♦ After 25 years working for one of the big banks, JOHN HOROSKO became disenchanted and left to pursue a career in financial planning. But he missed the retail side of banking so much he quickly said yes when Bank of Queensland came knocking five years ago. Here he reflects on the decision to become the owner- manager of the Campbelltown branch of BOQ and what the future holds:
Everyone has their own reasons for joining BOQ, or deciding to stay.
I joined because I believed BOQ was big enough to make an impact in the market, and small enough that I could make a difference.
BOQ also had a strong and proud history of helping customers and I believed we had a lot more to give in building on this heritage.
Finally, you judge an organisation by the quality of people working here – and the talent it was attracting – and there was a movement happening in BOQ’s favour.
Our role in providing Australians with an alternative in banking is increasingly important and as a bank we are continuing our own transformation journey to ensure we meet our customers’ local needs.
I am immensely proud to be part of this organisation and of what we have achieved over the last five years:
• Our point of difference through strong personal relationships and community connections – particularly through us as owner managers – is as important and valued by customers as ever. Eighty-five percent of our customers say they trust BOQ to do the right thing, which few in the industry can claim;
• Last Thursday we were once again recognised as the best Relationship Bank at the 2017 Australian Business Banking Awards, an award we’ve taken out for the past four years;
• Seeing the BOQ family grow to including Virgin Money and BOQ Specialist and celebrating their success;
• The work we do within our community, which makes a real and tangible impact to the lives of many. This year Banking on our Kids raised $209,161 to help sick kids through Children’s Hospital Foundations Australia. Our partnership with the Clontarf Foundation exists to improve the education and employment prospects of young indigenous men across Australia and is something we should all be proud of;
• Being a progressive organisation – our strong support of diversity throughout the workplace has seen us sign on to support marriage equality and move towards our target of achieving 50 percent gender diversity in management roles. BOQ has taken a leading position in having our people sign up to the Banking & Finance oath. Each and every one of my staff at Campbelltown have taken this oath.
While there is always room for improvement, I believe we have a lot to be optimistic about the future of BOQ and my local BOQ Campbelltown.
