LAGOS – Fidelity Bank Plc. has unveiled a seven-point agenda aimed at making it Tier-One in Nigeria and outlive competition.
The agenda unveiled by the bank’s Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director, Mrs Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, was made available to Sundiata Post on Saturday night.
Onyeali-Ikpe said the agenda focused on brand architecture, brand building and refresh, talent development and transformation, as well as product and service delivery.
According to her, agility and performance discipline, digital transformation and regulatory compliance are part of the agenda.
Onyeali-Ikpe, Fidelity Bank’s first female chief executive officer, said the bank intended to embark on an innovation drive through implementation of new processes and techniques.
“The bank is also executing fresh ideas to ensure continuous process improvement, reduce cost to serve, increase competitiveness, improve brand recognition and value, build new partnerships and relationships, drive turnover, and increase profitability,” she said.
She said that the company would embark on brand refresh with the aim to increase top-of-mind awareness of the Fidelity brand by external and internal stakeholders.
Onyeali-Ikpe added that the company would ensure workforce transformation to create a future readily supported by a high performing and empowered workforce.
“This will be achieved by deepening the skills and competencies of staff across the bank, entrenching a culture of high performance, and embedding new ways of working in the bank.
“Commencement of capacity building for staff and senior management training are some of the initiatives implemented,” she said.
Onyeali-Ikpe said that service excellence intended to build brand loyalty through personalised and seamless customer experience delivery was underway with the virtual assistant IVY.
“This revolutionary chatbot handles simple tasks such as account opening and complex tasks such as complaint resolution, bill payment, transferring users to a live agent, loans, fixed deposit applications and answering random questions,” she said.
Onyeali-Ikpe said that other initiatives of the bank geared toward deepening growth include renewal of institutional banking and drive for transaction-based propositions in corporate banking.
Overview and timeline
Fidelity Bank’s seven-point agenda focuses on brand architecture, brand building and refresh, talent development and transformation, product and service delivery, agility and performance discipline, digital transformation, and regulatory compliance.
In accordance with this, here are the bank’s strategies for ensuring that it attains its objectives:
1. The bank intends to embark on an Innovation Drive through the implementation of new processes, techniques. The bank is also executing fresh ideas to ensure continuous process improvement, reduce cost to serve, increase competitiveness, improve brand recognition and value, build new partnerships and relationships, drive turnover, and increase profitability.
2. Brand refresh with the aim to increase top-of-mind awareness of the Fidelity brand by external and internal stakeholders.
3. Workforce Transformation to create a future readily supported by a high performing and empowered workforce. This will be achieved by deepening the skills and competencies of staff across the bank, entrenching a culture of high performance, and embedding new ways of working in the bank. So far, the commencement of capacity building training for staff and senior management training are some of the initiatives implemented.
4. Service Excellence which is intended to build brand loyalty through personalized and seamless customer experience delivery. This is already underway with the award-winning virtual assistant IVY. This revolutionary chatbot handles simple tasks like account opening to complex tasks such as complaint resolution, bill payment, transferring users to a live agent, loans, fixed deposit applications, and answering random questions.
5. Digital Transformation involves an end-to-end digitization across all facets of the business. In line with this, the bank has launched a novel digital service —Pay Yourself —which revolutionized payday for salary earners and SMEs.
6. Performance Discipline to ensure focus on strong fundamentals, asset quality, and strategic cost management. Initiatives already carried out in this regard include;
– The Policy Familiarization Program —a capacity-building project geared towards building a knowledgeable and versatile staff network/raising subject matter experts in all business areas that kicked off in March.
– The One Culture Project- which was initiated to reinforce enabling behaviours and value systems towards fulfilling the bank’s goals
– Project Alpha- aimed at helping the bank develop a robust and holistic learning and development framework for all staff.
7. Accelerated Growth which will drive aggressive market penetration and business diversification. This will be achieved through deeper penetration in key retail markets.
Sundiata Post reports that Onyeali-Ikpe assumed office on 1 January 2021, as the bank’s first female chief executive officer and managing director.
