3 Things Business Customers Want From Their Banks

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Just like the best community bankers, we want to be the best for our customers: the community banks powering small businesses across the country. So reviews really matter.

Our most energizing reviews are the comments that community banks relay to us from their business customers, specifically regarding their business credit application experience. You are the best banker you can be when business customers are ecstatic about the end-to-end business credit application experience. What makes business customers go out of their way to tell a community banker how happy they are?

To answer that, let’s take a look at the reasons that really help a small business owner thrive. Take Rachel, a cafe owner looking to expand her operations. Here are three things that would make you a hero in her eyes:

1. Applying for Credit Feels as Easy as Ordering Takeout
Maybe it won’t be quite as easy as a takeout order, but the experience can have many things in common. Efforts to digitize the Paycheck Protection Program, along with the customer experience for a whole host of other industries, have permanently re-trained business customers to expect more. She can even sign up for a full-fledged marketing platform in mere minutes online. Business credit application that attempt to replicate something similar include:

  • A state-of-the-art application on the bank’s business product website.
  • The application for credit follows a logical, intuitive flow, with no questions that could stump the applicant or require unnecessary precision.
  • An easy way to checking the loan status. The platform offers a way to login to check the status, revise the application once it is submitted and add documents. Prospective borrowers know where their application stands every step along the way.

2. Quick Decisioning From the Bank
This does not mean that every applicant is ultimately approved. But a fantastic online digital experience helps applicants self-select away from what would never have a chance. Completed applications are thorough and include all the data and documentation necessary to tell the applicant where she stands in a day or two. Your bank may even be able to fund her that much more quickly, generating incredible satisfaction from business owners.

3. Closing is Electronic
Not unlike a mortgage, loan closing can be fully electronic — with a lot fewer forms. Customers, like Rachel, love that. The PPP closing was largely electronic for many business owners nationwide. Why should they ever go back?

Of course, these three things only happen when your bank’s underwriting team has everything they need at their fingertips: all documents and data in one place and a decisioning engine with a recommended offer while avoiding the “black box decisioning” from artificial intelligence. A robust analysis that leaves no detail to chance and recommends quality decisions can help your bank finalize decisions. You answer your business customer in mere days.

To do that, consider adding a nimble platform that is both quickly enabled and valued priced. Your bankers are the trusted advisor to your valued business customer; you can be the hero with your bank.

Optimism Reigns as the Banking Industry Faces Technology Challenges and New Regulation

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compensation-10-25-17.pngThere was a lot of optimism among the crowd of more than 200 during the first full day of Bank Director’s 13th annual Bank Compensation & Talent Conference Tuesday, which included bank CEOs, board members and human resources executives. It was almost as if the prior day’s rains had passed and the day’s breeze and sunshine at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, lightened the mood. For instance, a full 95 percent of the audience in a poll felt that a bank can create a culture of innovation.

Here are a few takeaways from the conference to consider:

Culture is key to one’s future success. Regardless of size, bank executives and board members exert tremendous influence on the long-term culture and success of an institution. Culture manifests in various ways. It may be the board asking challenging questions. It might be figuring out the right incentive structures to encourage growth without undue risk.

Doug Kennedy, president & CEO of Bedminster, New Jersey-based Peapack-Gladstone Bank, a $4.7 billion asset bank, talked about organic growth, while Frank Leto, president & CEO of Bryn Mawr Bank Corp. in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, which has $3.48 billion in assets, explained his approach to growing through a combination of organic growth and targeted acquisitions. His bank has done eight deals in nine years. Juxtaposing their leadership styles reminded the audience that there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to scaling a company.

Having talked with both Kennedy and Leto onstage and off, I’m impressed with their commitment to their teams, communities, investors and clients. Determining the right pay structure for the CEO is not a routine exercise, so I’m sure I’m not the only one apprehensive about the soon-to-be-disclosed CEO-employee pay ratio for public companies. Specifically, this Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule requires companies to include in the proxy statement the median employee’s total compensation, the CEO’s total compensation and the ratio of the two.

