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His name is Mr. Afolabi Imoukhuede, a young and amiable Nigerian managing consultant of a US-based MCS Consulting Limited; owners of MCS Learning Center in Lagos. It is not quite long that he came back from the United States where he studied and worked for some years as a management consultant before coming home to head the affiliate company in Nigeria. His mandate is to impact on the Nigerian-based service providers with a series of strategically packaged training programs.
"We have well packaged training programs that are designed to support and reinforce globally shared values and system-wide competencies in which demonstration of these behaviors would help various organisations achieve their vision," he said. Imoukhuede continued: "Everybody in the service industry ought to attend a training course at least thrice in a year, which we believe will go a long way in improving the lot of the organisations".
His worry is that many in a position to either nominate people for or attend the training sessions look at training with impunity "How to change that apathy amongst Nigerian entrepreneurs is a challenge to us all," he said. It is dawned on him that Nigerian environment is many poles apart from the country he was coming from because back in Nigeria, what an average entrepreneur basically wants is a short term plan on how to get his business to succeed. There hardly would be provision for training. Their slogan is 'work and work and deliver desired results'. And they would expect unimaginable increase in bottom lines without finding ways to develop their human capital.
But what is the place of training in this modern day business, especially in a business environment ridden with competition of wits? No matter the level, the impact of training on both employee and employer is enormous. As the market is growing tougher daily, from the chief executive officer down the ladder are supposed to be armed with certain impeccable skills. A leader for instance is supposed to possess an in-depth knowledge of his market environment, do strategic thinking and make seasoned judgements, have global perspectives to issues and trends, be adaptable to changing environment, guard his integrity jealously amongst others. These are some management competencies required of corporate leaders today in order to stay a step ahead of their competitors.
According to the Harvard Business School (HBS), the programme prepares the beneficiary to excel and move forward at a particular juncture in their career. In one comprehensive programme, one is expected to learn what otherwise could take years of experience and international assignments to comprehend. And this offers an unparalleled general programme which engages top corporate managers with diverse business backgrounds from various nations and cultures in a highly charged interchange of knowledge, insight, and expertise guided by a team of renowned HBS faculty.
It thus becomes obvious why top executive officers like Mr. Jim Ovia of Zenith International Bank Limited, who is on a three-week programme and Mr. Tony Elumelu of Standard Trust Bank Plc, on an eight-week intense learning course could afford to leave their offices in order to be at Harvard.
Elumelu was quoted as saying that why he is at the HBS is to learn more on how to better manage the institution he leads. "I have people who look up to my leadership and I have to be able to lead them right. The banking terrain is changing in Nigeria, and I need to refresh to be able to compete...," he said.
In the same vein, Ovia once said: "Our consistent superior performance is a testimony of our customers' loyalty and over the years, it has become obvious that the sustainability of this result is predicated on how well we treat our customers and how well we work to continue to earn their trust. We will continue to seek new ways of serving them better".
It is hoped that they are truly seeking ways to serve their customers better since the duo head banks that are known for outstanding performances. Or are they in Harvard just to raise the stake of competition in the industry further? Ostensibly, the challenges and responsibilities of general management are getting more complex by the day, which makes it imperative for higher-level management with decades of experiences to find it beneficial to set aside time to refresh old skills and build new ones. The efforts by Ovia and Elumelu could be an eye opener for their counterparts in the sector. It may not be Harvard. There are other good institutions out there that one can enroll in. In Nigeria, there are some sound consulting firms that have well thought-out training programmes that would add tremendous value to the organisation and individuals. What many do in the developed countries where some CEOs engage the services of some consultants to coach them privately on how to tackle the increasing challenges of their jobs could equally be adopted.
The two banks have some few things in common. Their impressive growth indicates their determination to meet targets and post records that always surpass their previous year's earnings. Both are at the forefront of the Nigerian banking industry as far as growth, quality service delivery, profitability, innovative information technology, in-tune with the dynamics of the world's changing economies, amongst others are concerned.
A glance at their profiles:
Zenith International Bank Limited
Zenith Bank Limited is a private limited liability company incorporated on May 39, 1990 but started operations on July 16, 1991 and within a decade, rose to become the fourth largest and third most profitable bank in Nigeria. It had total assets plus contingents of over N153 billion, shareholder's funds of N12.6 billion, and profit before tax of N5.4 billion in the year ended 2003. The bank has consistently maintained a triple A (Aaa) rating for five consecutive years since 1999, as adjudged by Austo & Co. The bank has equally maintained very good asset quality, achieving the lowest non-performing loans to total loans ratio of 1.4 percent as at 2003 year ended, compared to the industry average of about 18 percent.
