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The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) has introduced
a new technology branded Queue Manager, as a pilot
project at six of its main branches in Addis Abeba
as of early April 2009.
Queue Manager is an automated system that
facilitates queues of customers entering the branch
so that they can get service sequentially with
maximum attainable efficiency, according to CBE
officials.
"In today's competitive market, people and space
management pose a big challenge in every business
area," states a written reply from CBE's Corporate
Communications Department sent to Fortune.
CBE officials believe that the technology is the
right response to the challenge.
"Queue Manager is the solution to manage space and
people effectively," Getachew Solomon, general
manager of the Communications Department told
Fortune.
Currently, CBE is using the device at some of its
branches to provide services. The branches include:
Finfine, Arada, Megenagna, Temenja Yajh, Goffa and
Addis Ketema. This pilot project is overseen by
Customer Account and Transactions Service (CATS)
department of the Bank. In so doing, it deploys the
Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
experts at each of the branches.
In its most basic form, the technology would manage
queues with clear modus operandi. The machine issues
a queue ticket to an arriving customer and then
calls the ticket number and the counter number in
the national language, according the general
manager.
On the employee's side it promotes the performance
of the staff by avoiding idle time, he said. This
new machine also encourages competition among front
office employees, offering them better working
conditions where they can be efficient and yet
relaxed without being intimidated by a queue of
onlookers waiting for service, Getachew explained to
Fortune. Managers can receive information
right away on what is going on at the workstations
and activity details of every counter. Thus, they
can follow up on how many clients their staff has
served within a specific time interval.
Queue Manager offers daily efficiency reports that
allow managers to: optimize resource allocation,
respond to staff work loads and provide better
service to customers.
CBE, a leading
state-owned commercial bank in the country with 66
years experience, is the first bank in the country
to use the Queue Manager system, Getachew explained.
Currently, the bank has 205 branches scattered
across the country. Growing over the years since its
establishment in 1942, it has now managed to
accumulate assets of 49 billion Br having about two
million account holders and more than 8,000
employees. It has finalized its BPR study and
commenced full scale implementation as of December
2008. |