I can see the unfortunate headlines in local markets when news comes out. Susan O’Donnell, partner with Meridian Compensation Partners, stressed the urgency for banks to begin the process of collecting relevant data and developing communication plans if they have not already started, given the rule goes into effect for proxies filed in 2018. Don Norman Jr., partner with the law firm Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg in Chicago, worried that this new requirement may inadvertently punish those banks that hire a lot of entry-level positions, as such salaries will increase the ratio.

Another challenge ahead for banks is the need to recruit tech talent. I was a bit perplexed to see that in our audience poll, 44 percent still cite finding commercial lenders as the top recruitment challenge for their banks. I would have thought that tech talent—which received a mere 9 percent of the vote—would have dominated the poll given the accelerating pace of change driven by the digitization of financial goods and services.

Another result that surprised me? Sixty-six percent believe their bank has the right executive-level talent in place to guide the bank’s technology initiatives and implement innovative solutions throughout the organization. Given how much angst exists for the future of banking—and the supposed lack of next generation leadership, 66 percent aren’t worried about having the right people in place at all. It might be true that the current generation of banking executives will be able to lead the way in finding and recruiting new talent, but still, I wonder this may be easier said than done.

Still, I remain optimistic about the future of the banking industry as a whole. This conference has always been a meeting ground for the banking industry’s key leaders to meet, engage with one another and learn. Indeed, most of the speakers talked about culture and growth along with compensation, recruitment, training and development. Programs like these help bank officers and directors to think about the challenges ahead and how they might solve them. While sunny days will not be on every day’s outlook, I do sense a true note of optimism.

Does Your Bank Have a Dream Team?

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succession-10-24-17.pngMany bank boards of directors and CEOs are proud of their bank’s executive team. And rightly so! Yet frequently those feelings of pride dissolve into uncertainty when the bank is faced with the decision to promote a banker into a top executive position or even the CEO role.

How does this happen? Why do well laid out succession plans sometimes evaporate in the face of reality when the time to elevate someone finally arrives? One reason, based on our experience working with hundreds of community bank boards and executive teams, is that directors are often missing context when faced with a promotion decision. The lack of relative perspective on comparative candidates for similar roles may at times impede the comfort level necessary for a board to validate a major promotion decision.

Succession plans are frequently aspirational in nature for community banks: long on good intentions towards the executive and bank, yet short on taking advantage of the time available to fully develop and groom worthy successors for key roles. In order for a bank board to feel comfortable supporting a CEO’s recommendation for a C-Level executive promotion, or for the board to align around a promotional decision into the CEO role, a robust assessment, development and monitoring program needs to have taken place along the way.

True clarity around the bank’s strategic plan and growth objectives is also critical. Alignment among the key decision makers—usually the board of directors or trustees, along with the CEO—provides a consistent viewpoint on what the bank needs in its next leader. Strategy informs profile on many levels, including both tangible skills and leadership competencies, and collectively these must also mesh with the company and boardroom culture to enable a successful leadership transition.

Once a bank’s strategic direction is updated and affirmed, an appropriate next step is often to conduct a management assessment of the existing leadership team. At a minimum, this exercise should provide a developmental action plan to help elevate performance of the senior team—even when that performance is already solid.

Evaluating the leadership team provides multiple benefits, including:

  • An objective evaluation of the strengths, scalability, areas of development and desire for more responsibility—particularly when conducted by an independent party.
  • Creation of a “road map of development,” which can be taken to boost executive performance and enhance succession viability.
  • Increased likelihood of retention of high potential bankers due to the feeling of being “valued” and “invested-in” by the organization.
  • Higher morale, as employees see the investment in future leaders as a sign of a commitment to growth and continued independence.
  • A lower risk of a sale or merger driven by a talent deficit, as good succession planning enhances the continuity of leadership and strategy.

