BRANCH MANAGER Review

I AM CURRENTLY THE BRANCH MANAGER OF 2 SMALLER BRANCHES, ESHER AND COBHAM. MY DAY TO DAY ROLE IS MANAGING APPROX 10 STAFF ACROSS 2 DIFFERENT SITES AND ENSURE THE BRANCH RUNS SMOOTHLY IN TERMS OF CONDUCT AS WELL AS CONSISTENTLY MONITORING BUSINESS GROWTH AND PERFORMANCE. I UNDERGO 121S REGULARLY AND PDS AT THE MID-YEAR & HALF-YEAR MILESTONES. I SUPPORT MY COLLEAGUES IN MY ROLE BY COVERING LUNCHES AND DEALING WITH CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS THAT HAVE BEEN ESCALATED. I HAVE GAINED EXPERIENCE IN THE PROCESS OF APPRAISAL & DISCIPLINARY WITH MY STAFF AS WELL AS HOLIDAY & SICKNESS ADMIN.

I HAVE INCREASED MY CONFIDENCE MASSIVELY AS A MANAGER/LEADER. I HAVE BEEN PUT IN UNCOMFORTABLE SITUATIONS WHERE IVE SUCCESSFULLY GIVEN CONSTRUCTION CRITICISM TO COLLEAGUES A LOT OLDER AND WHO HAVE MUCH MORE EXPERIENCE IN YEARS IN THE BANK. I HAVE ESTABLISHED THE GREAT SKILL OF PRIORITISING TASKS AND SIMULTANEOUSLY WORKING ON PROJECTS RATHER HAN SEQUENTIALLY. THIS WAS VERY CHALLENGING AT FIRST BUT QUICKLY LEARNT THROUGH HAVING TO WORK FULL TIME AS WELL AS UNDERTAKE A DEGREE. I HAVE ALSO INCREASED MY KNOWLEDGE AROUND BUSINESS COMPLIANCE. FOR EXAMPLE I HAD TO MONITOR A DISCIPLINARY HEARING AS A BRANCH MANAGER FOR ANOTHER BRANCH. I HAVE NEVER COME INTO CONTACT WITH ONE OF THESE BEFORE SO IT OPENED MY EYES UP

I REALLY ENJOYED MY PROGRAMME WHEN VISITING UNIVERSITY AND LEARNING ALL THE CONTENT AT THE STUDY BLOCKS. I ALSO HAVE ENJOYED THE RAPID SPEED TO WHICH WE ARE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE THE BUSINESS. THERE IS NOT A DULL MINUTE WHEN JUGGLING A FULL TIME DEGREE AS WELL AS LEARNING APPROX 5 DIFFERENT JOB ROLES IN A BANK. MY FAVOURIT PART WAS WHEN I MADE THE FIRST MANAGEMENT ROLES. AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE, I WAS EXTREMLEY PROUD WHEN I REACHED THE BRANCH MANAGER POSITION. ALTHOUGH I DID NOT ENJOY SOME PARTS OF THE PROGRAMME. THIS WOULD BE THE CHALLENGE TO HAVE THE SAME MESSAGE DELIVERED TO YOU BY YOUR COMPANY BARCLAYS AND YOUR UNIVERSITY THAT YOU ARE STUDYING AT. ITS ALMOST AS IF THEY HAVE CONFLICTING MOTIVES AND YOUR JOB JUST WANTS YOU FOR BUSINESS PURPOSE ONLY AND UNIVERSITY IS NOT PRIORITISED IN THE DAY TO DAY JOB ROLE IN THE BANK.

THE UNIVERSITY SIDE OF THINGS ARE VERY WELL STRUCTURED. THE MODULES EXAMS ASSIGNMENTS ETC HAVE BEEN WELL PLANNED AND DELIVERED THE WHOLE WAY THROUGH. ALTHOUGH THE STRUCTUE THAT EARLY CAREERS HAVE FORMED IN BARCLAYS ITSELF NEEDS QUITE A LOT OF IMPROVEMENT. MANAGERS NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT WHAT THEIR APPRENTICES ARE DOING AND HOW IMPORTANT THEIR STUDIYING IS AS THIS IS ALWAYS MISCONCIEVED BY PEOPLE WHO ARE UNAWARE OF THE PROGRAMME. THE ORGANISATION WAS NOT THE BEST AS COMMUNICATION TO ANYONE IN EARLY CAREERS TO FIND SOLUTIONS WAS VERY DIFFICULT.

