Gone are the days of having every employee under one roof. With organic growth comes increased branching and the addition of specialized back-office team members with expertise in digital media, training, compliance and audit, as examples. These hats may have been worn by client-facing employees in the past but are being removed out of necessity.
These new employees will most likely not work out of the main office and opt to work from the nearest branch or their home office, as allowed. Assuming there is space in each branch for these non-client-facing employees, a new dynamic emerges. There is a mix of client-facing employees who are required to cover all business hours, including lunch, and a group of non-client-facing employees who have flexibility to come and go as they please. The “us vs. them” plot thickens.
Branch culture is complex, and sides can develop quickly, even at community banks with two or three locations. Normally, banks require two employees in the branch at all times for security purposes. Many banks still offer Saturday branch hours as well and expect loan officers to be out of the office developing business in their communities. How banks handle this conversation with client-facing staff is key to avoiding soap opera level drama, habitual negative thinking and increased turnover.
Who are our players? We have the tellers and personal bankers on one side of the stage. They provide banking services to all clients during business hours. This works well when they are at full staff, but life happens. People take vacations; they get sick; they move on to new roles at the bank. Whose responsibility is it to cover the hours? Who is going to stay with the lone teller until the branch closes? These situations may be rare at some banks but, when they happen regularly, these are the moments when habits of thought are formed. Why don’t we have enough staff? Why won’t anyone help us? Why aren’t the loan officers here when clients stop by unexpectedly?
These are the moments when non-client-facing employees get pulled on stage. Are they expected to handle client transactions, despite little or zero training on the software? Are they expected to cover, including Saturdays, when two people are needed at the branch? Is it only the employees without families who expected to step up at the end of the day?
Loan officers tend to be center stage. They are often involved in community clubs and committees on behalf of the bank. In addition, they are developing business, performing inspections, and closing loans off site. If they are playing the dual role of branch manager and loan officer, where do their priorities lie? With their clients or with their employees? Are they willing and/or able to cover at the teller window when needed? In a perfect world, everyone would just step up when needed. There would be no hard feelings, no judgment and everyone would assume positive intent.
This has never been true at any bank I have worked for because they have been staffed by human beings, not actors playing a part. So, if this is true for most banks, the right question to ask ourselves is, “What can we do about it?”
Setting clear expectations up front for all employees and sharing these during the hiring process is essential. If the clearly-defined expectation is that the frontline employees (tellers and personal bankers) are 100 percent responsible for coverage, our focus turns to branch staffing levels. Based on average transaction volumes, what is the ideal number of full-time and part-time employees needed for coverage, assuming people will need to take time off expectedly or unexpectedly? If the expectation is shared responsibility, then provide a clear vision of what this looks like and be consistent across locations.
The tendency to operate “lean” has consequences for all employees at the branch and their culture. Start from the assumption that every person who works for the bank desires flexibility in their work schedules, that they want to focus on the work they were hired to do and staff accordingly.
Christy Baker is a facilitator and coach focusing on organizational health and strategies for Omaha-based Revela. She provides group training and individual coaching. Baker is a former COO for an Iowa-based community banking group. Reach her at [email protected] or visit RevelaGroup.com/podcast.