Bank Silos

Banks tend to develop into a "silo" mentality.  Each team mixed together in its distinct discipline.  Building team effort is very important in most any environment because within a group there are people whose skills are quite different.  When we build a team, we have varied skills represented.  The mix of skill produces greater output than one person’s skills alone.  The downside of building teams is that a company then can become very compartmentalized.  Each group doing their own thing, developing their own culture, focused on what matters most to them with limited interaction with other groups. 

  

In his article Serendipitous Innovation, Kenneth Cline talks with Frans Johansson about the “silo” tendency in banks and other corporations.  

Historically, banking has been a very "siloed" industry. How can you get people in their discreet disciplines to interact with people in the other silos? 

Johansson: Well, the fact is that people in a lot of industries work in silos, it’s not just bankers. Silos actually result, in part, from success. By that I mean that every company that is successful tends to try to replicate their success. And in order to do that, you need to scale, which leads to separate business units housing distinct skills. That’s not just in banks, but in virtually every single company I’ve seen.

That creates tension within the company because people intuitively know that they would benefit by connecting with people from other parts of the organization, yet they also know that to be successful in their area, they supposedly can’t take their eyes off the ball even for a second.  What they don’t realize is that people take their eyes off the ball all the time in ways they don’t reflect upon. For example, when they go home to their families, they’re not focusing on work anymore. Or, during a meeting you get bored and play Angry Birds on your smartphone. Those are all moments when you have opportunities to explore something else. 

What are you doing with those opportunities? You need to find ways to connect with people outside your discipline and make those connections meaningful, and it doesn’t have to be for days. It can be ten minutes, it can be fifteen minutes and that’s all.

I think Johansson made some very good points.  I suggest you shake up the “silo mentality” and think through ways you can encourage intermingling among your different banking groups.  Perhaps you have a quarterly breakfast with several departments.  You will most likely need to build in an interaction exercise or each team will huddle, as usual, with their own team.  I can consult with you on ways to get intermingling started and maintained.

Give me a call or attend one of my workshops that address issues specific to your teams.

Still learning,

Honey

InterAction Training

20826 Sweet Violet Court

Humble, TX 77346

281-812-0211

 

www.interaction-training.com http://www.interaction-training.com

Yikes, I Hired the Wrong Person!

--> Hiring a misfit can be disastrous on many levels.  The whole culture of your workplace can be affected.  Good employees may leave out of frustration. The new hire can cause havoc and make costly mistakes.  And you may be charged with firing the one you hired. 
Avoid bad hires by taking the time to prepare for interviews and recruiting the most suitable candidates.

Your first order of business is to write a thorough job description including as much as you can on what will be required of the employee.  You will never hire the best fit for the job if you don’t have a clear idea on what is needed. 

After you have a good job description then you need to find candidates.  Gather input from team members, other staffers and trustworthy industry contacts.  A highly successful approach in choosing new hires is the APPEAL formula – Assess, Prepare, Probe, Evaluate, Agree, Launch.  This same formula can be applied when promoting or reassigning an employee.  

By applying the APPEAL formula, interviewers will become better prepared as they probe with better questions that result in better answers enabling interviewers to evaluate more effectively how well the prospective new hire will match up with the job and the company. 

Put the time in on the front end so you don’t end up with an employee that upsets your team.
I have a previously recorded webinar you will find helpful on Managing & Motivating Your Team.  Check it out.

Still learning.
Honey
www.interaction-training.com

5 Minutes More

Do what you say and say what you do.  If your business hours are 9 to 5 then you better for sure be open on time and not close early.  Even better, beat your posted hours by 5 little minutes.  That is a classic case of under promise and over deliver!

"Five minutes can make a huge impact on how clients view your branch."  In the August edition of the Branch Manager's Letter Paul W. Craig, President of Sydeme Consulting Company in McKinney, Texas addresses bankers on ways to create "wow" moments with customers.  "Open the branch five minutes before normal opening time and close five minutes after normal closing time,"  recommends Paul W. Craig.  This approach to opening and closing times will be a positive experience for the client as they arrive at the branch and see that the doors are opened fire minutes earlier than the posted time. 

