SPECIAL BUSINESS SERVICES SECTION
Ask the Coach
One of our goals for the new year is to have a more philanthropic culture. How can our bank give back to our community? We are always excited to hear that banks are implementing social good within their company culture. Today’s image of the banking industry can have negative tendencies. It is banks like this that will be the ones to turn the tide and make the financial services industry one that is seen in a positive light. There are many ways you can implement this goal in 2019, and here are our top suggestions:
Donate
Each year, pick an organization that your institution would like to support. For example, maybe there is an organization in your community that provides school supplies for children in less fortunate families. Start a drive in your office to gather bookbags and school supplies that you can then donate to that organization. A good way to make this successful is to set goals along the way. For this example, maybe your goal would be to collect 100 bookbags full of supplies. Then, set goal markers along the way. Reward your office with something special every time an additional 25 bookbags come in. Rewarding your employees for their philanthropic effort will only increase involvement, which increases what you are able to give back to your community.
Volunteer
There are many organizations today that offer their employees time off of work to volunteer. By doing so, you are creating a culture that promotes giving back to the community. Your employees will surely have causes that they hold near and dear to their hearts that they would love to support, and getting paid time off to do so will go a long way in their eyes. This not only can be used as an attention grabber to attract top talent, but it will also prove to your community that you are committed to their success.
Serve on a Community Organization Board
Naturally, as professionals, we always have bettering our businesses at the top of our minds. Serving on a Community Board can achieve multiple goals at once. Getting yourself known in the community is a great way to increase success at your financial institution. Serving on a community board provides networking opportunities that you would not have had access to before, while also tying the name of your bank to a community organization. It should always be encouraged to your employees to be a part of organizations they feel passionately for, and allowing employees time to serve on community boards is a win-win for your bank and the community.
Come Together with Other Community Companies
If you aren’t equipped to plan and host an event on your own, take advantage of the relationships you have
built through serving on community boards and co-host an event with another organization in town. Not only will you be building and strengthening a relationship with another community business, but you are working together for the greater good of your community as well.
Community High School Scholarships
Bettering the future education opportunities for the youth in your community will always be an incredible way to get involved. Choose local high schools to create an application for their students and give a certain dollar amount to graduating seniors that are looking to continue their education in the financial services industry. This is a way to better your community, and also better the industry you work in every day. Attracting talent is a challenge all banks see, and the talent pool will get bigger if you support the educational efforts of your community youngsters.
Do you have a question for our coaches?
Ask your question at BankTalentHQ.com/blog. For more career, sales and leadership advice, please contact our coaches: DONNA FLYNN, career/management coach, dflynn@skillsmastery.com, 630-624-4319 JOE MICALLEF, sales coach, joe@growupsales.com, 773-329-0066
Internships
Open the doors of your bank branches to high school students that have shown an interest in the banking industry. Paid or unpaid, this is a great way to showcase the endless opportunities that the banking industry has to offer. You are, again, offering an educational experience to those within your community, while sparking their interest to work in a bank in the future.
Make Social Good a Part of Company Culture From day one, make it known within your bank that you have, and fully believe in, a philanthropic culture. This is a message that needs to be put into place from the top down. Lead by example and show your staff how you expect the culture to be executed in their every day job duties. It’s a great goal to have in this coming year, and one that should be implemented in years to come. Try implementing some of these ideas this year to get your bank acclimated to the idea of having social good a top goal from here on out.
March-April 2019 •
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