MUMBAI: SBI has hired 13,455 junior associates as part of its plan to enhance customer service at branches. The clerical-level hiring is part of a broader intake of 18,000 employees, which includes 3,000 officers.SBI chairman C S Setty, in a letter to shareholders, said the bank is sharpening its focus on customer experience and is using tools like customer satisfaction score (CSAT), net promoter score (NPS), and customer effort score (CES) to measure satisfaction across branches, business correspondents, and digital platforms in real time.In the letter to shareholders, Setty said that the bank has raised the limit for claim settlements by heirs of deceased depositors from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 15 lakh, including those supported by un-probated wills.Despite the scale of hiring, SBI’s total headcount is projected to increase marginally from 2.32 lakh in March 2024 to 2.36 lakh by March 2025. The bank had 2.44 lakh employees in March 2022. Most transactions now take place digitally.