FORUM FEEDBACK

We held our first Customer Forum of 2012 on Saturday morning with 20 of our members quizzing me on a range of topics. I really enjoy these sessions and am constantly surpised by the depth of feeling amongst local people on key issues in our marketplace.We have been holding these Forums for several years now and of course the low interest rate environment for savers is a recurring theme, but other matters came to the foreground on Saturday, notably the impact on the mutual sector of potential contagion from the eurozone and the need to persist in our efforts to assist local first-time buyers. Obviously hosting a Form every few months helps me to understand how The Hanley is viewed by members , meeting them personally and with no formal agenda, but it also influences my thinking on member appreciation of the risks we face in our business.If ever complacency were to creep in ( and I'm never normally accused of that !) then a brisk Customer Forum session is sure to refresh and revitalise. The highlight of Saturdays Customer Forum was talking proudly of our recruitment in January of two new apprentices, Jordan (16) and Lauren (17). Aside from making us all feel very old, these new recruits epitomise our optimism for the future and our commitment to developing our own talent to meet the many challenges we face in the future.