United
Bank for Africa (UBA), Africa’s Global Bank operating in 19 African countries,
has announced the promotion of 3,000 staff members, reinforcing its commitment
to human capital investment and career progression, at the current challenging
operating circumstances. Promotions were made across UBA’s global
network.
In
a letter written on Monday, April 3 2017 to Group staff by CEO, Kennedy
Uzoka. “Since my recent appointment as GMD/CEO, one of my priorities has
been to address the needs of our people. I strongly believe that if we
take care of our people, our people 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”.
In
addition to the Group-wide promotion, Mr Uzoka unveiled a new Workforce Model
and an extension of the existing Group car loan benefit, to 1000 previously
ineligible staff. These policies are in direct 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.
Group
Chairman, Tony Elumelu, congratulated UBA’s executive management, as he 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 our strong 2016
results and as our shareholders receive dividends later this week. We
want all our key stakeholders to share our success.” 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.”
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 uplifting 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 commences
on Wednesday April 5th and 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 share and learn 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.
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