Before the doors at the Sussex Inlet branch closed in NSW, another door opened for former Customer Advisor, Naomi Hughes.
In November 2022, the news was announced to colleagues and customers of Sussex Inlet the branch would be closing permanently.
“I remember having quite mixed feelings when it was first announced,” Naomi said.
“At first I was thinking of all our customers and how sad I was for them. The customers at a branch become like family over the years and I knew I’d still be seeing them at the supermarket, the school P&C or kids’ ballet lessons.”
While Naomi was helping customers in the lead up to the closure by supporting and educating them about banking alternatives, she was also the process of finding their next role within NAB.
“Once we started talking about our options, I got really excited about the doors this could open for me and my career.”
Over her seven years at NAB working in branches along the southern NSW coast from Kiama to Ulladulla, Naomi developed a keen interest in NAB Assist and the incredible support the team provides for customers.
“I’ve always been amazed at how NAB Assist can help vulnerable customers doing it tough and the tailored solutions to get them back on their feet. I would often chat with customers in the branch about the support they’d receive, and felt like this was something I wanted to be a part of.”
A job opening came up in NAB Assist, and it was a remote position where the job could be done from home.
Naomi jumped at the chance.
“I thought jobs like this were only for people in Melbourne or Sydney, and it seemed out of reach for me as moving our family to the city wasn’t really an option. Once this was an option, I knew this is what I wanted to do next in my career.”
After going through the interview process, Naomi was successful in landing a role as Associate Operations. It was also a promotion!
Naomi was supported throughout this process by her Retail Customer Executive, Allison and a team behind the scenes that supports colleagues transitioning from branch roles into other roles across the bank.
Naomi’s People Leader, Chris has been impressed with the skills that Naomi has brought to the team:
“In the first few weeks of training, you could really see a specific set of skills from working in a branch shine through. She has hit the ground running with her conversations with customers, building rapport quickly which is crucial when speaking to customers that may be experiencing financial difficulty to ensure the right assistance can be provided.”
Working from home has been a game changer for Naomi and her family – she’s saved plenty of time from her daily commute and now gets to be home when her daughter arrives home from school to see more of her, while still getting the work done.
Naomi has also been performing the role of Community Banker at the Australia Post in Sussex Inlet where she works one morning a week for eight weeks post-branch closure to help introduce customers to Bank@Post.
“It’s been great seeing our customers from the branch come across to the Post Office to continue their banking needs. The team at the Post Office have been great too – it’s good knowing our customers are still being looked after.”
