Top Nigerian banks including Zenith, UBA, First Bank, etc were missing on the podium as Ecobank was announced as the winner of the highly coveted Best Place to Work in Africa 2022 Award from the Best Place to Work organisation.
The Award honours organisations that exhibit the highest standards of excellence in Human Resources (HR) practices and employees’ experience.
Accepting the award, Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Group, Ade Ayeyemi said: “At Ecobank, we recognise that our people are our greatest asset. As a pan-African bank, we are intentional in deploying resources to attract, develop and retain the right talent. We actively provide the tools and processes to achieve a performance-driven culture and enabling environment. Receiving international recognition as being one of the Best Places to Work in Africa is a great honour. It is noteworthy that this Award would not have been possible without the support of my colleague Ecobankers.”
Also commenting, Yves Mayilamene, Group Executive, Human Resources at Ecobank, said: “We support and empower our talent to excel in an enabling and conducive working environment while investing in their growth and wellbeing. At Ecobank, we always seek to provide our staff with opportunities to advance and achieve their full potential through our learning and development initiatives. This Best Place to Work Award is a tribute to our Ecobankers’ commitment to exhibiting and living our values, as well as creating the right corporate culture.”
According to the Best Place to Work organisation, the certification programme involves rigorous assessment and rankings based on the results of robust and objective assessments carried out at various hierarchical levels and across HR operations and procedures. It includes HR Assessment and an Employee Assessment Survey. Areas covered include HR practices, compensation, benefits, leadership, teamwork, employee engagement and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The assessment process resulted in the Ecobank Group achieving a total certification score of 79% – any percentage above 75% is considered high. The certification of the Best Place to Work accreditation is for one year (November 2022-November 2023).
Best Places to Work certified organisations tend to outperform the market average in terms of driving consistent long-term business performance through high employee engagement, engaging leadership and talent focus. Becoming a certified organisation means employees are inspired, engaged and motivated to do their best, everyday and everywhere.
During the celebration event, Peter Burke, President of Best Companies Group, extended his heartfelt congratulations to Ecobank by emphasising on the uniqueness of this Award that strengthens the Ecobank Employer Brand. He added:” You are being recognised for creating workplaces where your employees love to come to work. You are the envy of all other employers. Keep up the good work.”
The Best Places to Work certification is a globally recognised flagship employer of choice programme and is delivered in partnership with Best Companies Group. The Best Company Group is a well-established US company focused on identifying and recognising best employers in over 60 countries around the world.
In Africa, there were 29 Best Places to Work organisations recognised in 2022. These include Alsa, eHealth Africa, Hilti, IHS, Ooredoo and Pharma 5. Some global companies with operations in Africa – such as AstraZeneca, Dell, Nestlé and Roche – were also among the winners.
The Best Place to Work in Africa Award followed another significant recognition for Ecobank as the Best Employer Brand in Africa, from the Africa Best Employer Brand Awards 2022. It honours the top organisations in Africa who are exemplary in HR.
The judges for the Award considered business progress based on public available information and many aspects of People/HR strategies including Talent Management and Development; Diversity and Inclusion; Women Empowerment; Promoting and Managing Health in the workplace; and CSR Initiatives.
