Risk WATCH with Alberta Quarcoopome: Customer Experience Excellence Training: My Encounter with the Zenith Bank brand

“The test of good etiquette is to be patient with the bad ones”……Solomon Ben Yahuda

It all started with a telephone call from James Kennedy Adzie, of the Human Resource Department of Zenith Bank, Ghana, in November 2024. Ever since our meeting, his professionalism and dedication to duty has left an indelible mark on my mind.

As the first point of contact in the training front, he left no stone unturned in the joint organization of the program by the Corporate Affairs and Human Resource Departments. The program, dubbed “Customer Experience Excellence in Zenith Bank taken us country wide. Later in the year, his replacement was done seamlessly when Barbara Brown took over from him. She  also continued the same professionalism for the remaining sessions of the program.

My First Session- Punctuality at its Best

I entered the training hall in January 2025 at 7.15am on a Saturday to meet many participants already seated! I was taken aback by this. How many company employees in Ghana will you find seated at that time on a Saturday morning? Well, the scheduled training was 8.00am, but most employees would give numerous reasons why they cannot be seated early enough to start at 8.00am.

The Attendance sheet was strictly monitored and the few late comers who came after 8am promptly received query letters on Monday. Yes, that’s how seriously punctuality is taken.

The Zenith Dress Code

The next thing that struck me and my Team was the red colour “oozing” all over the hall. I would have thought they would have just dressed smart casual, but No! Everyone was in their red Zenith polo necked shirt, including the Director himself! We got the impression that they don’t joke with their Zenith brand. The branding was not a show-off, but rather to show that they are proud of their brand.

Ownership of the program from the top.

In my previous training encounters elsewhere, I have never come across an occasion when Every session is opened by a management personnel.  There was active participation in the training program. There was a formal   opening ceremony at every session where a Director of the Bank gave opening remarks and stressed on the importance that Management attached to the program. I remember vividly the inspirational message from Mr Kwame Adadey, Divisional Head, who shared real-life leadership stories where excellent CX led to business success. In fact these Directors made my work easier.

These shared experiences on customer experience excellence, encouraged participants to continue making more positive impact on the Ghanaian banking space, and sustain the bank’s award winning journey. Even at Takoradi, Kumasi and Tamale, there was always a Management staff who travelled with us, sat in the program throughout to monitor the affairs, and explain some policies to them. This made the staff of the outstation branches have a sense of ownership of strategies on the way forward in delivering customer service excellence.

I will always remember the motivational speeches by the following Divisional Heads, and Directors who graced the opening ceremonies of Training programs at the Head Office:

1. Kwame Adadey (Divisional Head)
2. Nana Ama Owusu-Achaw (Head of Human Resources)
3. Mr. James Wiafe Akenten (Divisional Head, Marketing)
4. Mr. George Henry Imbrah (Divisional Head, Marketing)
5. Mrs. Charlotte Yawa Impraim (Head – Credit Risk Mgt/Recovery)
6. Mr. Kofi Abrokwa Kokroko (Divisional Head, Marketing)

The remaining were members of the Corporate Affairs Team(the brain child of the project):

1. Nana Ama Ahwoi, Head
2. Sophia Carolyn Sackeyfio
3. Nana Serwah Boateng-Poku
4. Helen Appiah
5. Tasha Gloria Nyarko

For a bank aiming to elevate its customer experience (CX), management’s ownership of staff training is essential. It goes beyond assigning the task to HR or training departments—it requires visible commitment, strategic alignment, and ongoing engagement. Training bankers in customer service excellence is a powerful way to elevate client satisfaction, deepen relationships, and drive business growth.

The Difference between Customer Service and Customer Experience

For several decades, bank training has emphasized on customer service, which mostly involved training bank staff to give excellent service to their customers. These days the emphasis is on the feeling or perceptions of customers along all touch points in the bank.

A Business cannot exist without its customers, and this is why banks are really focusing on how to win new business and more importantly retaining existing customers. Customer experience and customer service are different, but both are important. Customer service is helping customers solve problems, showing them how to use products, and answering questions, customer service is one piece of the puzzle focused on human interaction and directly supporting customers. Customer experience is the sum of the entire customer journey with the business.

