April 10, 2017 By Hassan Gbassay Koroma
United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Africa’s Global Bank operating in 19 African countries including Sierra Leone, in reinforcing its commitment to human capital investment and career progression, at the current challenging operating circumstances has announced the promotion of 3,000 staff members.
The Promotions were made across UBA’s global network, according senior officials of the bank.
A letter written on Monday, April, 3rd 2017 to Group staff by Chief Executive Officer, Kennedy Uzoka, reads that “Since my recent appointment as Group Managing Director and /Chief Executive Officer, one of my priorities has been to address the needs of our people. I strongly believe that if we take care of our people, they will take care of our customers – our ultimate employers.
“Investment in our human capital is critical to our success. It is a product of our ability to invest for the long term and create an institution that is built to last. It is the bedrock of our determination to be Africa’s leading customer focused bank,” the letter reads.
In addition to the Group-wide promotion, GMD Uzoka unveiled a new Workforce Model and an extension of the existing Group car loan benefit, to 1000 previously ineligible staff.
These policies are indirect response to staff feedback from the Employee Engagement Survey, which the CEO says has helped define current and future human capital investment.
The revised Workforce Model democratizes access to leadership roles and opportunities at the bank. All staff – regardless of track– can now aspire to leadership roles, if objective requirements are met.
Reforming the Leadership and Service Tracks disparity, which had been a source of frustration for some staff, who had to convert tracks to advance professionally, illustrates again UBA’s commitment to creating an environment where talent and merit are rewarded.
The United Bank for Africa Group Chairman, Tony Elumelu, congratulated UBA’s executive management, and noted the current challenging business environment.
He encouraged the industry to follow UBA’s lead, in putting its workers first. “Promoting at this scale and creating career opportunities for staff at a time like this is an indication of industry leadership and worthy of emulation .It is no accident that this is occurring after the announcement of their strong 2016 results and as their shareholders receive dividends later this week they would want all of their key stakeholders to share their success,” he said.
”The Chairman continued in praise of the bank’s equitable policy.I commend the bank for creating robust and meritocratic career opportunities for all staff at a time when some in our industry are downsizing or casualizing staff. This is truly remarkable.”
It could be recalled that UBA recently announced N384 billion earnings for 2016, an impressive 22% growth over performance in 2015 and also grew profit before tax by 32% to N91 billion.
The strong performance also reflects the imbedded culture of customer service, driven by high employee engagement and satisfaction.
UBA’s commitment to its broader pan-African network was reflected in a series of awards, including five ‘Bank of The Year’ awards for Gabon, Congo-Brazzaville, Senegal, Cameroon and Chad at the annual Bankers Award in London and the 2016 EMEA Finance Banking Awards by leading financial publication EMEA Finance Magazine.
Mr. Uzoka ended his letter on an up lifting note, urging UBA employees – Lions and Lionesses – to “continue to embody UBA core values daily – in our endless quest for Excellent Service…Delivered!”
This advice is timely as staff enter the final stages of preparation for the Group Chairman’s Forum, which commenced on Wednesday April 5thand features a series of events, including the Group AGM and the highly-anticipated annual UBA CEO Awards.
During the Forum, the Bank’s senior executives will shared and learnt from best practices across UBA’s 18 African subsidiaries and its operations in New York, Paris, and London, reflect on Group performance in the past year, and identify ways to enhance growth in the short, medium and long terms.