Stanbic IBTC Reaffirms Position as Leading Employer Brand

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Stanbic IBTC’s status as a leading employer brand has again been reaffirmed as the financial institution won an unprecedented five of nine awards at the HR People Magazine Awards 2018 held recently in Lagos.

The five awards won by Stanbic IBTC are: Best Training, Learning & Development Strategy 2017; Outstanding Employee Engagement Strategy 2017; Employer of Choice 2017 (large corporates category); HR Manager of the Year 2017; and HR Champion of the Year 2017 (awarded to the Group Chief Executive for outstanding commitment to growing people at the organization).

HR People Magazine, organisers of the awards, is the foremost magazine dedicated to the human resources and people development profession in Nigeria and Africa at large. According to the organisers, the awards are evidence-based, and the criteria used to select winners include: a demonstrable and effective strategy to drive the HR touchpoints in all the award categories, ability to show consistent best practice implementation within the organization, evidence-based programs and the impact of these programs on the organization. Specific emphasis on; employee retention, client testimonials and organization’s reputation throughout the business and wider community, employee engagement and productivity levels; among other criteria. Performance was judged over the period covering January 2017 through to December 2017.

Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, Mr Yinka Sanni, stated that winning five awards is a testament to Stanbic IBTC’s strategy of growing a responsible, disciplined, and highly productive workforce. It also reinforces the company’s strong management, systems and its leadership in the financial services industry.

According to Mr Sanni, the awards are a testament to Stanbic IBTC’s continuous investments in its human capital and the establishment of people-friendly procedures and practices, as well as a professional but friendly work environment and a support structure that helps to motivate the employees to give their best while exhibiting their talents.

“We are delighted to be recognised in five different categories out of nine for our strong human capital strategies and deliberate and consistent investments in our people. For us, a highly motivated workforce, one that can deliver better services, is a function of the level of investment in the human capital for professional and personal development that helps to create a productive workforce whilst fulfilling individual career aspirations,” Mr Sanni said.

“These awards will energise us to continue to fine-tune our strategies and provide our people with the right environment, the right tools and adequate incentives to win their commitment as well as grow our people,” he added.

Speaking on the rationale for the awards, Editor-in-Chief of HR People Magazine, Dapo Saheed, said the awards were instituted to celebrate individuals and organisations that have invested in their workforces and are committed to strategies that help to engender best practices in HR and efficient business outcomes.

“These accolades were instituted to reward companies and HR managers who have strategies in place to engender a work-life harmony. They prioritise Human Capital as essential to delivering superior value to stakeholders and this is reflective in people-related investments, processes, policies and practices put in place.”

Stanbic IBTC had similarly been recognised by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM), the principal HR body in Nigeria, for its exceptional people strategy. In 2016 and 2017, Stanbic IBTC won CIPM’s Overall Best HR Practices in Corporate Nigeria.

Other awards won by Stanbic IBTC’s Human Capital team are:  CIPM 2017 HR Optimization Award as the Best Employee Engagement & Internal Communication Initiative; CIPM 2017 HR Best Practice Awards (Banking & Finance Category); HealthMeetings.Org’s 2017 Special Award for Outstanding Investment in Employee Health; and HR People Magazine Award for Outstanding Talent Strategy 2016.

Head, Human Capital, Stanbic IBTC, Mrs Funke Amobi, thanked HR People Magazine for the recognition, even as she assured that the organisation will not rest on its oars in ensuring a productive and motivated workforce.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC is a full service financial services group with a clear focus on three main business pillars – Corporate and Investment Banking, Personal and Business Banking and Wealth Management. Stanbic IBTC belongs to the Standard Bank Group, the largest African financial institution by assets and market capitalization. It is rooted in Africa with strategic representation in 20 countries on the African continent.

Standard Bank has been in operation for 155 years and is focused on building first-class, on-the-ground financial services institutions in chosen countries in Africa; and connecting selected emerging markets to Africa by applying sector expertise, particularly in natural resources, power and infrastructure.