I WOULD SAY IN MY EXPERIENCE I HAD VERY LITTLE SUPPORT FROM BARCLAYS ITSELF IN TERMS OF DAY TO DAY JOB ROLES. IN MY FINAL YEAR (MOST IMPORTANT) I HAD TO BEG FOR STUDY DAYS AS I WAS MADE TO MISS AT LEATS 8 IN A ROW (THEY ONLY COME AROUND EVERY 2 WEEKS) BECAUSE OF SHORT STAFFING IN MY BRANCH. I LOVED MY ROLE AS MANAGER BUT WHEN I WAS GIVEN THE ROLE I WAS SENT TO A BRANCH WHERE NO ONE CAME FOR AT LEAST HALF A DAY TO SHOW ME HOW TO TAKE OVER A BRANCH IN TERMS OF CONDUCT LET ALONE IT WAS MY FIRST MANAGERIAL ROLE. IT FEELS LIKE A BURDEN TO ASK YOUR MANAGER FOR TIME OFF TO STUDY AS THEY DONT UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A FULL DEGREE. EVERYONE IN THE BANK JUST ASSUMES YOU WILL BE IN THE BANK FOR YOUR DEGREE THEN SHOOT OFF TO HEAD OFFICE SO NO-ONE TAKES YOU AS SERIOUSLY AS YOU WOULD HAVE THOUGHT. NOONE UNDERSTOOD THAT I WAS NOT MEAN TO GO THROUGH AN INTERVIEW PROCESS FOR EVERY ROLE AND EVEN WHEN FIGHTING THIS I WAS MADE TO DO AN INTERVIEW FOR MY ROLES BUT I HAD ALREADY PASSED A GRADE 6 TO GET ON THE APPRENTICESHIP

TO BE FAIR ANGLIA GAVE A GREAT DEAL OF SUPPORT. EVERYONE IS ALLOCATED A TUTOR THAT IS ALWAYS THERE FOR A CALL TO DISCUSS ANY CONCERNS. THEY REGULARLY TRY AND GET IN CONTACT WITH YOURSELF. EACH MODULE HAD A TUROT YOU COULD ASK FOR SUPPORT FOR THE REPORTS. THE STUDY BLOCKS DID CRAM IN A LOT OF INFORMATION IN A WEEK BUT THE TUTORS WOULD ALWASY STAY LATE AND MAKE THEM FUN TO KEEP UP OUR MOTIVATION AND ALLOW MORE TIME WITH US

YES I BELIEVE THE DEGREE HAS MASIVLEY HELPED IN MY MANAGEMENT SKILLS AND I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL WITHOUT THIS QUALIFICATION, HOWEVER I FEEL LIKE I WAS EXPECTING THE DEGREE TO BE BASED MORE AROUND BUSINESS AS WELL AS MANAGEMENT WHICH WAS MADE A MASSIVE FOCUS ON THE TRAINING DAY. THERE REALLY ISNT MUCH AROUND CURRENT BUSINESS TOPICS BUT MORE ABOUT JUST BUSINESS MANAGEMNT AND LEADERSHIP SO IF YOUR GOAL IS TO STAY IN RETAIL AS A BRANCH MANAGER OF COURSE THIS IS A PERFECT QUALIFICATION

ITS ALL ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU NETWORK. THERE ARE ALWAYS EVENTS HAPPENING IN HEAD OFFICE SUCH AS CAREER FAIRS ETC. THESE ARE BRILLIANT TO GET YOUR NAME OUT INTO THE BARCLAYS WORLD AND CAN STEER YOUR CAREER IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. THERE ARE MANY CHARITY EVENTS TO GET INVOLVED IN TOO WITH A MASSIVE FOCUS ON DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION. IN TERMS OF SOCIAL CLUBS, I HAVE NOW WORKED IN 6 DIFFERENT BRANCHES AND AT EVERY ONE I HAVE GOT MYSELF INVOLVED IN A BRANCH SPORTS CLUB, SO THE ENVIRONMENT IN BRANCHES IS VERY FRIENDLY

No

I JUST BELIEVE THAT BARCLAYS ADVERTISE AND MARKET THEIR APPRENTICE AS SOMETHING THAT IT IS NOT. DONT GET ME WRONG, THE APPRENTICESHIP IS STILL AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY AND HAS SO MANY BENEFITS WHICH IS WHY IT MAKES ME MORE ANGRY TO SEE THEY STILL HAVE TO ADD PARTICULARS THAT YOU REALLY DONT SEE WHEN UDERTAKING THIS PROGRAMME. IF THE EXPECTATIONS ARE SOLID FROM THE START AND CONSISTANT FROM THEN I BELIEVE THIS APPRENTICESHIP WILL BEAT ALL OTHERS. ESPECIALLY ANGLIA RUSKIN, THEY WERE AMAZING, AND UNFORTUNATLEY THE ONLY DOWNFALL THEY HAD WAS THE LACK OF COMMUNICATION THEY RECIEVE FROM BARCLAYS. I WOULD RECCOMEND MY UNIVERSITY BUT MY EMPLOYER HAS ONLY MADE IT HARDER FOR ME TO COMPLETE THIS COURSE.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO STAY IN RETAIL AND YOU ARE DREAMING OF BECOMING A MANAGER OF A FAIRLY SMALL TEAM APPROX 10 - 15 THEN THIS JOB IS PERFECT FOR YOU. I WOULD NOT TAKE ADVICE FROM APPRENTICES THAT HAVE DONE THIS PROGRAMME BEFORE YOURSELF AS THEY CHANGE IT SO MUCH EVERY YEAR ITS ALMOST LIKE TAKING A DIFFERENT COURSE TO THEM