JulieAnne’s story
Millennium Forum Branch is one of four Ulster Bank branches in the City of Derry, Northern Ireland's second city. Opened in October 2007, it was the first new branch in NI in almost 10 years...
JulieAnne, tell us more about what makes Millennium Forum Branch different.
The service proposition in Millennium Forum is focused on Personal banking, with facilities for Business customers offered at the other three locations in the city. Located right in the middle of the shopping district in Londonderry, we operate more like a banking 'store'. We tend to attract customers shopping in the area and offer the full range of personal banking products to these customers, most of whom are new to Ulster Bank.
Your working hours at the branch are different to other branches - how?
Due to our location and the type of customers we are aiming for, we open 9am-5pm, Monday, Tuesday and Friday, 10am-5pm Wednesday and 10am-7pm Thursday. We also have Saturday opening 10am-1pm.
On Thursday evenings and Saturdays, we focus on customer appointments like Customer Service Reviews and especially mortgage appointments. We have the time to spend with the customers then and more importantly, the customers don't have the pressures of returning to work or collecting children from school - they tend to be more relaxed and less rushed during the appointment.
What about the layout of your branch then JulieAnne, how does it compare to other branches?
We have quite an open plan office layout, with interview rooms the most obvious thing you see when you walk in.
We have just two cash desks, located towards the rear of the premises, one express and one regular. Because the personal transactions are quick and we have meeters and greeters at the door speaking to all the customers coming in, there is rarely a long queue at the counters.
An internal ATM as well as a Fast Lodgement Box helps to keep the queues down and give our customers more choices.
What organisation do you need to do as a Branch Manager in relation to the extended opening hours?
The opening hours require me to roster the team's working week. Full-time employees still work their thirty-five hours per week but can be flexible about when they work these hours, so if they work the late night and Saturday morning for instance, they get time off during the week. Employees really like the flexibility of being off at different times and it provides them with a better work/life balance.
So, how would you summarise your Millennium Forum experience?
It's been a fantastic 10 months. What I love about the role is that every day is different. I am out of my office most of the time meeting customers and with the rostering and longer opening hours, there's great variety to my day.
JulieAnne Clarke - Branch Manager, Millennium Forum Branch, Derry City
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FAQs
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