UBA Trainee Shares Experience with Chairman Elumelu

Deborah Moses, a graduate trainee at United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), has called her meeting with UBA chairman Tony Elumelu a dream come true.

Ms Moses caught the attention of Mr Elumelu after sharing her thoughts on how the bank could solve ongoing issues faced by its customers.

She shared her thoughts on Thursday during a question-and-answer session at UBA’s Graduate Management Accelerated Programme (GMAP). She talked about her on-the-job training (OJT) experience.

Ms Moses told Mr Elumelu, who will finish his time as the bank’s chairman in August, that many UBA customers face the same issues repeatedly. They often do not know what documents they need to fix their problems before visiting a branch.

This leads to customers having to go back home to get the needed documents before their issues can be solved. This can be frustrating and might stop some from returning to the bank.

“During my OJT, I observed that our customers all have repetitive problems. They will come back for the same complaints, and then most of them do not know the required documentation that they need to bring so that their problems would be attended to smoothly.

“Mostly, they will realize that the customer service will now tell them, so you need this and you need that. Please, can you go back and bring it? And they’ll be like, I don’t have time. I cannot come back to this bank again. That’s a very big problem,” she said.

Ms Moses suggested that UBA create a “UBA journey guide” for customers when they sign up. This guide would give information on the documents and steps needed for different banking issues.

“So I want to suggest, how about we have a UBA journey guide for our customers during onboarding, when they are registering with us. We give them maybe a PDF that contains what you need to do at a particular time,” she said.

She said the guide should be available in both digital and printed formats. This will help customers who are not comfortable with digital products.

The guide could include details on issues like changing a phone number and the documents needed to ensure quick responses to their requests.

“And we can also have it in hard copy for some of our customers who do not really like the digital product.

“This way, they are informed of what they need to bring to the bank. They don’t always have to come and go back or have to come,” she said.

Ms Moses, who studied agricultural economics and extension, also suggested that UBA set up a department to track customer experiences in real time across its branches.

She said this would help the bank see how many customers visit its branches, how many get help, and how many do not. It would also help identify common complaints.

“At the end of the day, we know this number of people came to the bank; these people were attended to, and these were not, at the branch level. Daily reports, in a way, will help us know the recurring problems, the ones that are the highest, and then we will know how to solve them and reduce inflow,” she said.

Mr Elumelu responded to Ms Moses’ ideas by inviting her to the podium. He praised her suggestions and shook hands with her.

“If we hand over to people like you in UBA, we will be safe,” Mr Elumelu said. He also expressed his wish to continue following her career at the bank.

Later, in a Facebook post on Friday, Ms Moses said the moment strengthened her belief that ideas and courage can make a difference, no matter where one is in their career.

“I always imagined the day I’d shake hands with the outgoing Chairman. Yesterday, I got more than a handshake; I got a hug, encouragement, and his recommendation.

“During my GMAP OJT, by the Grace of God, I identified a problem, suggested a solution, and dared to speak up. He loved the idea.

“That moment reminded me that ideas matter, initiative matters, and your voice can create impact; regardless of where you are in your journey,” Ms Moses said.

Before joining UBA, the graduate trainee worked as a Human Resources Assistant at the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) after graduating in 2023. She also worked with NEAT Microcredit before starting the UBA internship programme.