Northern Regional Minister Moses Mabengba has advised both the Management and Unions of Ghana Commercial Bank Limited to ensure consensus-building on all labour issues to enable them achieve the corporate goals.
Speaking at the 23rd biennial Delegates Conference held in Tamale on Saturday, November 23, 2010, on the theme "Transforming GCB into a world class Banking Institution, he said while Management may be addressing issues of capacity building for the work force, employees should also be ready to give of their best in the area of customer service.
Mr. Mabengba who laced his speech with anecdotes to drive home his message talked about developments in the Banking and financial sector and asked the Bank to pay attention to its processes, procedures and systems to achieve world class status.
He praised GCB for having showed faith and confidence in the region over the years by maintaining branches in the region. He however urged Management to consider opening more branches to cater for the growing needs of the majority of the unbanked people of the Northern Region.
GCB has nine branches in the region, but the Minister's concern is that apart from the Tamale municipality which has three branches in close proximity, the other branches in the region (which covers a very wide area) are very far apart.
Mr. Simon Dornoo, Managing Director of the Bank commended the Unions for the harmonious relationship that has existed between Management and the Unions and hoped this collaboration will help buttress what the Regional Minister had said.
He drew attention of staff to the consistent decline in interest rates and its impact on the Bank's bottom-line. He said the Bank will have to find ways of cutting cost and satisfying its customers and winning more customers to help achieve the Bank's targets.
In a candid share of information with the gathering the Managing Director said a lot of the challenges that had confronted the Bank have been addressed adding that with the improvement made staff must work hard to change the current public perception of the Bank.
He said with the strides made in technological advancement at GCB, loans can be made available to customers even earlier than some competitors are promising. The Bank has acquired a software that facilitates decision-making on loans in less than a day.
Staff at the conference responded in the affirmative when Mr. Dornoo asked whether it is possible for the Bank to beat its competitors with this offering, when they all shouted "Yes we can".
The Chairman of the Employees Union, Mr. I.M. Kamil emphasized the importance of peaceful industrial relations in any customer-oriented organization especially in a competitive and challenging environment like the bank finds itself in.
"Our Unions and GCB Management have been able to manage peaceful co-existence and sustained harmonious relations in the Bank for well over 17 years, with many sacrifices coming from both ends, especially the employees', he added.
He referred to the collaboration which existed between the two identifiable groups which saw the Bank through various challenges including the proposed sale of the Bank.
"Mr. Chairman, we resisted the proposed sale of government's remaining shares in GCB and some said posterity will judge us. The judgment is here today for all to see. From 130 branches at that time, we have grown to 157.
Significantly our growth is not only in the number of branches, the bank has also rolled out new products over the years and is still developing more IT-based products to meet the expectations of all categories of GCB customers".
Mr. Kamil who was delivering his exit speech as chairman of the Union having served for five years, called on both corporate and individual customers of the bank to take advantage of these IT-based products, particularly, Commernet Plus (internet banking) to enjoy its benefits including managing the account directly.
Mr. Samuel Sarpong, Dy. Managing Director in charge of operations who chaired the Conference commended the Union for the harmonious relationship that exists between them and Management.
He urged staff to work diligently to enable the Bank attain its objective of a world class bank.
The programme gave participants most of whom had travelled from the south, the opportunity to experience northern culture at its best. Such was the excitement during the performance of the cultural troupe that participants were over each other trying to get the best of shots.
The business-minded artisans and traders who came to sell their wares made the best business decision. Staff patronized both the batakaris and sandals which were on display. The fashionable way they wore the batakaris over their tee-shirts was so trendy, it could have made the runway.
To welcome staff who had come to Tamale and for their meals, those in the northern zone donated a large cow to the executive of the Employees Union.
In attendance were the Deputy Managing Director Finance, Mr. Samuel Amankwah and the Area Manager of Tamale Zone, Mr. Robert A. Adamou.