In five years, from 1999 to 2003, the bank has recorded impressive performance on many fronts. Zenith recorded a total assets plus contingent liabilities which grew by 311 percent from N37.28 billion to N153.44 billion. Gross earnings increased from N7.07 billion to N17.84 billion, representing 152 percent growth. Other indicators like pre-tax profit also grew by 2555 percent from N1.52 billion to N5.44 billion, while shareholder's funds increased from N3.42 billion to N12.65 billion representing 269 percent growth. Its return on assets and equity remains strong and compares favourably amongst emerging market's banks.
It offers a wide range of universal banking services with a growing branch network throughout the nation. Zenith Bank prides itself with fully computerised state-of-the-art information and communications technology.
Zenith has concluded plans to commence its Initial Public Offer (IPO) with the Nigerian Stock Exchange, and it is expected that it would equally be over-subscribed, but no one knows what percentage it will gain. According market reports, the enthusiasm is high from investors yearning to buy the shares.
The bank in recent time embarked on aggressive branch openings across the country, especially in Lagos metropolitan. It is a direct Western Union Money Transfer agent in Nigeria.
Mr. Jim Ovia is the managing director/chief executive of the bank. He holds a first degree and MBA in Business Administration from USA. He started his banking career as a clerk in 70's and rose from ranks before he went abroad for his graduate education.
Standard Trust Bank Plc
Standard Trust Bank Plc started operations on June 4, 1990 as a commercial bank after the acquisition of the distressed Crystal Bank, with the vision of being the 'role model for African business through consistent achievement of superior returns for their numerous stakeholders'. Within a short while, STB has established a strong network of over 86 real time on-line branches. On its balance sheet, the bank has over N74. 2 billion deposit base, making it the fourth largest bank in the country in terms of deposit base and the fifth most profitable bank. STB was among the banks that were called upon by the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) to rescue some ailing banks sometime last year. Also last year, it acquired 51 percent majority shares in Continental Trust Bank in the bid to redeem the fortunes of the bank.
Moreover, STB is a direct Western Union Money Transfer agent in Nigeria. All its branches are being used as pay-out points for the international money transfer. Earlier, it had created a Cash Fast product that appears to be even more popular than the Western Union. Both customers and non-customers use the facility to send money in and around the country. And from the testimonies of users, it is efficient. The bank has also been appointed by Travelex Worldwide to sell Thomas Cook brand of travellers' cheques in the country.
STB was among the seven banks appointed by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to become settlement banks after meeting all the criteria set out by the apex bank. The settlement banks were supposed to pay collectively N72 billion collateral before the commencement of the new policy on April 1.
On 26th of March this year, the bank was listed for the offer of subscription of 1,000,000,000 ordinary shares of 50k each at N4 per share of on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange with an unprecedented outing of over 255 percent over-subscription. Recently, the United States Export Import Bank (EXIM), under its Credit Guarantee Facility (CGF) programme, signed an agreement with STB to provide $30 million for on-lending to STB's customers in Nigeria.
Mr. Tony Elumelu is the managing director of Standard Trust Bank Plc. Elumelu, a father of two is a trained research economist with both graduate and post-graduate degrees in Economics. Before he became the CEO of STB, he had a stint as Area manager, All States Trust Bank; Executive Director (ED), Linkage Assurance Company Limited; founding CEO of BGL Limited; and ED, Merchant Bank of Commerce Limited.
Submitted by Afolabi
Imoukhuede, Managing Consultant, MCS
Consulting Limited Ikoyi, Lagos
aimoukhuede@mcsworldgrp.com
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It is common knowledge in Nigeria that many people go into business ventures with viguor, tall visions and strong will to succeed. Many of the visionaries only see profit and nothing more. Human capital is preferably tapped and not developed. Even some CEOs do not believe in training, which may explain why many organisations are stagnant. But how do we place organisations such as Zenith International Bank Limited and Standard Trust Bank Plc, formidable brands in the banking sector which yet place high premium on staff training? Currently their CEOs, Mr. Jim Ovia and Mr. Tony Elumelu, are making timeout of their busy schedules to attend different short term Advanced Management Programs at the Harvard Business School, reports Malachy Agbo