A robust management assessment program should have several critical components:

  • Input from the CEO and board that aligns strategy and the desired/needed profiles of future leaders for key roles. These profiles are often different than an incumbent’s profile.
  • Extensive in-person interview time with a qualified industry talent expert. This should involve both behavioral and chronological interviewing techniques.
  • Use of a third-party assessment tool to help understand an executive’s full range of behaviors and leadership attributes, and the ability to benchmark against desired profiles.
  • A peer evaluation survey to garner candid input from close colleagues. Such a 360° process can provide valuable insights to help guide developments plans.

There is no more important responsibility of an incumbent CEO and community bank board than to develop the strongest possible leadership team and potential CEO successors. An informed board with a strong range of perspectives on the bank’s executive talent is best positioned to make promotional decisions on future bank leaders and the next CEO. A robust management assessment program provides the right foundation for good governance and successful succession planning.

Managing Today’s Compensation Risk

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Regulatory attention on incentive compensation is heightened following the Wells Fargo scandal, posing a greater burden to boards and management teams. Todd Leone and Gayle Appelbaum of McLagan, part of Aon plc, explain what tools banks should use to mitigate compensation risk and the questions boards should be asking about incentive compensation arrangements.

  • Increased Scrutiny on Compensation Plans
  • Tools to Mitigate Compensation Risk
  • Questions to Ask About Incentive Compensation
  • Balancing Compensation Risk with Attracting Talent

Creating Next Generation Cultures to Attract Next Generation Talent

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recruitment-5-12-17.pngMany directors believe it’s important for their institutions to address the shortage of younger financial services talent, yet there’s often a lack of urgency around working on this future problem. Consider this: About 40 percent of the community banking workforce will consist of millennials within the next five years. In order to stay relevant, community banks not only need to ensure they are attracting and retaining millennials as customers, but also as employees. It’s no secret that for millennials, banking isn’t exactly the sexiest industry for employment opportunities. The good news is that as a service industry, banking has ample opportunity to exercise some creativity in its culture. There are five key areas to address now that will help attract and retain millennials to the community banking world.

Embrace cognitive diversity in the workplace. The bottom line is that millennials embrace diversity; not only in the traditional sense, but they also seek cognitive diversity within the workplace. This means that they want to be included and accepted for their thoughts and opinions. This group seeks a collaborative environment where they can impact work, bring value to the organization, and be recognized—through compensation and other means—for their efforts and ideas. Consider ways to bring employees into the decision-making fold at all levels. This approach actually has a secondary benefit: by allowing the broad workforce to feel empowered to create and implement ideas, banks can also begin to address the need for innovation and the need to develop competitive differentiation in order to remain successful.

Focus on social responsibility. It’s well known that millennials focus on a company’s social responsibility when evaluating them as an employer. It is also known that ethics and integrity are important criteria, and that millennials are skeptical of the financial services industry in the wake of the mortgage crisis and the Wells Fargo scandal. Community banks in particular have ample opportunity to take meaningful action in the communities they serve and allow millennials to participate in socially beneficial causes they believe in. Allowing for input and ideas in determining what the organization will focus on and offering non-cash benefits like time off to volunteer can make this generation feel good about the work they’re doing and may help change the perception of banking as a career choice.

Invest in career development. Millennials want to take control and actively lead their career development. Banks can provide a multitude of opportunities to strengthen skills and allow millennials to develop as leaders. Millennials are looking for a coach, rather than a “boss,” which they define as someone who is invested in their success. Establishing mentorships and leadership programs, provide on-the-job training and reinforce the company’s commitment to individual growth.

Increase Transparency. Transparency is vital to establishing trust and loyalty with this generation and it’s a key to longer job tenure. An employer can provide transparency by ensuring millennials understand how their role contributes to the bank’s success and how success is rewarded. It is important to collaborate to establish short- and long-term goals and detail the path to reach these goals, including training and opportunities for development. Millennials thrive on feedback and consistent dialog. Providing an avenue for two-way communication will help ensure success in this area and keep everyone engaged.