A five minute extension can also be a positive experience if a client is rushing to the branch at the end of the day.  They're a couple of minutes late but thankfully see that the doors are still open.  Positive surprises create positive feelings.  Those extra minutes lead to "WOW" moments. 

"If a client experiences the door being locked a few seconds before they get there it becomes a big negative.  The client feels like they do not matter and will remember the experience as a negative," Craig says. “It’s the small things that add up to form a perception of the organization's culture."

Small things matter big to employees as well, come learn all about how to "wow" your employees.

Learn more about how to be the best supervisor

Still learning,

Honey
www.interaction-training.com

InterAction Training

20826 Sweet Violet Court

Humble, TX 77346

281-812-0211

www.interaction-training.com

Simple Tips for Success

I am very committed and involved in the Prison Entrepreneurship Program.  I volunteer monthly.  I recently went to hear 87-year old W. Wilson, Jr. give advice to the graduates of this program.  I think his is great advice for anyone so today I will share his wise words with you.  I wish you could have heard the speech as I did, he was amazing. 

 9 Pieces of Advice for Entrepreneurs 

 (from Welcome W. Wilson, Sr.)

The following excerpt is from the keynote speech that Mr. Welcome W. Wilson, Sr. delivered on September 24, 2013 at the Prison Entrepreneurship Program‘s 2013 eSchool Graduation presented by Amerisource Funding.

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This is your graduation, so I am going to give some advice to you new entrepreneurs. 

Number 1. If the term had been invented in the 1940’s, I would’ve been known as a schmoozer. So my first word of advice to this graduating class is to learn how to schmooze people that can help you. Sometimes this can be hard work, but let me promise you it is worth the time and effort.

Number 2. As an entrepreneur, don’t ever go against your instincts, if an expert gives you advice; don’t act on it unless you agree with it. When I say experts I mean; lawyers, accountants, architects, engineers. These were the experts that I relied on in my early days and for the first few years I would always follow their advice religiously. Even if I felt they were wrong in my gut. That is a mistake. Never go against your gut feeling.

Number 3: After you have a modest amount of success, you will begin to feel that you are invincible. It happened to me. When Lyndon Johnson was president the economy was booming, every business was succeeding. I gave all the credit to myself. I thought I was smart enough, fast enough, to get out of any situation. I was wrong. There are certain things of which you have no control of, particularly the economy. So don’t think you are invincible because you are not.

Number 4: If you have a setback or a failure, large or small, don’t suck your thumb about it. Analyze the failure, develop your next plan, and forget about the failure.

Number 5: Never burn a bridge, and never lose your temper. Lyndon Johnson used to tell me that, “You can tell a man to go to hell, but you can’t make him go.” The person who hates you today is likely to be your good friend and supporter five years from now.

Number 6: Be persistent. Don’t give up, have faith and persevere. After World War II Winston Churchill addressed the military academy at WestPoint. He was given an elaborate introduction that last two minutes and he walked to the podium and after a pause he said, “Never give up, never give up. Never, never give up”. And he walked back to his seat and sat down.

Number 7: Never argue with a stranger. Save your arguments for people you love. The idea of getting emotionally upset with someone you have never met before in your life and will unlikely ever see again makes no sense. Just smile and walk away.

Number 8: Remember people’s names. When you meet someone, tell yourself that, in the next minutes, you’re going to have to stand up in front of 50 people and introduce them. Anybody can remember names If they take the trouble to do so. A trick I use is when I meet Sam; I will start the next 5 sentences with his name. Sam, XYZ, Sam, PDQ. Remember the most beautiful sound in the world is a person’s own name.

Number 9: Don’t under-dress. Dress like you are an important person. When I was a student at the University of Houston I learned that by wearing a necktie with a dress shirt, everyone on campus assumed that I was an employee of the university. I could go to the head of the line in the cafeteria; I could go behind the counter in the bookstore. If you wore a tie on campus, they assumed you were somebody important.

