Officer Review

I work on the technical team within the lending department at Coutts, a wealth management brand under NatWest Group. I run daily control reports to manage business risk involving collecting payments for loans and mortgages. I also run weekly/monthly reports as and when needed which concern checking if overdraft and MRA rates are correct on flagged loans and mortgages. I also action work requests from an order-book to amend tariffs and fees for Coutts accounts.

I've learned how to manage my time better by using excel to create a record of the work I've done. I've also learned how to prioritise my my time more efficiently with guidance from my colleagues and management team. My communication skills have improved as I'm now emailing internal clients and attending internal networking events regularly, and I interact with different team to solve issues daily.

The programme so far has given me lots of knowledge on how businesses in general work, and I've been able to apply that to my role to gain a greater understanding on where I fit in. I've also been given the opportunity to research how my organisation in particular operates. Because of this, I've really enjoyed the whole experience so far, and I'm excited for what's ahead.

There are set tasks for each month for me to accomplish, and though there are deadlines, my skills coach is always happy to be flexible with tasks when I need the extra time. The portfolio matrix gives me a good indication of what is expected of me and how I can excel in future tasks. I'd say the programme is structured well.

My manager is always happy to help with workplace development activities, extra time for the apprenticeship, and anything else I could ask for. I'm given plenty of opportunities for growth, but always reassured if I feel I'm taking on too much that we can delegate to someone else.

My skills coach is always there to answer any questions I've thrown at her. We have meetings every month to discuss my progress and what lies ahead in the next month. Babington have been very supportive, especially with deadlines. I have a chronic disease, so sometimes it's hard to get things done on time, but I have received extra support for this.

Learning about business and regulations, and how internal/external factors effect a business has helped me to understand a lot about how things are run at NatWest and where I fit into that. As I'm on a technical team, it's given me the opportunity to coordinate with other stakeholders and look at how processes in other departments impact my own, which has given me answers to queries I wouldn't have known before.

I have become the diversity, equity, & inclusion champion for my team - I attend biweekly meetings with the other reps on my department where we put together a newsletter in the wellbeing and DE&I events of the past month, and the ones coming up. There are plenty of other activities to get involved in - a running club has just started, there are many committees and employee led networks to join. I've joined the sustainable futures network where I attend events on what the bank is doing for the environment, and sometimes they bring in external guest speakers for informative talks.

Yes

Overall, they're a very supportive and forward-thinking organisation. I was drawn to them because of their focus on the environment and the b-corp status of Coutts makes me proud to work there. They provide plenty of opportunity whilst never being overwhelming. The staff there are a wealth of knowledge to learn from.

Learn about why you want to work there, research the company's goals and purpose. NatWest is a purpose driven organisation and they really appreciate people who align with their ambitions. Understanding what value you can bring helps, even if you've never worked in banking before - I used to work in retail, but the transferable skills I gained were appreciated.