Oman Arab Bank Hosts Staff Town Hall Meeting

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  • Reflects on achievements of 2017 and reveals strategic plan for 2018 to staff

Muscat, January 07, 2018: Oman Arab Bank (OAB), last weekend, hosted a special ‘Town Hall Meeting’ for its staff at the Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa. The event, which was presided over by the CEO of the Bank, Amin Al Husseini, reflected on the many achievements of the Bank over the course of 2017 while also touching upon the Bank’s strategic plans for the year ahead.

Also in attendance at the event was Rashad Al Musafir, the DCEO of the Bank, together with other members of the executive management as well as staff from across the Bank’s branch network.

Commenting on the event, Amin said, “Each and every member of our staff is a very highly valued member of the OAB family. It is their collective hard work and effort that ensures our success year after year. As such we feel it is of vital importance that the operations of the Bank remain transparent with each and every one of them and that they are made aware of the progress within the bank as well as our future plans.”

The event, which began at 8:00am on Saturday, January 06, included a number of talks and presentations from the heads of various departments within the Bank; each showcasing their respective department’s achievements over the past 12 months and their plans for 2018.

Commenting on the Bank’s achievements in 2017, Rashad said, “We made significant progress on all fronts last year; with particular attention given to our digital banking platforms. In fact, last year saw the launch of our all new ground-breaking digital banking platform alongside our all-new mobile banking app. We also made significant upgrades to our internal systems, automating and streamlining a majority of them. Furthermore, as part of our ongoing branch transformation strategy, we relocated, transformed, and launched six new branches across the country, two of which were state-of-the-art flagship branches.”

“As a result we are entering 2018 with a very strong footing; with the aim of taking our ongoing transformation strategy to the next level. This year we will put even greater emphasis on our digital banking platforms, streamlining and revamping existing systems, whilst at the same time continuing in our quest towards introducing new never before seen systems. We will also step up our branch transformation efforts with the aim of converting eight branches in the months ahead. As a whole I am confident we will end 2018 on an even higher note than we did this year,” added Rashad.

The event also included talks by the CEO and DCEO, together with an interactive session with the CEO where the staff were presented with an opportunity to ask the CEO any queries they might have regarding the Bank as a whole. In addition, OAB had also setup five interactive stations for staff to use on location, each focused on five different aspects of OAB’s internal and external operations – Digital Banking, Hassad Savings Scheme, Quality Assurance, Code of Conduct, and E-Learning. Additionally, the Bank also held a special commemorative prize draw for its staff that attended the event.

Oman Arab Bank is one of the first banks to be established in Oman, with a rich and proud history. Today, the bank operates a nationwide network of 65 branches and representative offices and 148 ATMs spread across the Sultanate. OAB provides the complete range of financial products and services for personal banking, corporate and investment clients.

OAB Hosts Graduation Ceremony for LEAD (1) Development Program

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Muscat, January 17, 2018: Reinforcing its commitment to nurture and develop future leaders within the banking and finance sector, Oman Arab Bank (OAB) recently hosted a graduation ceremony for the members of its staff that successfully participated in and completed the first edition of its talent development program titled ‘Leadership Enhancement And Development’ (LEAD). As part of the ceremony, each of the 20 talented Omani staff members were presented with a certificate and a token of appreciation from the Bank. The graduation ceremony was held at Bait Al Zubair, under the auspices of H.E. Tahir bin Salim bin Abdullah Al Amri, the Executive President of the Central Bank of Oman. The event was attended by Khalid Al Zubair, Chairman of Ominvest (Oman International Development and Investment Company SAOG), and overseen by Amin Al Husseini, Chief Executive Officer of OAB.

Commenting on OAB’s LEAD program, Amin Al Husseini, Chief Executive Officer of OAB noted, “LEAD is a unique and specialised leadership training program that has been developed in line with the management’s strategy to ensure the continuous development of OAB talent. As such, the program begins each year with the identification process for high potentials (HiPos) in various departments and disciplines across the Bank; conducted by the Bank’s HR Division. These selections are not dependent on their grade or department; they are based purely on their qualifications, potential to grow and handle future key positions, together with the necessary attributes to progress to more senior levels. Following such a carefully moderated system helps us in building a pool of talented employees, while at the same time also contribute towards supporting and building up the Sultanate’s national workforce.”

The event commenced with a speech by Adil Al Rahbi, Head of the Human Resources Division, who said, “The six month program, which has been developed with guidance from the globally renowned leadership and management performance consultancy firm Inspirational Development Group (IDG), utilises best practices in order to empower participants with opportunity, managerial expertise, and high-level workplace solutions. LEAD (1) has been an incredible success for the Bank with each of its 20 candidates acing the course. In fact, a majority of them have already taken up positions of greater responsibility within the Bank.”

Shortly after Adil’s speech, a short video was played that provided the attendees with a quick insight into the LEAD program and the participants’ journey over the course of the year. This video was then followed by a speech by Gerry Woods, the Middle East Regional Director at Inspirational Development Group (IDG), the company who helped develop the program and conducted the training.

Commenting on the successful outcome of OAB’s LEAD programme, Gerry Woods noted, “It has been my privilege to work closely with the bank to deliver leadership excellence, and I commend the CEO Amin Husseini for his foresight in instigating such a challenging developmental programme. Leadership is a privilege, and I believe that if this philosophy is embraced, leaders at all levels can set the conditions for the success of their colleagues.”

