Passionate networkers excel on the PBB Channel Graduate Programme

[Standard Bank Graduate team]

Zulekha Cara, UCT Graduate, joined our Personal and Business Banking (PBB) Channel Graduate Programme in 2013. Based in our Western Cape region she is currently ‘learning the ropes’ in the branch networks.

Zulekha is part of a business that offers banking and other financial services to individuals and small and medium-sized businesses. Some of the products and services in PBB include mortgage lending, instalment sale and finance leases, card products, transactional and lending products and bancassurance.

The business is spread across 14 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa including South Africa and in Argentina. Zulekha and her colleagues’ key priority is to increase Standard Bank’s presence in Africa.

So what does PBB Channel mean? Simply described, Channel is the way in which banking products reach customers, whether it be in a branch, over the internet, or on your mobile.

The PBB Channel Programme is looking for graduates who are interested in performing a customer-facing business role in our wider network, working towards branch or sales management. The Channel Programme will equip you perfectly, with rotations in local market management, personal offerings, and business banking. In 2013 there are 7 graduates on the programme as compared to the PBB Head Office Programme which has 21.

Zulekha gives us her key success factors for being accepted onto the programme and achieving in the business:
-You need to love interacting with people, be passionate about delivering to customers, and have good business acumen;
-You need to describe yourself as a driven self starter as well as an excellent team player in order to succeed in this area;
-Networking, networking, networking;
-You need to have a key understanding of how Channel PBB fits into PBB as a whole. There is a great inter-dependency between head office and the provincial departments; hence understanding of how we fit together is important; and
-Lastly, you need to be willing to learn, and to soak up as much as you can about the organisation in a year as you possibly can. At the same time, you need to contribute innovative ideas and suggestions.

If this sounds like you, make sure you apply at www.standardbank.com/graduates