Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), a leading indigenous bank in the country, has set an enviable record of rewarding Michael Kwadwo Asamoah of the Bank’s Card Operations Department with an all-expense paid trip to any destination of his choosing.

Michael won the overall best worker after he won the 2017 3rd quarter edition of the UMB S.P.E.E.D. championship.

Mr. Asamoah then earned automatic qualification into the next round, the UMB Grand S.P.E.E.D. Championship, beating five other candidates in a bank wide vote to clinch the coveted title along with the mouthwatering prizes.

For his prize as the overall Grand S.P.E.E.D. Champion, Michael Kwadwo Asamoah walked away with a cash prize of GHC10,000; a Grand S.P.E.E.D. Champion citation; an all-expense paid trip to Toronto Canada, which is his destination of choice; $1000 spending money; lunch with the members of the Bank’s Executive Committee(EXCO) with two family members and two colleagues.

As an added honour, his picture would be displayed in the UMB Hall of S.P.E.E.D. Champions at the UMB Head office at the SSNIT Emporium, Airport City, in Accra.

The UMB S.P.E.E.D. Championship is a quarterly internal campaign to determine which Front and/or Back Office member of staff has consistently demonstrated the bank’s core values of Speed, Passion, Excellence, Ethics and Diligence (S.P.E.E.D.) in the performance of their duties.



In order for a staff member to qualify as a nominee for the prestigious title as UMB Front and/or Back Office S.P.E.E.D. Champion for the quarter under review, the staff member must meet the following criteria:

1. Nomination by the Head of Department/Business Manager (BM).

2. Nominee must receive one of the highest scores bank wide based on the appraisal form completed by the Head of Department/BM.

3. The candidate must also be voted by their department/branch as the Department’s/Branch’s choice as the S.P.E.E.D. Champion nominee.

4. Confirmation that they have completed their mandatory Virtual Learning Academy course requirements.

The 6 shortlisted nominees (3 Front Office staff and 3 Back Office staff) proceed to the interview phase, where the top 6 are selected based on their scores from the appraisals and peer vote and completion of all Virtual Learning courses.

The top 6 nominees then go through the interview stage, where a series of questions are posed to the nominees, their peers as well as their internal and external stakeholders.

The Interview packs are then submitted to the S.P.E.E.D. Champion selection panel and the same sent to EXCO.

S.P.E.E.D. Champion selection panel and EXCO then review each nominee pack and submit their vote on who they feel should be UMB S.P.E.E.D. Champion.

The SPEED Champion for the quarter under review is then announced to all staff.