Barclays shops for super-managers

BARCLAYS bank is hiring supermarket bosses in a drive to improve the quality of its branch managers and customer service.

Under the direction of retail bank managing director Mike Rogers, the bank has doubled the basic salaries of the managers of its top 50 branches and plans to revamp the pay of the next 250.

The top branch manager was paid a basic £27,000 last year - just £5,000 above the average wage - although that rose to about £40,000 with bonuses.

Barclays said: 'We have increased the salaries and are improving the calibre of our branch managers.

'We have recruited a few outsiders from places like Debenhams and Tesco because the managers of our branches need to have a combination of skills in retailing and banking.'

Barclays is also giving managers more autonomy. 'We are empowering them. There is no longer a 'one-size-fits-all' policy,' the bank said. 'The managers can look at their local markets and decide which products they need to focus on. Customers in Eastbourne, for example, may have different needs to those in Kensington High Street in London.'

An extra 1,000 staff will be recruited for Barclays' 1,700 branches, while a further 120 field managers have been put back into branches.