Challenging, multifaceted role held vital to institutions’ presence, growth
On any given day Melanie DeBarros can lead a mortgage lending workshop, help a new Johnson & Wales student open a savings account, teach a recent immigrant about lines of credit, or guide a resident of the nearby retirement community through bill paying options.
Other times she can be found at the helm of a staff meeting, soliciting business clients, or at a community event.
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And while each of these things might not be listed in her job description, DeBarros knows that as the Branch Manager for FleetBoston Financial, her job is as much about community as it is about finances.
"I don’t think that we specialize in one particular area," she said. "We do a variety of things, but I think that customer service is our primary focus. Making sure that our customers get what they need is my overall goal."
As the link between the large FleetBoston Financial, and a community saturated with banking options, DeBarros is a valued employee.
"We consider this one of the best positions in the business," said Simon Tahan, district manager for Northern Rhode Island, East Bay and Florida, and senior vice president for FleetBoston Financial. "A branch manager provides the bank with a real pulse of what is happening in the community."
With one recent study estimating that 92 percent of households nationally have visited a bank branch in last month, officials at the state’s financial institutions aren’t underestimating the importance of these traditional outlets, or the people that head them.
"Being a branch manager is a very challenging role," said Kathleen Orovitz vice president in charge of branch sales for BankRI. "In addition to the primary responsibilities of developing new consumer and business customers, these people are serving in a leadership capacity. On top of being tasked with the growth goals of the branch they need to manage and motivate a staff. It’s definitely multi-facetted."
According to Tahan the job encompasses, "just about everything in the bank."
"You are dealing with consumer customers and business customers," he said. "You are working with them, helping them plan for retirement or their child’s education. You are helping small business get a line of credit, or you are helping them with their payroll services. You become engaged with the community that you serve."
Despite the variety of tasks a branch manager must perform, local banking officials seem to agree on what they look for in a job candidate, and it is not necessarily experience in the financial services industry. In fact, a variety of present bank managers in the state have come from the retail industry.
"Retail and banking are similar in that it’s what you are selling," Orovitz said. "I think that the two industries are compatible because they share a culture."
If candidates come from still other industries, that seems to be fine as well.
"We look for work experience, but that doesn’t necessarily mean banking," said Michael Rauth, senior vice president of Retail Banking at The Washington Trust Company. "Banking is a service business, so basically we are looking for someone with the ability to work with people, both the employees and the customers. We want someone that is a good problem solver and who can think on his feet, and outside of the box."
"I think there is a general skill set that we look for and it includes being friendly and upbeat, having strong management skills, and being able to service our customers," said Brian Azar, a regional branch manager for the Providence metro area at Citizens Bank. "We put a lot of focus on supervisory skills, being a coach and a mentor to our employees while at the same time directly interacting with our customers in the branch and going out to business customers."
Despite the job’s large skill requirement, banking officials agree that finding qualified candidates in today’s marketplace isn’t difficult. Only two banks admitted having vacancies, and according to Orovitz, the position at her bank hasn’t been advertised yet.
"The last time we had a position advertised we had 12 really qualified candidates," Tahan said. "This is a terrific career path, and I think that potential employees can see that. It’s a job that offers professional growth and development opportunities. I think that makes it appealing."
