Community Banker; Washington

Contemporary Issues in Compensation

Satisfiers do not motivate employees, but they must be present on the job for employees to be satisfied. Motivators, on the other hand, do not satisfy but can be used to motivate employees to superior performance. If motivators are not present on the job, employees do not tend to become dissatisfied on that account, but will not necessarily be motivated either. A bank must develop a systematic compensation program, by means of which you assure that employees are paid fairly both internally an...

De Novos Dig for Talent

Recently, banking regulators have identified community banks' ability to hire qualified people as one of their top concerns. Regulators want to see proof of experience and expertise from de novo banks on the lending and operational sides of the business. A growing trend at de novo organizations is the separation of sales from operations. By creating a sales force that does not have operational responsibility, this team focuses on what matters most -- generating business. In conclusion, the ke...

Calling in a Search Team

Good help is hard to find, as industry experts know, but some banks find that the search is easier if they use an executive recruiting firm. Companies specializing in recruiting for banks usually are staffed by individuals with in-depth knowledge of the industry. Executive search firms typically put candidates through a progression of tests -- from phone-screening, to in-depth interviews, to personality profiling. After recruiters have checked out the prospect's background and are confident h...

Winning Workplaces

Management usually applies for a best-places-to-work designation by filling out lengthy paperwork that discusses items such as the company's philosophy, benefits, and working environment. Then each of a company's employees is confidentially polled by an outside company about what it's like to work there. Companies are judged on factors such as leadership, team effectiveness, opportunities for advancement, benefits, employees feeling valued, and working environment. Making employees feel appre...

Front Matter

They're Loving It and It Shows

The Lobby

People On the Move

Dealing with Unscheduled Absences

Making Money More Secure

Umpqua Bank Debuts Innovation Lab

Umpqua is taking banking to new heights with the opening of its Innovation Lab in Portland, OR. The 3,500 square-foot bank -- "store" in Umpqua parlance -- allows customers to use emerging as well as existing technologies in a one-of-a-kind community-centric experience. While the Innovation Lab, located in the city's South Waterfront neighborhood, is brand-spanking-new, the company's mission of reinventing banking has prevailed for nearly 15 years. Umpqua's corporate culture embraces the conc...

Investing in Security Training

Electronic Payments Surpass Checks

Aba Issues Statement On Foreclosures

Aba Renews Opposition to Bankruptcy Legislation

Thirteen Community Banks Added to the Acb Nasdaq Index

The American Bankers Association announced that 13 community banks were added to the ACB NASDAQ index last month. The index includes 511 community banks with a market capitalization of about $160 billion. These are: 1. LaPorte Bancorp Inc, 2. Louisiana Bancorp Inc, 3. Northeast Bancorp, 4. Washington Savings Bank FSB, 5. Westfield Financial Inc, 6. Silver State Bancorp, 7. Beacon Federal Bancorp Inc, 8. Carver Bancorp Inc, 9. Beneficial Mutual Bancorp Inc, 10. Encore Bancshares Inc, 11. First...

Viewpoints

In Training for Success

Whether people realize it or not, most of them have spent a good portion of their lives in training for something -- in bettering themselves or improving their skills -- as they worked toward the successful achievement of some goal. Often, managers think of training as an activity that employees finish and then move on to the next level in their jobs. With all of the challenges and opportunities facing banks today, this approach isn't conducive to maintaining your competitive advantage, let a...

Banker To Banker

Do You Formally Measure or Track Staff's Satisfaction with the Workplace? What Do You Do to Encourage Employee Feedback?

Several executives shared their views measuring staff's satisfaction with the workplace and what employers do to encourage employee feedback. Bathe Christman, president and CEO, Principal Bank, said that Principal Bank, as part of Principal Financial Group, has engaged in formal employee satisfaction surveys for many years. They measure results of each business unit and compare them to the prior year, as well as to their respective divisions, Principal as a whole, and with industry best-in-cl...