Delivering great customer experience has become a top strategic objective of many corporate organizations

Awards

Zenith Bank Ghana has secured the coveted ‘Bank of the Year Ghana, 2024’ award at the prestigious Banker Magazine Awards in London, marking a significant milestone for the country’s financial services industry.

The Banker’s ‘Bank of the Year’ award is among the most coveted and widely regarded award in the banking industry, often contested by the world’s leading financial institutions. Winners span across Africa, Asia-Pacific, Central & Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, North America and Western Europe.

The award, bestowed by the Financial Times Group’s flagship banking publication, is the fifth time the Bank has won the award, having won previously in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018. It is in recognition of the Bank’s strong financial performance, innovative products and services, excellent service, industry-leading state-of-the-art banking technology and professionalism.

Ref: thebftonline.com (11^th January, 2025)

The Beauty of Diversity in the Workplace and the Need for Teamwork

The mix of participants created an opportunity for us to discuss various ways in which people are inherently and genetically different. Diverse team members must learn to understand and work with each other. What is the use if internal staff are at loggerheads with each other? Departmental frictions result in customer service delivery being sub standard and the promises made unfulfilled. This became a focal point for participants to ensure that customers’ journey in Zenith become seamless and unforgettable.

After all,  happy staff= happy customers = happy bank

Why Customer Care is important to Banks

Participants needed to appreciate the importance of customer care in the financial service sector. Lets us look at some reasons that were previous taken for granted:

• Without customers there will be no business.
• Customers pay their salaries.
• Customers are financially sophisticated and knowledgeable and demand to know what  pertains in other banks.
• Good Customer Care/Service enhances corporate image.
• It also leads to increased business performance.
• Research shows that good customer service tops the list of strategies for gaining competitive advantage and to charge premium prices.
• The longer the association between an organization and a customer the more profitable the relationship for the organization.
• Satisfied customers who are advocates recommend a organization to others.

The Drivers of Great Customer Experience

Now that the emphasis on how customers feel, let us examine some strategies that are very basic in ensuring that customers leave the bank with a good feeling:

• Great first impressions
• Going the extra mile to do something extra to delight the customers
• Good combination of advanced technology and human interaction, to exceed customers’ demands.
• Making the customer feel appreciated, wanted, and is comfortable enough to repeat business and patronize more services and products.
• Showing a genuine effort of going a step further in order to solve the customer’s problem.

Interactive Sessions

Most participants were very interactive and the mix of participants from various departments allowed challenges in their internal customer service issues to be addressed. Participants co-owned the identified challenges and also co-owned solutions to their internal problems. It is not every challenge that should be fixed by Management. At their own levels, many challeneges were addressed and solutions provided.

The Unforgettable Role plays

The icing on the cake was the role plays enacted by the participants themselves. Various customer complaints were put into role plays which brought practicality into the classroom. Can you imagine a role play involving system failure, with angry customers shouting at the staff? The Group syndication created situations where participants bonded with each other which they have continued in their real working life.

Aerobics and Dancing

Training adult learners can be quite challenging. Their own selected “gym instructors” brought a lot of energy into the program and we really had fun, which included dancing and spelling Zenith with their waist! I continue to watch the videos taken, with nostalgia.

My Final Words

Zenith Bank Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of Zenith Bank Plc, was incorporated in April 2005 under the Companies Code, 1963 (Act 179) as a private limited liability company and licensed by the Bank of Ghana in September 2005 under the Banking Act, 2004 (Act 673).

As you celebrate your twentieth anniversary this month, I wish you greater heights both in Ghana and across the global face.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alberta Quarcoopome is a Fellow of the Institute of Bankers, and CEO of ALKAN Business Consult Ltd. She is the Author of Three books: “The 21^st Century Bank Teller: A Strategic Partner” and “My Front Desk Experience: A Young Banker’s Story” and “The Modern Branch Manager’s Companion”. She uses her experience and practical case studies, training young bankers in operational risk management, sales, customer service, banking operations and fraud.

CONTACT

Website www.alkanbiz.com

Email:alberta@alkanbiz.com  or [email protected]

Tel: 233-0244333051/ 233-0244611343

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