Applicant assessment assignment

Be sure to use sound judgment based on HR practices you have learned in this course.

Your grade will be based on:

· Quality and depth of your analysis (e.g. taking all relevant factors into consideration when making your hiring decision, providing justification for the rankings given, applying concepts/frameworks learned in class)

· Presentation of your arguments: clarity, structure, formatting of the report, grammar and punctuation.

Please note the description of this assignment in the syllabus

Job Description: Branch Bank Manager

Organization: Best Manhattan Bank. BMB is considered to be one of the top-ten retail banks in the United States with branches in 15 states, primarily in cities and suburbs where the average net worth of our customers exceeds $500,000. BMB’s strategy is to offer outstanding personalized customer service to its target customers to ensure customer retention and to attract new prospects who may not receive appropriate service from large global financial institutions.

Job Purpose: Direct and coordinate financial activities of workers in a branch bank of Best Manhattan Bank.

Branch Bank Manager Job Responsibilities:

· Establish and maintain high quality relationships with individual or business customers or provide assistance with problems these customers may encounter.

· Ensure retention of the existing customer base and growth in the branch’s high-net-worth customer accounts by carrying out appropriate marketing, customer service, and sales activities.

· Manage the branch’s financial planning and asset management functions to ensure that customer investment goals are met.

· Plan, direct, or coordinate the activities of 10 to 20 investment advisors and customer service workers in the assigned branch and conduct performance appraisals of all staff.

· Recruit staff members and oversee on the job training programs.

· Ensure that customer needs are met for all products, including collateral credit, annuities, and securitized investments.

· Ensure that corporate procedures are followed to safeguard customer assets.

· Prepare financial or regulatory reports as required by laws, regulations, or senior management.

· Ensure that all procedures are followed regarding custody or control of assets, records, loan collateral, or securities to ensure safekeeping.

· Meet or speak with every Private Banking customer assigned to the branch at least once a year.

· Participates in the management of the Branch Banking Department and contributes to the overall performance of the Department by participating as an effective team member working on various projects to increase the department’s revenue.

Job Specifications :

· Banking experience (25%) :

· at least 2 years’ experience as a Branch Manager at a large retail bank in the NYC Metropolitan area

· strong track record of increasing fees revenue over the previous 3 years

· Experience managing people in a retail bank: minimum two years hiring and managing investment advisors (with Series 65 license) and other branch personnel (15%)

· Specific skills/knowledge (50%):

· Securities: Must have current Series 65 license and 7 years’ experience as an investment advisor

· Customer service: at least 5 years’ experience working with private banking customers

· Operations management: must have at least one year of experience managing a financial operation

· Education (10%): Minimum undergraduate degree in finance, management or business with a 3.0 GPA. Honors graduates preferred.

CANDIDATES

Candidate #1:

This candidate graduated with an MBA (Accounting concentration) from the University of Pennsylvania and was a member of Delta Mu Delta when she received her BA in Management from Rutgers. She worked as an investment advisor at Goldman Sachs (with Series 7 and 65 licenses, which are current) for ten years, and she increased the revenues from her private banking accounts by at least 15% every year. She received top reviews from her Private Banking customers. She has never managed people or operations, but after leaving Goldman, she was assigned to a branch of Citibank for three years where, as part of her responsibilities as a Senior Investment Advisor, she was responsible for conducting operations audits every six months. She also has significant expertise and experience in investments developing countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China).

Candidate #2:

This candidate worked for 12 years as a Branch Manager in three different branches of Bank of America –one near the United Nations Building in Manhattan, one in Westchester County, and the third (his current branch), in the Bernardsville, NJ area. He received several awards from senior management for the excellence of his first two branches, which included significant increases in revenue every year, and for the extraordinary level of customer service that he and his staff delivered to Private Banking clients. He holds a Series 65 license (since 2010, after he transferred to the current branch). He graduated from CUNY with a BS in Business and was on the Dean’s List every year.

Candidate #3:

The candidate has worked at Ameritrade/TD Bank for about 20 years. He ran an investment operations department for Ameritrade for eight years, and during that time he held a Series 65 license (it has since expired). For the last 12 years he has been the manager of a large branch of TD Bank where he concentrates on commercial loans and accounts and has 25 people reporting to him. There was a period of two years (2009 and 2010) when he managed over 100 Private Banking accounts but those were reassigned and consolidated at another branch because revenues during this recessionary period were down. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from NYU with a BS in Accounting in 1991.

Candidate #4:

This candidate graduated in 2004 with a degree in Marketing from Columbia University, where she earned a cumulative GPA of 3.91. She earned her Series 65 license soon after starting work as a Management Trainee at JP Morgan Chase, where she still works. She has had individual Private Banking customers, but these have mostly been stockbrokers who care more about financial results than tact. However, this candidate has delivered well for her clients, achieving top returns every year. She has managed financial operations and customer service staff as well as investment advisors; however, she prides herself on being more focused on financial returns than staff motivation.

Candidate #5:

The candidate has worked at a small investment firm with wealthy clients for the last ten years. He has a stellar record of earning consistent financial returns for his clients. Consistent with the firm’s culture, he does all of his own operations work, although he has been involved in campus recruiting every year as the organization has hired management trainees from top universities. He mentors the newly hired trainees and works with them as they prepare for their Series 65 exams (he has been licensed since 1996). He is considered one of the top ten revenue producers for his current firm. He earned 112 credits at Baruch towards an undergraduate business degree, but never graduated.