The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), the Number One Bank in the UAE, has launcheda contact center in Al Ain, which is managed and staffed entirely by Emirati women. H.E. Mohammed Omar Abdulla, the Undersecretary of Department of Economic Development and NBAD Board member; H.E. Ali Rashed Al Ketbi, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Tawteen Council (ADTC),Michael Tomalin, the Group Chief Executive of NBAD along with Senior Management of the Bank and ADTC attended the official inauguration of NBAD's contact centre in the Bank's branch in Al Yaher area. NBAD's inauguration of the new contact centre is in line with its strategy to raise Emiratisation to 40% by the end of 2012 and to empower UAE women to be in the leadership role in the development of the country. “The opening of the second contact centre of NBAD is an example of efforts to enhance its contribution in providing job opportunities for females taking into consideration the unique social factors of the region, where the number of UAE female jobseekers is high. The new contact centre and job opportunities it provides contributes greatly to accelerate the pace of economic and social development and promote career and family stability for national jobseekers seeking employment from the same area. NBAD collaborates with ADTC to provide 100 jobs to registered female jobseekers. The new contact centre is in line with the government initiative to provide jobs to the UAE female jobseekers in the same geographic areas," said Mr. Al Ketbi. He added: “The first batch is currently enrolled in intensive training courses provided by the Bank to obtain the required skills of “NBAD contact centre agent" and they are expected to graduate at the end of April." “The fruitful relationship between NBAD and ADTC is an example of the successful corporate partnerships for the sake of Emiratisation. NBAD has successfully increased Emiratisation to 39% from 36% in 2009 and 30% in 2008. Emiratisation at senior management level reached 50%. NBAD was one of the Council's strategic partners in the employment program “Dirasati" that was launched in 2010 to provide 215 job opportunities for Emirati jobseekers in banking sector." Mr. Al Ketbi pledges all government and semi-government entities in Abu Dhabi to follow NBAD in this initiative and participate in making a difference by expanding operations and network centers to remote areas in Abu Dhabi in order to speed up the economic and social development in all residential areas within the Emirate. “Emirati womenhave proventheir abilityto produce and lead in allsectors and areasand play active rolein the development process. This is why we have opened doors for women in the eastern region and provided them with the facilities and opportunities to grow and contribute," said H.E. Mohammed Omar Abdulla. “NBAD is committed to Abu Dhabi2030 vision whichrequiresthe contribution ofnational human resources. The Al Ain contact centre supports our Emiratisation strategy as it offers additional opportunityto empower women and invest intheir potentials. It also offers them a convenient environmentto take part in the social and economic developmentof the UAE." The Bank inaugurated a state-of-the-art contact centre in 2009 in Abu Dhabi. NBAD's contact centre provides 24 hour access with multilingual services in Arabic, English and Urdu and personalised customer support to all of NBAD customers. Best Services “The new contact center is an addition to the NBAD's channels that will boost the Bank relationships with its customers and provides them with high quality services 24/7," said Ahmed Al Naqbi, the Head of Direct Banking & E-Development at NBAD. “Customers are at the core of our business, this is why NBAD constantly strives to provide best and convenient channels to serve and support our valued clients." He added: “We are honoured to have a contact centre that is fully managed by Emirati women who in their new roles will act as UAE ambassadors and provide best services to all customers." NBAD believes that supporting and investing in women will help the Bank achieve its aspirations for growth and profitability in the long term. Further, it is part of NBAD's commitment to supporting initiatives that contribute to the sustainable growth of the UAE.Women represent 37% of NBAD's workforce and 51% of branch managers in the UAE. “The newcontact centre has created jobs for many women to work in a comfortable environment. It has also provided them a platform to develop and contribute to the development of the UAE," said Suaad Al Shammari, the Emiratisation Manager at NBAD. “Currently, the contact centre has 29 staff and we are planning to hire more UAE women in the near future to achieve our target of hiring 100 female agents in Al Ain contact centre." The new recruits received several training courses and programmes that aim to prepare them to be excellent contact centre agents, such as interpersonal and communication skills, NBAD's Information Technology system and English language. “In order to meet all the customer needs and answer their financial and non-financial inquiries the staff have received intensive courses in customer service and contact center quality as well as NBAD's products and services which earned them internationally-recognised certificate from The International Customer Management Institute," explained Ms. Al Shammari. “We are committed to NBAD's learning culture and we will continue to provide our staff with the best learning tools to be excellent contact centre agents." In its continuing campaign to empower the nation's women, NBAD sponsored five Emirati women to join the “2041 International Antarctica Expedition", who voyaged to the frozen continent to highlight the effects of global warming and to ensure the continued protection of Antarctica from mining and exploitation beyond year 2041. The Bank has also participated in the 11th Women Exhibition in Dubai to reach entrepreneurs women across the UAE and facilitate the growth of the SME sector in the country. In recognition of its achievements, NBAD has won a number of awards and recognitions for its Emiratisation programmes and record. Michael H. Tomalin, the Group Chief Executive of NBAD, won the Best Emiratisation CEO award in Banking Sector from Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial studies in 2011 and 2009. NBAD won the Human Resources Development Award in Banking Sector for 2008 for its successful Emiratisation programmes, the second year in the row NBAD has won this prestigious Award.
