Sports have a lot to do with the development of any human being. In many countries across the globe, sports is a way of life, which goes pari persu with the mental capacity of workers in the corporate world.
In the financial management world, sports can be a powerful tool. Given the inherent values of teamwork and fair play, building self-esteem, and equal opportunities for all, sports can also be a means of promoting peace.
In the western world, there are myriad campaigns showcasing the unifying power of sports. In Nigeria today, WEMA Bank is one of the few financial institutions promoting sport for development.
Wema Bank Plc., in the past month hosted the fifth edition of its annual sports competition for employees across the different regions of the bank.
Known as Wemalympics, the sporting event is arguably the largest internal sports events for employees organised by a bank or corporate body in Nigeria. Through Wemalympics, Wema Bank not only encourages collaboration and staff engagement, but promotes fitness and mental wellbeing of employees among other benefits.
Wema Bank believes in treating employees right and giving them a platform like Wemalympics, it is putting them in the best shape – mentally and physically – to keep delivering premium customer experience to the public.
On the impact of the initiative, the exercise is all about bonding among staff members and among family members of staff.
Truthfully, its staff spend 70 percent of their time in the office, so creating a Wemalympics platform to help staff members play and have fun together, is a brilliant idea. One striking feature about Wema bank is its belief in the role family plays in the life of its employees.
It is why the event was witnessed by spouses and children of staff members.
The event is fun and carries all the values the Bank holds dear.
The sports competition featured sporting disciplines such as football, table tennis, arm wrestling, scrabble and chess, this year’s event saw the Southwest Region emerge overall winners.
The event, which was held at the UNILAG Sports Complex on October 8, 2022, had over 1,000 members of staff and their families in attendance, drawing praise from Ademola Adebise, MD/CEO of Wema Bank.
The event is an attestation to what the institution has achieved with Wemalympics, which is increased bonding and cooperation among staff of the bank. The event also promoted healthy competition among the staff, which is applaudable.
Little wonder Wema Bank Plc, emerged as the best-performing bank in the first half of the year 2022 (H1’22) with a weighted average score of 2.83 points, beating 12 other banks.
Wema Bank ranked first in one category, second in three categories and third in another category. Stanbic IBTC and First Bank of Nigeria Limited were second and third respectively.
Back to the healthy competition organized by the innovative bank, its South-West team finished first on the league table.
“I congratulate Team South-West, the overall winners of the competition, for that feat. It shows their level of preparation. I also congratulate the other teams for their efforts. For us, this competition is not just about winning medals and trophies but also about the demonstration of team spirit and hard work. I believe that all our staff will extend these universal sports virtues to the workplace,” Adebise said.
The competition is an attestation that Wema Bank’s staff are its greatest asset, which is why their health and fitness matters to the institution.
We must commend the Management of Wema bank for being consistent with this initiative, which has promoted mutual bond among its staff members.
Olamide Adeniji is a member of the editorial team of TheScript Newspaper
