Joe Jackson - Retail Banking
Where are they now?
What's changed since we filmed you last?
A lot! I am a year wiser and I’m losing my hair, which the branch team love to point out, but my Mum assures me it’s fine. I’m now working with business customers in the Leicester region. I have a portfolio of 300 customers that I look after, anything from lending them money to making sure they’re getting the best deal on their home and contents insurance. It’s a bit different from running a branch and having to manage a team of people, but I’m gaining some great experience and an understanding of what our customers really want from their bank. Oh and I got a new car…
What has been a highlight so far?
I took part in The Times Graduate Leadership Challenge with five other graduates from different areas of the bank. We’d never met before the event and we managed to become a really strong team and get ourselves through to the semi-finals in September. It involved a lot of reflection on our individual leadership qualities and how we worked together as a team. Oh and building a tent with no instructions, carrying around a ferret and going into burning buildings! If we get through to the final, we get to go to Malawi and South Africa to help start-up aid projects.
What was the toughest part?
Running up the 20 odd flights of stairs to the top of 1 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, twice! It was to raise money for my Area Director Rita’s charity, The Rett Syndrome Association UK. Rita’s daughter was diagnosed with Rett’s and everyone wanted to help raise money and awareness of the charity. Around 200 people turned up to the event along with our UK Retail Banking Chief Exec Deanna Openheimer. For me, this really summed up the Barclays spirit of looking after each other. I thought it would be easy. I set off at Olympic pace for the first seven flights, I was crawling by the end.
What have you learnt the most by being on the Graduate programme?
I’ve learnt a great deal over the last couple of years, not least about the world of banking. But one very useful thing I’ve learnt is that without having people around you to help you along, it can be a long hard slog. I’ve definitely come to realise that it’s people that make the difference in how successful any project, branch or idea becomes. I also got the opportunity to work with a Regional Director. I learnt a great deal about managing the responsibilities of such a large part of the bank from him, and also how to support the people we trust to help our customers everyday.
Are you where you thought you'd be?
No, I thought I’d be Chief Exec by now! I never really thought I’d be doing the role I am today, but that’s one of the great advantages of working for such a large organisation. There are so many varied roles available that you don’t have to move company or have a dramatic career change, you just swap departments. I have purposely tried to choose job opportunities that will take me out of my comfort zone and give me a different insight into how the bank works – some would say I’m crazy but it keeps me on my toes!
What's next?
I’m sticking at this job for a bit, to really get to grips with such a demanding role and to see how some of the businesses I’ve recruited and helped along the way develop. In the future, I’d love to get back into a Branch Manager role and then become an Area Director, looking after a cluster of branches. But who knows, things change very quickly – you just have to keep adapting and opportunities will arise.
