The importance of front line staff to banking operations has been underscored by the award of a practical learning and development contract by Fidelity Bank to the School of Banking & Management at the Osei Tutu II Centre for Executive Education and Research (OTCEER), an institution which is gradually becoming the bellwether for practical training in banking and management.
The 9-week long sessions, six of which were delivered in Accra and the remaining three at OTCEER in Kumasi, benefited nearly 200 front line staff of the bank.
Areas covered in the nine week training sessions included the competitive environment in banking, the A – Z of tellering, banking fraud and other financial crimes. With the aim of getting ‘Tellers to be Sellers’, the programme took the frontline staff through bank marketing and product knowledge with an add-on in practical tellering for insights into customer expectations and satisfaction but above all to develop company-wide cross selling skills.
The Director of Human Resources at Fidelity Bank, John Maxwell Addo Jnr., said “The training is a demonstration of the Bank’s resolve to improve the performance and skills of staff to ensure that customers experience quality service each time they visit any of the Bank’s branches nationwide”.
He noted that there are policies in place for staff to undergo in-house training and also deemed it prudent that they get external training from time to time to enable them leverage on best practices in the banking industry.
Mr. Addo Jnr. was quick to add that the Bank is keen on providing world class banking services right here in Ghana and will continue to empower staff in line with this vision.
The Executive Head of OTCEER, Nana Otuo Acheampong said: “We are delighted to have been chosen as a preferred institution to deliver the suit of practical programmes.
“OTCEER, as a centre of excellence in practical learning and development in banking and management, has considerable resources both at our School of Banking & Management in Kumasi, and elsewhere, to meet the training objectives of Fidelity Bank. Our highly experienced resource team helps staff build strategic skills for effective decision making, strategy development and implementation.”
Goldie Mills, a frontline staff who attended one of the sessions commented that ‘…the training was awesome and an eye opener, especially to many fraud issues l didn't have knowledge about. Thanks so much for the coaching’.
Another front line staff, Charles Badoe, added,‘the training was very useful and created a lot of 'do's and ‘don’ts’ awareness in tellering. Now I can say I’m much more vigilant in my line of duty which will assist in a 'no error' performance.
From the perspective of the facilitators, Alberta Quarcoopome, a co-facilitator, said ‘The modern day customers are very savvy and the tellers were trained not to take them for granted. With enhanced knowledge on the basic banking principles in banker-customer relationships, the tellers are going back more empowered and confident.
The participants also appreciated their strategic role and responsibilities as service ambassadors of the bank, while being more risk conscious, sales focused and service oriented to exhibit the slogan of their bank as “The new standard”.
She concluded that ‘I hope that the various role plays they enacted will leave unforgettable memories that will enhance their problem solving skills and keep their customers enchanted with their services.’
Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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