Align total rewards and performance management programs. As with most employees, effective compensation plans and performance management programs can help attract, retain and motivate millennials. Providing a competitive base salary may not be at the top of their priority list, but certainly being rewarded for performance is important. In conjunction with regular feedback, recognition and incentive awards should also be a part of the compensation framework. Instead of annual performance reviews, it may be more prudent to provide frequent check-ins and real-time feedback. In addition, millennials welcome the opportunity to receive input on performance from peers and others in the organization.

The bottom line is that banks must create an engaging workplace culture where millennials feel welcomed, valued and rewarded. Many banks have taken the lead on creating advisory boards consisting of millennials (both employees and people from the community) to ensure that they’re doing the right things to attract and retain this generation as customers and as employees. Any bank that can be successful in achieving this will have created a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Shaking Up Traditional Banking

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banking-strategy-2-10-17.pngUnlike some executives, David Becker likes to be told what he’s doing wrong. The chairman and chief executive officer of First Internet Bank in Fishers, Indiana, says bank interns speak to the senior leadership team at the end of their internships to discuss ways the bank could improve. He expects the same of staff throughout the organization.

“[Our hire] is the dissatisfied banker,’’ he says. “They were in an organization that had a boatload of rules and policies. We take the banker who says, ‘What if we did this?’ We want the person who questions the day-to-day operations.”

Running the bank in such a way has paid off.

The bank’s holding company, $1.8 billion asset First Internet Bancorp, grew loans 31 percent last year from the year before, to $1.3 billion. Net income grew to $12.1 million from $8.9 million in 2015. The bank’s return on average assets was 0.81 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, and its return on average equity was 11.24 percent. First Internet has its headquarters in Fishers, a suburb of Indianapolis, and a loan production office in Tempe, Arizona, and that’s it. With a focus on digital banking, First Internet can grow its loan book nationally while keeping expenses low. One of its niches is digitally savvy investors who own properties or businesses in multiple states because the bank can accommodate lending that may take place in different parts of the country.

Investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods has an outperform rating on the stock, in part based on its cheapness relative to the bank’s performance. The bank will have to continue to grow to achieve efficiencies, because internet banks have to pay slightly more for deposits than other banks do, says Michael Perito, a KBW analyst who follows the stock.

Becker feels as if the big banks are getting consumers more accustomed to digital banking, and therefore, more likely to leave for digital-only banks. When he first started the internet bank in 1999, customers had to deposit checks by sending them in the mail to the bank. Now, they can just remotely deposit them through the bank’s mobile banking app. If customers use another bank’s ATM, First Internet reimburses them for up to $10 per month in surcharges—making up for the bank’s lack of a branch network.

The bank has been growing lately in part because it is hiring seasoned bankers to tend to its loan book of mortgages, commercial real estate and consumer loans. Becker says the bank has managed to survive by building slowly and carefully in its early years, so as not to overstep its infrastructure. “The team we have on board are all folks at the senior level that worked at multistate, large, regional banks and have the expertise and the ability to help us grow to that multi-billion-dollar position,’’ Becker says. “It is all about the people. We can create computer tools and algorithms, but at the end of the day, somebody has to talk to you if there is a problem and know how to underwrite a loan.”

The bank is acutely focused on customer service, and in its early days, it didn’t hire anyone right out of high school or in their first job. “We needed talented people who could handle anything that came in the door,’’ Becker says. There are no tellers per se, and everyone who works in customer service needs to handle multiple functions, from wire transfers to starting a new deposit account. Staffers can communicate with their customers on the phone, in online chat rooms or via email. They keep track of customer reviews on sites such as Yelp, because bad reviews can damage the company’s reputation. Software vendors are held to account, and the bank doesn’t sign any long-term contracts with vendors, Becker says.

Although the bank relies on vendors rather than developing its own software, it follows the workplace ethic of a tech company: a 24-hour gym is available, and people can show up in jeans to work every day. “We use technology to revolutionize the banking process,’’ Becker says. “There really isn’t any limit to our potential growth. Are we a drop in the bucket in the whole community of financial services? Yes. But the consumer is coming our way. We are getting better at it and we are bigger day by day.”