“The LEAD journey begins by being able to manage oneself and the impact individual behaviours can have on others. This can be a real eye-opener for many people as behaviours and their effects are made explicit even for very experienced delegates; even after just the first module, we can see changes occurring.” Gerry Woods added.

Sara AlKalbani a LEAD (1) graduate, then addressed the audience saying, “This program has been an incredible learning experience for each one of us; having been taught a number of new skills that have already had a significant positive impact in our day-to-day jobs. On behalf of every candidate I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Members of the Board and the Executive Management at OAB for providing us with this valuable opportunity. It has benefitted each one of us greatly and will no doubt reflect positively in our performance going forward.”

Following the conclusion of the speeches, each of the graduates were handed a certificate and a token of appreciation from H.E. Tahir bin Salim bin Abdullah Al Amri for their successful completion of the course.

Congratulating each of the graduates, Amin Al Husseini said, “On behalf of board and executive management at OAB, I would like to congratulate each of our 20 graduates of LEAD (1). I hope their success in the LEAD course and subsequent promotions to positions of higher responsibility will inspire other staff within the Bank to work harder and put in extra effort for an opportunity to be selected in future LEAD programs.”

The graduation ceremony follows in the footsteps of the launch of the LEAD (2) program launched in November 2017. As with LEAD (1) the 20 new LEAD (2) candidates were also selected from across all employee rankings within the bank, pinpointing the Bank’s most talented staff members. Their acceptance into the leadership programme was preceded by a robust and constructive development centre. The participants have already commence on their first training modules, where they work side by side with some of the best motivational experts, specialised in leadership development. As the course progresses, each of the candidates will be equipped with enhanced leadership skills and behaviours that will ensure effective people development in the coming years. LEAD (2) also features an additional module on business innovation from Cass Business School and other activities related to team building in addition to group projects.

The ‘LEAD’ programme has been designed in cooperation with Inspirational Development Group (IDG), and is facilitated by a team from IDG, a globally renowned leadership and management performance consultancy. The company has channelled its long history of experience delivering high-quality and intensive work programs to some of the most prestigious organizations in the world. Closely affiliated with the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, IDG has worked with some of the most important public and private sector companies in the region from its Middle East office based in Muscat. Former and current clients include the King Abdullah II Fund for Development in Jordan, Shell Petroleum in Qatar, and the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority among others.

The LEAD graduation ceremony saw the attendance of Excellencies, members of the board and senior management of Oman Arab Bank, together with representatives from the banking sector in Oman and senior figures from the private sector.

Oman Arab Bank is one of the first banks to be established in Oman, with a rich and proud history. Today, the bank operates a nationwide network of 65 branches and representative offices across and 148 ATMs spread across the Sultanate. OAB provides the complete range of financial products and services for personal banking, corporate and investment clients.

Oman Arab Bank Reveals Hasaad Savings Scheme for 2018

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  • Monthly winners from each branch

Muscat, January 31, 2018: Oman Arab Bank (OAB), encouraging the savings habit with customers, has announced the new ‘Hasaad’ Savings Scheme for 2018. The scheme has been completely revamped from last year to offer customers greatly increased chances of winning across all the Bank’s branches on a monthly basis, as part of the monthly branch draws. Other draws include monthly draws for Elite account holders, in addition to major monthly prizes and commemorative draws on special occasions such as Eid.

Commenting on the new program, Fahd Amjad, the General Manager of Retail Banking at OAB said, “With the Hasaad Savings Scheme we aim to encourage the habit of saving among our clients to ensure themselves a more secured and prosperous future. This is why we aimed to include all our clients from across our 58 branches in our draws on a monthly basis. In doing so we can continually encourage them to increase their savings and reward them with a chance to win great cash prizes.”

Hasaad Savings Scheme in its current edition offers the Bank’s clients across all regions and branches a chance to win one of several valuable prizes on a monthly basis. These prizes come as part of the Bank’s monthly draws of OMR 1,000 per winner for the lucky winners across all branches. Regional Prize Draws, which will see one winner of OMR 20,000, will be conducted once every two months over the course of the year. The Hasaad Savings Scheme will also include 12 dedicated prize draws for Elite account holders with one winner of OMR 50,000 every quarter and one winner of OMR 20,000 for every other month in between.

Fahd Amjad added, “We are very excited to conducting the January draws in the next couple of days and announce the names of the first batch of lucky winners in the 2018 Hasaad Savings Scheme. The 83 winners of the draw will be from all our branches in the Sultanate. It’s a new strategy of the Bank in line with its aspirations to be the preferred bank in the country, one that maintains close ties to all its clients wherever they may be located. We are delighted to announce the details of the program and encourage all our clients to increase their savings to increase their chances of winning one of the many prizes before the end of the year.”

OAB customers can easily open a ‘Hasaad’ account with a minimum balance of OMR 100, in order to be eligible for most of the prize draws.

Oman Arab Bank is one of the first banks to be established in Oman, with a rich and proud history. Today, the bank operates a nationwide network of 65 branches and representative offices and 148 ATMs spread across the Sultanate. OAB provides the complete range of financial products and services for personal banking, corporate and investment clients.