The Lion King | 5
(Mass Market, Mass Affluent,
Small Businesses, Commercial,
Institution and PSG), With the new
SBU model, we will be able to
increase customer acquisition,
drive sustainable low cost depos-
its and increase penetration of
retail, e-banking and transaction
banking products.
Customer Service Transformation
Program
Excellent customer service is a
differentiating factor and the
source of competitive advantage
in a service industry. Accord-
ingly, improving service quality
across all touch points is a task
that every member of staff must
be involved. To this end, the Bank
has transformed the hitherto
Customer Interaction Centre into
a Customer Fulfillment Centre
(CFC) to help with swift complaint
resolution process amongst other
service failure issues noted by
customers in the last customer
survey exercise.
Beyond this, we will continually
improve process efficiency
by leveraging automation,
deploying a robust CRM
platform and embracing
technology solutions to help
improve customer service
experience across the
group.
Aggressive Account
Acquisition and
Dormant Account
Reactivation
A key objective of
the SBU model is the
improved customer
acquisition drive through
customer segment focus. To
this end, we are expected to
drive the aggressive reactiva-
tion of all dormant accounts and
acquisition of a minimum of six
million new accounts in 2013.
Regaining Leadership in
e-Banking play
Deepening our e-Banking
play is also a key requirement
for reclaiming our leadership
position. Accordingly, the Bank
has commenced implementation
of a single e-Banking Platform,
enhancement of uptime of all
e-Banking Platforms and ensur-
ing quick resolution of customer
complaints on e-Banking
products.
The Bank will also replicate the
various initiatives across UBA
Africa countries.
Regaining Leadership in Trade
and Positioning for Domestic &
Regional Dominance in Africa
It has also become extremely
important that we have a robust
Trade Platform that will engen-
der improved capacity for trade
processing across the group.
Accordingly, we will be automat-
ing trade processes in UBA Africa
and UBA CAPE and leveraging
our international presence to
grow trade business volumes
across the group.
In the same vein, we will leverage
our African presence for regional
dominance. We will also develop
a competitive framework for
country-to-country business
interaction to take advantage
of business opportunities/trade
flows in these countries and
along major trade corridors.
Significant Improvement in the
Knowledge Base and Skill Set of
Workforce
Central to the highlighted strate-
gic initiatives, is the need to put
in place a robust capacity build-
ing programme. The training will
seek to significantly improve the
skill set of our workforce on an
on-going basis to keep up with
changing business dynamics and
be ahead of competition.
In view of the significance of
Project Alpha and the need
to adequately prepare every
member of staff for the project,
the Executive Management
Committee has charged UBA
Academy to aggressively build
capacity along various key
functional areas in addition to
personal development programs
for staff.
KEY EXPECTATIONS FROM STAFF
There is no doubt that in view
of the scale and significance
of the Project, the success of
Project Alpha requires a differ-
ent mindset, strong enough to
overrun challenges and push
beyond boundaries to deliver on
the targets of Project Alpha.
Beyond this, clinical execution
of key initiatives and supporting
action items are also important.
Indeed, the spirit of execution
excellence must permeate
across the Bank.
In addition, it is important that
every member of staff displays a
greater sense of ownership and
passion at all times. We must also
foster team spirit in our respec-
tive areas and maintain good
relationship with our colleagues,
as we work together to achieve
the targets of Project Alpha.
Essentially, the market-facing
staff will require the support of
the back office to deliver their
targets. The Project Office will
also provide support to action
items drivers/business areas to
achieve set targets by determin-
ing root causes of performance
gaps and escalating challenges
for immediate resolution.
CONCLUSION
In the words of the iconic former
Chairman/CEO of IBM, Louis V.
Gerstner, Jr. effective execution
of strategic imperatives is built on
three key attributes: world class
processes, strategic clarity and
high-performance culture.
With the first two attributes in
place, every member of staff
must imbibe high-performance
culture.
It is imperative to note that high-
performance culture is about
values, commitments and doing
the right things faster, better,
more often, and more produc-
tively than competition.
We must stand tall at all times
against challenges as we push
through to deliver on Project
Alpha.
Cover Story