The Bank Executive of the Future: Agile and Focused on Talent

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bank-executive-1-23-17.pngToday’s bank leader remains under more pressure than at any time since the financial crisis. Tangible skills still matter, such as commercial credit experience, risk management and strategic planning.

Nevertheless, the real challenges may lie in developing the key leadership requirements for institutional success, and in the navigation of the managerial challenges which lie ahead. Here are three intangible but particularly important qualities for the future bank leader’s success.

Cultural Agility and Adaptability
Let’s face it: while middle-aged white men still dominate the C-suite in banking, the growth markets—and new and future employees—do not fit this profile. Consider these points:

  • Women today constitute a majority of bank employees in many institutions, with rising penetration in senior management roles.
  • Non-Caucasian children are now a majority of births in this country.
  • More new businesses are started by women and minority members of our communities than by Caucasian males.

What this says about our bank’s future opportunities for growth is that bank leaders and line personnel need to develop a true appreciation for the varied needs of different customer constituencies. And employees will likely need additional training to be in a position to service a wider array of customer profiles.

Bank leaders, then, need to lead this charge. It takes training to be able to meet differing customers at their comfort level, rather than expecting potential clients or prospective employees to relate to us. After all, your future team members will be just as diverse as your future customers.

Workforce Flexible
The nature of today’s multigenerational workforce is no secret.

Here’s a recent statistic from Gallup and highlighted by the American Bankers Association: of the four current workforce generations, millennials were notably the least engaged, with only 29 percent feeling connected to their employers. Furthermore, according to research from private equity firm Kleiner Perkins and the industry association Independent Community Bankers of America, the millennial generation seeks meaningful work, high pay, a sense of accomplishment, training and development as well as flexibility—in that order. Yet this same generation is known for being empathetic, humanitarian, environmentally concerned and generally caring. So, how do banks connect with these future leaders to attract them and keep them in the fold?

Here’s where I believe banks hold a hidden advantage over many other industries. There is no industry that is more community-minded or supportive of local organizations with time and money than community banks. Yet too often we take this proud and locally minded commitment for granted, when we should be shouting it from the rooftops, especially when we are recruiting up-and-coming talent or even rookies straight from college.

We also need to make sure that banks have revisited the traditional timelines of career advancement that former bankers like me grew up with. While some veteran bankers may disdain the up-and-comer who expects rewards and recognition much faster than previously provided, we need to accept that times are simply different. As a technology-enabled, team-oriented, community-minded industry, we need to reinforce that “this is not your grandfather’s bank” in our recruiting messages and performance feedback.

Talent Focused
Despite the continued consolidation of the industry, the ranks of folks who can capably lead a bank in today’s climate is simply not keeping pace with the need to replace retiring CEOs and C-level executives.

In the battle for new loans in crowded markets, the banks with more and better lenders on the street will win. Remember that stars have the most options as to where they will deploy their talent. “A” players will usually choose an opportunity where they are working with or for a well-known leader, and where they feel they are best set up for success.

Top talent wants to work with other top performers, and a bank CEO who can attract top players gains a significant competitive edge.

Banks that choose to play it safe with regards to talent—whether in the executive ranks or in the hiring of revenue generators—do run the risk of being penny-wise and pound-foolish. Don’t skimp on getting as many difference-makers on your team as possible.

Summary
The difference between banks that will be able to grow and remain independent may come down to the soft skills of their leaders—how the bank adapts to changing employee and customer markets, navigates the different workplace expectations of its up-and-comers, and whether the bank approaches the talent market strategically. Failing to shift focus to these factors may come at a very high price.

Want to Attract Millennials? Just Ask Them What They Want

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millennials-1-11-17.pngHarrisburg, Pennsylvania-based Centric Bank, with $463 million in assets, wants to attract young customers to do business with the bank, and the up-and-coming talent needed for its future success. To make that happen, CEO Patricia Husic and her team are going straight to the source by partnering with a local young professionals’ organization.

