The need for top quality staff heads the Nigerian banking agenda. There are three reasons for this. First, banks have absorbed many staff from different cultural and training backgrounds as part of the consolidation process and these workers need to be informed and brought together to form a harmonious and effective culture.
Second, Nigerian banks are expanding their branch networks and for that skills, information and bright new retail talent are essential.
Third, technology is a key component in terms of how banks are seeking to improve efficiency and grow the product base – and this requires skilled experts.
Cultural issues are key to First Inland Bank where chief executive officer Okey Nwosu has pulled together its four constituent banks, namely IMB International Bank, Inland Bank, First Atlantic Bank and NUB International Bank. He says: “Our business is growing so fast that we need different people with different competencies. We are massively recruiting.
“We are looking at bringing in new people with a fresh perspective, who don’t have the legacy perspective. We are trying to break away from the past. Soon, we will not talk about what we used to do, but what we are doing as First Inland Bank.”
The consolidation process has hastened a shake-up of the banking system. At First Inland management is looking to make 10% of staff redundant. Mr Nwosu has tried studiously to be fair to all his employees.
Skills of all employees, from top management to junior staff, were assessed for overlaps. The bank brought in local human resources consultants to facilitate. Mr Nwosu says: “We had to go through the senior people to make sure they were in the right places, and see who we wanted to retain. The HR aspect took some time, and we had to carry the board along. The board members came from the legacy banks and we have had to produce new guidelines.” KPMG, the international accountants and management consultancy, was used to review the bank’s integration strategy.
The challenge of creating a unified culture was also an issue for Union Bank, where Barth Ebong, group managing director, says: “The main problem was cultural integration. Constituent banks had some very young people who were not entrenched in our culture. The culture of banking operations was different and we had to re-train many.”
As well as re-training, the recruitment of a new generation of staff well versed in quality of service is vital. Students from Nigerian and foreign universities are being encouraged to enter into the banking system, and colleges have been established by each of the major banks to ensure recruitment quality.
The School of Banking Excellence set up by Access Bank offers a course that lasts four months and contains modules on subjects such as know-your-customer, money laundering, regulation and the regulatory framework. The reputation of the school’s training has spread throughout the Nigerian banking community to the point that banks seek to poach its output once they have been trained.
Such is Access’s need for skilled and able personnel that it aims to double the school’s capacity. Meanwhile, the bank is tapping the National Youth Service System for would-be bankers.
Early learners
As the pressure to recruit skilled young bankers builds, so other banks are developing their own training establishments. Zenith Bank has its Banking Skills Development Centre, where it trains in its culture professionals and young people fresh out of school. Here, the subject that heads the curriculum is the management of change.
Re-training also extends to management. At Access Bank, for example, its executive team was sent en masse to Harvard, the Ivy League US University. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Access Bank’s managing director, says its managers need to “learn about managing growth”.
He continues: “The culture here is based on excellence, integrity, professionalism and the continuous learning process. We have an ambitious workforce, but we want them to work as one team.
“We are looking constantly to build creative tensions, to get them to exceed their own capacities. The leaders of the bank must understand how the culture works, or it can lead to problems.”
The human resources challenge at Oceanic Bank focuses on acquiring those with ready-made skills and experience, says managing director Cecilia Ibru. She says: “We need leadership quality. We need the know-how. For instance, the card business is going to be huge in Nigeria, because that is the only way we can make the nation a cashless society. So we are looking to partner with people in the [mobile phone banking] area.” (See page 23.)
Nigeria’s banks have demonstrated their understanding that the development of people is the focus of the dramatic change now under way. Those who pick and train the best will win the many battles ahead.
