Ben: Hi, my name is Ben West and I'm the Vice President and Regional
Manager for National Bank Financial here in BC.
Minette: And I am Minette Polepil. I'm the Aassociate Regional
Manager for our BC region.
Ben: One of the things that differentiates National Bank from the
rest is I think we have the strength of the bank coupled with a really
strong entrepreneurial culture.
Randall: National Bank is great in that as much as it's a large
Bank, it also has very much of a small company feel in that management
is very responsive, that communication is very important
Ben: And it's all lost on either of us that this can be a stuffy
industry. So to be able to bring energy, to have a little bit of fun,
to engage, all that’s really important.
Rana: They're flexible, their nimble and they're patient, you know,
they really I think understand that perspective of the advisors and
their team.
Ken: If I could sum it up in one word. It would be culture.
Ben: For me, it's a culture of support and inclusion.
Minette: And the way that we approach working with our advisors is
definitely different. We do have a separate budget put aside. Our
teams of advisors can come with ideas of how to spend that and it
might be a way they spend it in the community. It might be a way to
target a different group of clients.
Anna: The attitude is humans helping other humans.
Ben: So giving us the ability to make decisions that benefit our
advisor groups locally support the causes that they're passionate
about, I think that was key.
Ken: They actually believe in us. Thank goodness I have my son and
my other two children that work directly with me, National Bank was
very supportive.
Ben: Because National Bank Financial is the anchor here in BC. We're
able to execute our strategy with a nice BC focus in with it.
Minette: This is a great place to live and that means in our
branches. We need to feel that.
Ben: I think we have a complimentary skill set, you know, a
technical understanding of the investments as well as the head office
connections to help with escalations.
Minette: My strength, my passion is marketing in business
development and then I couple that with HR and people management.
Ben: Where we complement each other as well is transparency and
clearness of communication. I think that's what our advisors need.
We’re BC based, we want BC-based initiatives to come to the forefront
and so it requires Minette and I to communicate openly and directly
and ensure that the advisor voices are heard.
Randall: The people are great. They're supportive. They're helpful.
It's just a very pleasant place to work.
Rana: They really support your vision. I've been extremely supported
as a female advisor. They don't have this corporate structure, that's
too rigid, you get a feeling of openness and teamwork and the freedom
to kind of be creative with your business.
Anna: So I absolutely love National Bank Financial. I cannot say
enough about it and the people are what make National Bank an
incredible place to work.
Ken: They care, and I think that's the most important part of it.
Minette: People; our people come first. I feel like I say that a
lot, but it is it's really what stands out, our people matter. That's
the number one thing.