In early 2016, Husic addressed Harrisburg Young Professionals (HYP), a civic organization with members averaging 25 to 35 years old, as part of a breakfast series that brought in CEOs from the community to speak to the group. Soon after, she and Derek Whitesel, HYP’s executive director, met at Husic’s request to discuss how the two organizations could partner to create an advisory board to help the bank understand the unique qualities of the millennial generation.

“It’s such an important piece for us, as a community bank, to look at how we make ourselves relevant to the millennial group” as clients and potential employees, says Husic.

On paper, the millennial generation should be a boon for the banking industry. Working millennials in the U.S., at 53.5 million, surpassed Generation X (52.7 million) and the baby boomers (44.6 million) in the 1st quarter 2015, according to Pew Research, which defines millennials as those born after 1980. The financial needs of millennials are growing, as they balance record levels of student loan debt with traditional desires like home ownership. But the first digital generation is also more open to up-and-coming mobile providers to meet its financial needs and has been reticent to work for the traditional banking industry, whose reputation has taken a beating since the financial crisis.

Centric isn’t the first bank to establish a millennial advisory group. Since 2009, Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp has selected millennial employees to provide input on various company initiatives, from mobile app design to employee benefits. Nearby Mid Penn Bancorp, in Millersburg, Pennsylvania with $1 billion in assets, formed its own millennial advisory board in 2016 to better meet the needs of younger customers. Like Centric, the group is comprised of employees and local professionals.

Centric’s millennial advisory board held its first meeting in November 2016. Each member has committed to a two-year term and will meet quarterly for one to two hours to discuss what millennials want and need from financial institutions and employers, and to outline strategies to attract and retain millennial customers and employees. Eight members are bank staff—all millennials—and eight, including Whitesel, come from HYP. Different industries and skill sets are represented.

Two co-chairs—Nicole Cooper, a teller manager from Centric, and Trevin Shirey, an HYP member and business development manager at an internet marketing company—are responsible for organizing the meetings and setting the advisory board’s agenda. Millennials on the advisory board are uncompensated but will have direct access to Centric’s board of directors, with the co-chairs presenting quarterly updates to the board and leadership team that outline key initiatives and progress toward goals.

The partnership doesn’t just benefit Centric. “There [are] a lot of movers and shakers [on Centric’s board] that are highly involved in the Harrisburg community, so being able to connect those eight young professionals to those people directly is ultimately a great opportunity for them to network in the community and get to advance their professional careers,” says Whitesel. Husic adds that membership on the board should be a “great resume builder.”

The first task to be completed by the group has advisory board member Cody Wanner—the co-founder of video production company CAP Collective—documenting the bank’s online account opening process. The group will review the footage and offer its input. “We’re all going to sit together and watch,” says Husic. “If we don’t hear the unfiltered feedback, how do we make ourselves a better bank?” Next, the group plans to focus on the bank’s mobile app, again recording the experience. Centric also plans to bring in companies identified as leaders in mobile app development for demonstrations.

Husic plans to measure the success of the millennial advisory board’s recommendations, and the bank’s implementation of them. Is Centric moving the needle when it comes to acquiring millennial accounts? Are more young job seekers interested in working at the bank? Currently, 15 percent of Centric’s employees are millennials. Husic wants to get closer to 30 percent, and for Centric to gain a reputation as an “employer of choice” for younger workers.

Attracting millennial employees is important to the long-term sustainability of the bank, Husic says, and she’s open to the advisory board’s input—even if it takes her a little out of her own personal comfort zone. “They said, ‘did you ever think about getting a dodgeball team together?’” says Husic, who is open to the idea but reticent to play herself. “I’ll bring the snacks,” she says.

The Battle for Bank Talent: Trends and Strategies

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Motivated, talented employees always have been critical to the success of financial services organizations, meaning there always has been competition to attract high-performing employees. However, recent research indicates that competition has heated up considerably in the past few years, making it even more important for banks to stay abreast of current trends in compensation and human resource practices.

