Victoria Mutual Building Society (VMBS) has revised its operational structure, adding a new regional layer to, the mortgage provider said, drive efficiencies throughout its branch network nationwide.

Eventually too, the society plans to go paperless, consolidate its back office functions, and launch into Internet banking.

The 12 of 15 branches affected by the restructuring no longer have individual branch managers running the show, but have been restructured into four zones, each overseen by a regional manager.

"What we have done is to remove a lot of the operations that normally take place in the branches to a central location in head office," said Chief Executive Officer Richard Powell.

"We are going to make them more effective as points of distribution and customer services so their roles have been redefined to sell products and services and to provide customer services as opposed to undertaking operations."

The regional managers are expected to drive the distribution of products and focus on customer service.

"The idea is that they are to be out in the field working with the branches, meeting clients and organising customer events. Yes, they will have a base for administrative purposes and it has to be the most convenient locations to give them coverage," he said.

Under the changes which took effect three months ago, the branches are now run by 'operations managers' and 'operations officers' whose standing on the company's organisational chart is below that of a branch manager.

However, three of the branches that are among VMBS' largest remain outside the regional system, and will continue reporting directly to the corporate office at Half-way Tree in Kingston - the Half-way Tree branch located at corporate headquarters, the Duke Street branch also in Kingston and the Montego Bay operation.

The former branch managers in the affected dozen have either retired or been redeployed elsewhere in the group, including two who were promoted to regional manager, said Powell.

"That was introduced round about April of this year where we created a level of management at the regional level and reorganised the branch network that the respective branches report to the regional managers," Powell told the Financial Gleaner.

"They have a new mandate - to shift away from operational matters in the branches to focus more on customer service. To find solutions for customers' needs is really where the orientation is - through the branch network," he added.

The new regions are now broken down as:

Eastern - St Andrew, St Thomas and Portland - headed by Cecile McCormack;

Northern - St James, St Ann and St Mary - overseen by Joan Walter;

South Eastern - Kingston, St Catherine, Clarendon and Manchester - which falls under Delia Burke; and

South Western - Trelawny, St Elizabeth, Hanover and Westmoreland - headed by Rudyard Simons.

The stand alone Half-way Tree Branch is being managed by Fay Lowe, and MoBay by Lesa Robinson.

A branch manager is still being sought for Duke Street, but oversight would come in the interim from south eastern regional manager Burke, who operates out of that office.

The restructuring is one of several strategies implemented to boost efficiency, said Powell, without explaining how the added layer would drive returns, nor what it would mean in cost savings. Those numbers he said were not immediately available, nor the amount being invested in the restructuring and other projects.

Real problems

"One of the real problems, which we have faced in the last several years, is the organisation was not and still is not as efficient as it needs to be to be able to position us to survive let alone strive in the new dispensation," he said.

VMBS is also moving towards a paperless system, a project started last year and is about to enter a second phase, covering the opening and maintaining of saving accounts.

"We are running a pilot in one branch now and the intention is to roll it out in other branches within the next four to six weeks," Powell said.

He did not quantify how much the company expects to save from its quest to eliminate paper, when the project is fully rolled out within the next two years, but as it goes paperless, VM is also heading online.

"We are starting to work on Internet banking and we hope in the not too distant future to roll that out. We will try to expand the services to our members in that way. To some extent anyway, it will fill the gap in that product range that we are not able to offer because of the restrictions of the regulatory environment," Powell said.

The roll-out will be in two phases, with the first allowing only for customers to view their accounts online.

dionne.rose@gleanerjm.com