her new role, Ms Outerbridge reports to the North American part of HSBC's operation, while the bank's business answers to the UK side, giving her an opportunity to interface with her global counterparts.

Having undertaken the bank's succession plan to step into the shoes of her predecessor and HSBC international secondee Stuart McLeod, who returned to the UK recently, she spent an overseas work term in Chicago and successfully completed her HSBC executive development training.

Asides from being involved in the transition process from the Bank of Bermuda to HSBC, which has seen the bank's first name change in its 120-year history and rebranding, has been keen to nurture local talent, with many Bermudians benefiting from working alongside their overseas colleagues and three Bermudians going abroad to work for part of HSBC's global operation, of which there are 9,500 offices and 330,000 employees worldwide, return to Bermuda to fulfil senior team roles in the past two months and more set to go on secondments in the future.

"We have opportunities to develop beyond Bermuda and I think that is a powerful message," she said.

"Each of those people who came back in the last two months have taken on progressively more senior roles within the organisation."

But when she started out, Ms Outerbridge never intended to get into HR, setting her sights on becoming a chartered accountant. However, during her Bachelor of Business Administration degree at Acadia University, she decided that number crunching wasn't for her and following a HRcourse as part of her degree and a discussion with one of her professors, she took a post graduate diploma in Human Resources at Seneca College in Toronto. She attained a Professional Human Resources designation through the Society of Human Resources Management and a certification from the HR>Professional Association of Ontario before embarking on her career.

Ms Outerbridge, who has more than 14 years of HR experience in the financial services sector, began in the HR department at Butterfield Bank, where she worked for eight years, before moving to the Bank of Bermuda as global HR director for private banking in 2002 and taking on the post of senior HR manager prior to the bank's takeover by HSBC.

In her current role, she is responsible for developing HR strategy, human capital planning and managing the rewards, benefits, payroll, resourcing and employee relations functions. Outside of her day job, Ms Outerbridge is an executive director and board member of the Bermuda Employers' Council and has served as chairperson and board member of the Bermuda Financial Services Academy, in addition to being an active YouthNet mentor and mentor to participants in the bank's Next Generation and Business talent pools.

"I thoroughly enjoy the field because no two days are the alike and it is definitely an interesting career and one that is rewarding when you get to shape the careers of others within the organisation," she said.