Trends in the Battle for Talent
The most recent indicator of the intensifying competition for talent can be found in the Crowe Horwath LLP 2016 Financial Institutions Compensation and Benefits Survey. Of the many trends in compensation, incentive and benefits strategies that are tracked in this annual survey, three areas were particularly revealing in 2016:

Employees are changing jobs at the fastest pace in at least a decade, with both officer and nonofficer turnover trending sharply upward over the past two years. Some turnover is the result of consolidations or performance issues, but most turnover represents the voluntary departure of employees–usually at a significant cost to the banks.

employee-turnover.PNG

Bank staffing strategies appear to have recovered from the recession. More banks today are planning for normal growth in staffing (35.6 percent), while the number of banks planning to maintain (34.1 percent) or reduce (3.6 percent) staffing levels is declining to pre-recession levels.

staffing-plans.PNG

The percentage of banks that plan to implement above-market compensation strategies has increased steadily over the past four years. In the 2016 survey, 28.5 percent of banks reported their strategy was to pay more than 10 percent above the market average.

compensation-strategy.PNG

Taken together, these three trends–higher turnover, expected staffing increases, and growing use of above-market compensation strategies–suggest that the battle for talent is likely to continue and intensify.

Factors Driving the Competition
Viewing the survey results through the lens of current industry experience, one might reasonably conclude that bank compensation strategies are no longer responding to recession and credit crisis concerns. The survey responses suggest that banks are now being driven by a new set of economic and competitive factors including:

  • Employee expectations: As memories of recession-driven job insecurity fade, events such as bank consolidations, increased profitability and rising executive compensation are catching employees’ attention. The increased turnover rate suggests that high performers in search of better opportunities are more willing to take a chance and make a move now.
  • Growth strategies: Although mergers or acquisitions often are associated with net reductions in payroll, bank consolidations also can create demand for managers and executives who are more experienced in handling larger organizations. Other market strategies—such as enhanced digital banking or a relationship-banking approach—also can drive demand for employees with technical or consultative-selling skills.
  • Technology: Just as technology affects some of the skills needed to serve bank customers, it also is changing some employer-employee relationships. The “gig economy,” where short-term contract workers provide specialized services to multiple employers, has not yet affected most traditional bank jobs but certain positions—marketers, data analysts and website or mobile banking developers, for example—often can be filled by contract workers rather than full-time employees.
  • Competition: Banks with strong market positions in commercial lending or other desirable business lines sometimes find themselves on the defensive as they ward off competitors trying to lure away their most productive employees. Often banks end up offering selective pay boosts and bonuses to discourage so-called “lift out” strategies, in which a competitor lures away key managers or an entire department.

New Approaches to the Battle for Talent
Putting more emphasis on pay—particularly performance-based pay or incentives—is one way to attract and retain high performers. But higher pay scales are not the only solution.

Many banks that are consistently regarded as “employers of choice” are not the highest paying employers in their markets—or even the highest paying among comparable banks. Instead, they shift a portion of their workforce investments toward maintaining benefit programs and work cultures that promote work-life balance.

Some banks now present employees with an annual “total rewards statement” that spells out all the investments their employers are making in them. Such statements can help motivate employees by reminding them of their value to the organization. Individual personal recognition, status and career opportunities can also be powerful motivators.

Regardless of the specific mix of techniques that are used, the intensifying battle for talent means banks will need to pursue a deliberate, multifaceted approach to attract, motivate and retain the talented and high-performing employees they need to pursue their business strategies.

Finding Talent For The Bank’s Future

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CEO succession planning should be a top priority for a bank’s board of directors, but many institutions lack a plan. J. Scott Petty of Chartwell Partners outlines how to prepare for the short and long-term transition of the CEO and addresses recruiting new board talent.

  • Developing a Succession Plan
  • Finding Diverse and Talented Directors