Taking the long way around

CHRIS HILLOCK

Action man: Westpac's New Plymouth manager Richard Martin says customers can expect decisions to be made locally not in Wellington or Auckland.

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A career is not always about going from A to B - the path less travelled can lead to opportunity.

New Plymouth's new Westpac bank manager Richard Martin can certainly attest to that.

He laughs how when people he knew walked into the bank over Christmas, they actually took his joke about being a security guard seriously.

Having been in the job seven weeks, everyone is getting used to this new breed of banker - not coming through the industry, but a diverse background which includes New Plymouth's airwaves, car yards and insurance sales.

This is also a tale of PMA - "Positive Mental Attitude" - given his appointment followed over four months of "being between challenges" since leaving Bruce Flay and Associates.

"I'd reached the point after six years in the [insurance] industry that I knew it wasn't for me long term. I thought I had a couple of options all sewed up, and then those fell through. What got me through was the unshakeable belief that the right opportunity would present itself, and that I needed to be open and ready."

It came during a chance conversation with Westpac area manager Paul Fifield during September's Westpac Taranaki Commerce Business Awards, where he was supporting wife Casey as she received her plaudits for Eagars Funeral Services.

"Before I went to the Business Awards I said to myself, 'I can either go as the unemployed husband of a successful business woman and just mope', or 'there's going to be 400 of the best employers and businesses in one room for a night, I'm going to get myself my next challenge'."

Due to not having banking experience, Richard had not applied for the Westpac role despite knowing he could do everything in the advertisement, but Paul Fifield was interested.

He said 'right, flick us your CV'. One thing led to another, and he passed it on to the right people. Then various interviews and tests and suddenly I'm here."

It's all part of Westpac's new philosophy to be prominent in rural New Zealand. Richard is one of 100 new managers hired in the past 12 months, around 30 per cent coming from outside banking.

"For the last 20 to 30 years most banks have gone the way of reducing branches and centralising the decision making," he said. "Even though when they first started doing that, all those years ago, the [public] reaction was 'no, we don't like it', they still persisted.

"Westpac have been brave enough to be the first to put their hand up and say 'actually, the model's flawed, we want more bankers in more places with more decision-making ability'.

"To do that, we need to get the right sorts of people. In a lot of cases the people who have come up through the banking system are very good bankers, but not necessarily good business owners or managers.

"The push is on to make the bank manager role more external, so my role is about being the public face of Westpac in New Plymouth, and ensuring that the service and all the functional stuff in the branch actually meet expectations."

With plenty of local connections, Richard has also been empowered to make final calls - crucial for customers worrying their financial futures hang on what someone in an Auckland or Wellington building might decide.

"Not only are they talking to someone in a local office, but they're talking to someone who can make a decision in that local office, it's not 'I have to go to my manager' or 'I have to escalate that'."

Many long-time radio listeners may have trouble marrying the image of this financial administrator with one half of the "Rich and Red" breakfast team on RadioWorks' Energy FM (now More FM).

Born in Tauranga, Richard moved around New Zealand looking for his place.

He initially went to Canterbury's Lincoln University, before moving over to radio and attending the NZ Broadcasting School, earning a Bachelor of Broadcasting and Communications.

It took him to stations in Whangarei, Hawke's Bay, Christchurch, and Dunedin, before coming to New Plymouth in 1999.

"That was fun, and I enjoyed the public aspects of the role - speaking to groups, doing MC work - and I still do quite a bit of that."

And he uses the deep, larger- than-life voice in his new vocation.

"There's no denying, that if you come across well on the phone, it gives people confidence. Definitely I use my radio skills."

Ready for another change, he was set to leave New Plymouth permanently in 2001, but having met Casey Eagar, this turned into a 12-month sojourn in Korea as an English teacher.

Returning to marry Casey and have children Isaac, 5, and Emerson, turning 4, Richard spent a year selling cars at Max Pennington's Auto City.

From there, he joined Bruce Flay Associates in 2003 to sell AMP Insurance, before once again taking a different career step to Westpac last November.

Straight into the Christmas rush, the former breakfast radio host, foreign teacher, car and insurance salesman has once again hit the ground running.

"The key message from Westpac is that we're open for business, and we've got $4 billion to lend, and we want to lend it, whether it be a small personal loan right through to a massive business borrowing.

"The common link for me has been dealing with people, so for me it's all about people who are wanting to deal with a bank where they actually feel valued.

"So that's the key thing I'm going to bring to this role, is being able to have a good rapport with people.

"It's basic stuff - treat people how you'd like to be treated, do what you say you're going to do."