Liz Brown – Bank manager

Hi, my name is  Liz Brown, I was born in New Zealand. I am a bank manager. I am 50 years old.

When I left school I worked in the insurance industry for about three years. Then I went to Sydney and worked for an insurance company. 
When I came back to New Zealand there was a job advertised at a building society, so that was my first introduction to banking. 

I worked in all sorts of roles: I started as a teller, from that position I became the Personal Assistant to the regional manager.
Then the building society turned into a bank and that's when I went into my first management role. I was an assistant manager for about six months before I got a manager position at another branch. I've worked in every role, which is good because I understand what my staff are facing each day. That understanding allows me to help them better. 

I particularly like the people contact in my job. I enjoy working with the staff and building up a relationship with them. I think managing staff is one of the most important parts of my role; you've got to create a good atmosphere and keep them motivated. I manage two branches and they have always done really well. I think the main reason for that is that the branch staff are happy; they enjoy their jobs and they get recognised and rewarded for their work. 

I also enjoy the customer contact; you get some loyal customers and you get to know a lot of people. It is nice getting to know the customers and I think the customers like knowing who the manager is, in case they need to discuss any problems. It's good to be in a position to help a lot of people. 

To become a bank manager you've got to be customer focused: to be a successful banker you have to have rapport with your customers, so you have to be able to communicate and listen. 
I'd like to remain in the branch manager role for at least another few years and there's still the potential for promotion in the branch network.