Tell me about your role with the Bank?
My role entails communicating the Bank’s products and services to our diverse customers, via digital media. The Bank always has new innovative products and services and I’m on the team that ensures the public gets to know about these products through our digital channels. This covers social media, online advertising, the use of influencers, and every communication disseminated through our digital channels.

What do you find interesting about your Job?
The thrill of my job is finding creative and innovative ways to communicate the Bank’s message and products to a very diverse audience. This is quite challenging, as the different audience have different media consumption patterns.

How is a typical day at work?
A typical day at work starts with a review of the Bank’s social media statistics, keeping track of our competitor banks as well as industry trends in order to improve on how we operate. Ensuring our creative agencies are in line with our goals is also a key part of my job. It is essential to have the agencies meet their deliverables on time. Communicating with different Business units and helping them achieve their communication goals is also key.

I’m a huge foodie so I don’t joke with my breakfast and lunch.

What part of your job do you find most challenging?
Ironically, what I find most challenging is what I find most interesting about my job. The onus of looking for innovative and creative ways to communicate the Bank’s goals and products are as challenging as they are interesting but the most challenging is having to satisfy the needs of the various internal subgroups. 

How did you get started at Access Bank?  Did you choose to work with the Digital Communications Team?
I came in through the Access Bank School of Banking Excellence which is the Training School. In training school, unless you studied highly specialised courses like IT or Law, you are not sure where you would end up in the Bank. I did not know much about the Bank but there were lots of interesting stories about Corporate Communications, so I researched it, and felt it was the way to go. At my previous employment, I worked in a similar role which I loved, so I decided to continue in that career path.

What skills are required for this Role? What skills have you developed so far?
One of the major skills that is required in this role is “Perceptiveness”. I have to perceive and anticipate what best captivates the audience every day. Being able to achieve this is not instantaneous, but over time, you get to understand and learn on the job.

Creative writing is also vital. We have to come up with a lot of captions for our social media platforms, create loads of content, blog posts, memos, website copy, etc, so copy writing, as well as other general communication skills are very important. Decision-making skill is also important. I’ve learnt people management as well, because one must find a way to attend to so many people at the same time, balancing your time and other resources. Being able to handle pressure is also key!

How would you describe the Culture of the Bank?
I think the Bank has a beautiful culture, especially considering the fact that it is in one of the less flexible industries – Financial Services. It’s not like an FMCG or a tech company where there’s so much flexibility, still, the environment is so relaxed. For instance, at Access Bank, everyone goes by a first name. I believe this helps us bond as a team. We also have an open-door policy, and management is amenable to whatever employees have to say.

It is an equally empowering environment. We have this platform called Basement and everyone is free to bring in innovative ideas and suggestions for the Bank and get rewarded. We have the CEO Awards where outstanding employees get rewarded. We are ART lovers at Access Bank, and you’ll find that there are inspirational piece of work around almost every cosmos in the Bank.

How do you manage stress or pressure?
There is always pressure, so the first thing I normally do is to take a walk when I feel pressured. We have Ben Enwonwu’s 7 wooden sculptures on our 1st Floor, and it’s such a master piece! When I’m under that type of pressure, I just take a walk to the first floor and stare at the statues. Every floor has dozens of artworks so I can pick any floor to explore anytime. Sometimes, I go out and get a parfait to cool myself down!

Describe your job in one word
Rewarding

Patrick Chiazor
(Digital Communications Strategist),
Corporate Communications Department (ET)