BoV rewards employee suggestions

"A record 1,600 suggestions were submitted by Bank of Valletta staff members under the Staff Suggestion Scheme during the past financial year, between October 2002 and September 2003.

"There has been a substantial increase in the number of suggestions submitted and also the number of suggestions accepted," said Igino Xuereb, BoV's chief officer, retail banking, during a ceremony to award the Best Sugges-tion and the Best Performing Branch.

Raymond Lia from the bank's Data and Support Operations Centre, was given the Best Suggestion of the Year Award. Mr Lia proposed a modification to the automailing machines program leading to process efficiencies in the issuing of chequebooks to customers.

The BoV Racecourse Street Marsa branch was nominated as the Best Performing Unit. The branch, headed by Richard Dimech, has managed to achieve the highest percentage of accepted suggestions of those submitted.

Addressing the employees during the presentation of prizes, Mr Xuereb said: "Through these awards the bank is seeking to motivate its employees to come up with innovative ways to improve the bank's portfolio of services and operations.

"The recognition given by the bank to employees who put forward suggestions goes beyond financial rewards. The bank maintains personal contact with the employees who put forward their suggestions to further develop their ideas.

"The popularity of the BoV Staff Suggestion Scheme during the past three years has been on the increase and we are confident that this year we will continue to build on the success registered so far.

"In fact, a record number of suggestions were submitted between October and December 2003."