Retail banking: Matthew Houcke

Name: Matthew Houcke

Job: Branch manager

Employer: The Royal Bank of Scotland Group

Area of work: Retail banking

Qualifications: BSc sport and exercise science, Loughborough University; certificate in financial planning

During university summer vacations I worked in a building society, which enabled me to build up a wide knowledge of retail banking. I thoroughly enjoyed the customer interaction and working in a team environment, so it was an obvious choice to try to get on to a retail banking graduate programme after my degree.

Leading the branch

I recently completed my graduate programme and am now manager of a large branch, a role which entails a variety of duties. Essentially, my job is to lead the branch and keep the team on target to achieve all of its goals. A big part of that is to ensure that my team members are motivated and enthused to function to the best of their ability, so that customers receive service of the highest quality. I really enjoy the fact that I can play a part in nurturing talent in my team: a lot of my role is given to observing, coaching and supporting my staff, helping them to meet their sales targets and be the best that they can be in their roles.

Customer service

The other main aspect that I like is the interaction with the public: I spend a substantial proportion of each day speaking with and helping customers, which is great. Occasionally, a customer will have a problem that needs to be dealt with; my graduate training programme equipped me well to deal with a variety of situations. Resolving problems quickly, efficiently and to everyone’s satisfaction is all part of delivering excellent customer service and is a great opportunity to win people’s loyalty.