How To Manage Talent in a Parfait Organization

The banking industry sits at an interesting crossroads from a talent management perspective. Demographically, many banks are layered like a parfait, with as many as four distinct generations working in the organization, each with its own set of personality traits, likes and dislikes.

The oldest generation—the baby boomer generation, now running the bank for several years—is beginning to retire in increasing numbers. The Generation X cohort, which follows the boomers, is moving into senior management, the best and brightest among them soon to rise to the CEO and CFO level, if they haven’t already.

Generation Y, otherwise known as millennials, are now far enough along in their careers to have gained some meaningful experience, and the really talented ones are identifiable to the bank. Most members of the final and largest cohort, Generation Z, are still in high school and college, although the oldest ones are entering the workforce. At 26 percent of the population, Gen Z will be a force for the next several decades.

This dramatic generational shift is forcing banks to become more proactive in how they manage their talent, particularly millennials, who will comprise a significant part of the industry’s workforce in the near future. The importance of creating opportunities for those individuals was a significant theme in day two of Bank Director’s 2018 Bank Compensation and Talent Conference, held at the Four Seasons Resort and Club at Las Colinas in Dallas, Texas.

In a session on talent management, Beth Bauman, an executive vice president and head of human resources at the Bank of Butterfield, a NYSE-listed $11 billion asset bank domiciled in Bermuda, described the situation at the bank when she joined it in 2015. Butterfield had frozen salaries and done relatively little hiring for several years as it struggled to recover from the financial crisis. So Bauman, along with senior management, has worked to bring in new talent so the bank can continue to grow.

A key element of that hiring effort has been to create a talent management program so Butterfield’s younger employees can have their careers guided, with the most talented groomed for higher positions within the bank.

Bauman sees this as a key to successfully managing the generational change occurring now throughout the industry. “Regardless of the size of your bank, you can have an effective talent management program,” she says.

Talent management has been very much on the minds of the conference attendees. In an audience survey that polled the 300-plus people who were there, 45 percent said it has become both more difficult and costly to attract and retain talented staff—a result not surprising in an economy where the unemployment rate is just 3.7 percent. Banking also has the disadvantage of not being perceived as an exciting employment opportunity for many job seekers, particularly millennials.

Sixty-one percent of the survey respondents said their bank is actively and intentionally recruiting younger employees like millennials and Gen Z’ers.

Similarly, more than 70 percent said in the last two years their bank has expanded its internal training programs to develop younger leaders within the organization.

As increasing numbers of baby boomers approach retirement (the youngest boomers are in their mid-50’s), and Gen X’ers take their place in the management hierarchy, it will create an opportunity for millennials to move up as well. Gen X’ers are the smallest of the four demographic groups at just 20 percent of the population, so the banking industry will be forced to rely disproportionately on millennials as this generational shift occurs.

This is why training programs that focus on talented younger employees in the organization are so important.

We’ve all heard the jibes about millennials’ self-absorption, or their refusal to return voicemail messages, but the fact is the oldest among them are already buying homes and raising families, and when the day comes to run the bank, they’ll need to be ready.