Commercial Insights

Fostering a Commercial Banking Environment

A question on how to instill a commercial banking culture within a financial institution is answered. A commercial banking culture requires a shift in mentality away from a product focus and toward a customer focus. Business development efforts within the financial institution are focused on establishing a complete customer relationship not only with businesses, but with the owners, officers, and employees of the businesses. Cultural changes, of any kind, must start at the top of an organizat...

Board Matters

Board Compensation Structures and Policies

Last year, America's Community Bankers (ACB) released its annual Compensation & Benefits Survey. As in the previous years, ACB surveyed its members and nonmembers nationwide to determine the trends affecting financial institutions in the critical area of employee compensation. As in the past, this year's survey analyzed the responses of community banks regarding their board compensation structures and policies. Regarding fees, bank participants were split nearly even, with 49% saying dire...

Of Mutual Interest

Employee Training Goes Hi-Tech

In contrast to earlier days when employee training was a matter of convening the staff and providing one-size-fits-all instruction, electronic tutoring can be individualized to each employee's role. Conducting compliance training online has another big advantage: The software produces the sort of definitive reports bank examiners crave. Reports are valuable training tools for employees because they help staff members understand the bank's compliance obligations. Time saving is another benefit...

Market Maker

Is There an Esop in Your Future?

Community bankers around the country find that the substantial retirement benefits that employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) can afford don't resonate as strongly with employees and prospective employees in their twenties and thirties -- members of so-called Generation Y and Generation X -- as they do with older workers. Community bankers recognize that they must continuously trumpet the benefits of their ESOPs to both employees and prospective employees. Other banks combine periodic educat...

Investment Management

2008 Outlook for Asset/Liability Management

Last year brought an abrupt end to the relatively tranquil capital market conditions that prevailed for most of the previous two years. As the calendar turns to 2008, last year's market turmoil has created both challenges and opportunities for community banks. In terms of challenges, the decline in short-term market rates, coupled with expectations for additional rate cuts in 2008, has highlighted the issue of reinvestment risk for bond portfolios. Even in relatively calm markets, interest ra...

Legal Briefs

'You Won, We Lost!'

Given some of the recent events that have buffeted the financial services industry, the competition for solid and profitable long-term customer relationships is more intense than ever. Attracting customers -- and customer loyalty -- is hard work. One popular bank marketing officer's tool in meeting this goal is the time-honored tradition of the sales promotion. Before launching your next promotional event, you should determine what kind of event it will be and how it will be advertised and ma...

Customer Focused

Customers As Advisers

Community board members are selected by the bank's president from a list of about 50 individuals nominated by the bank's staff. The community boards cannot take credit for all the bank's good ideas. One of the most popular programs is the brainchild of the Premier Bank president, Matthew Brown. Every Friday, the bank serves customers fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. Cookies may bring the customers in, but community boards help ensure that they stay by holding the bank accountable for maint...

Technofile

Data Security Not As Secure As It Should Be

Bits &Amp; Bytes

Are You Fully Protected?

Going Mobile

Surveys & Trends

Fees a Customer Concern

Online Banking Behavior and Preferences

Any belief (or maybe even wishful thinking) that the Internet is just a passing fad seems to be laid to rest by a new survey from CashEdge in New York. Eighty-five percent of the survey participants said they would bank only with an institution that offered online banking capabilities. In addition, 82% said they would use more online capabilities if offered to them. Other survey findings noted that 87% of respondents have more than one institution where they keep their money. The popularity o...

Customers Want Respect

Allegiance Pulse of America -- Retail Banking, a self-administered online survey, asked individuals who have a checking account to answer questions to determine the key forces that affect customer actions when it comes to banking. The survey indicated that only 10% of bank customers reported feeling either neutral or worse when it comes to deciding whether they will end the relationship they have with their current bank within a year. The survey recommended that to stay competitive, banks inc...