Still learning,

Honey

InterAction Training

20826 Sweet Violet Court

Humble, TX 77346

281-812-0211

 

Excessive Expectations

A client comes into a bank or any place of business with an expectation.  So it is to your advantage to recognize from the start everyone that walks into your bank comes in with a bag of expectations.  Figuring out expectations and meeting those expectations can be quite challenging.  Some people want to be greeted, some want to be left alone.  

Some places are great at greeting every client that comes in the door. That is key.  I don’t think anyone is offended by being greeted kindly.  Even if the employee is busy, an acknowledgement lets that customer know that you noticed their entrance.   

Seek out training on elevating your Customer Service Expertise!

After the greeting, a customer service representative must be astute to figure out if a customer wants to be engaged or left alone to do self-serve banking.  Be available and let them know you are there to answer any questions should that be needed. 

Every time you figure out a customer’s expectation and meet that need you begin a relationship that could solidify a customer for life. 

Hoping your weekend meets all your expectations.

Still learning,

Honey  

InterAction Training

20826 Sweet Violet Court

Humble, TX 77346

281-812-0211

 

Loyalty

Is loyalty dead?  Is it possible to have loyal clients?  Loyal employees?  I think so.  As competition for business grows building loyalty becomes more challenging. We live in a society that is incredibly fast paced.  When the fastest way to the top, or to the best price looks like moving companies then our instant gratification generation will jump ship.  The best way to build loyalty with clients and with employees is to go beyond their expectations.  

First you must know expectations.  Take the time to listen to needs.  We all want to be heard and understood.  But we are not really good listeners. We are often just waiting for the other to stop talking so we can have our turn.  We stop listening when we think we know what the other is going to say, so we finish their point in our mind instead of listening to them finish their sentence.  We often get distracted or bored.  Although it may look like we are listening we are tuned out.   Work on your listening skills and you will be more in tune with expectations and build loyalty with those to whom you are listening.  Acquire expertise on motivating and managing others!

Want some help Motivating & Managing Your Team?

Once you have listened well and figured out what a client needs you can then attend to that need efficiently.  The same goes for employees.  You cannot apply the same solutions to everyone because we are all unique individuals with unique needs.

Stop, look, listen and offer a helping hand.  Give what you want to get.  As you creatively address unique needs you will see loyalty build.  In the process you will find more satisfaction with yourself and others. 

Demonstrating concern and delivering solutions brings incredible satisfaction and a feeling of value to you and your company.   When a customer or employee feels valuable they will be loyal. 

Still learning,

Honey  
www.interaction-training.com

Training that Fits

One of my favorite things to do is customized training.  I am a problem solver and a motivator.  When a bank or credit union needs new inspiration or has a tough situation, I enjoy coming in and lending an ear.  I have been working in the banking industry for decades and have adjusted to the ever-changing challenges of technology and economic fluctuations.   I have workshops that are very effective with targeted markets like supervisors and trainers.  Check out Train the Trainer Boot Camp.

Here's a training tip that has helped many of my clients:

When an employee is waiting on an accountholder but finds they are challenged about the right steps to take in a process or a decision, they will search to find someone to help them.  Excellent choice – take care of the customer! 

Following a situation like this, make this a best practice:
Have the employee create a flowchart they share with the supervisor on the “how-to accomplish” what was needed.  This will help clarify any adjustments needed regarding the path to take in the future.  Flowcharts and discussions help all of us “get the picture” and the next time the situation arises the employee has a Quick Reference Guide to refer to so they can master what they need in order to be empowered and confident!  

Many of my clients have come to a workshop, then called me to consult on specific and unique situations.  I also have spent some quality time providing customized training with small and large groups on an ongoing basis.   My goal is to partner with you in developing the most efficient, effective and productive business methods.  (www.interaction-training.com) .

Call or e-mail us. We use practical, targeted, effective training, collaboration and coaching. We coach leadership to step up and lead the team to victory.

Honey Shelton, 281-812-0211 or e-mail honey@interaction-training.com

Still learning,

Honey  

“I Wish I Worked There”

5 Ways to Build an Enviable Workplace 

“I

t doesn’t take a boatload of perks or high-priced consultants to make your branch a great place to work,” maintains Honey Shelton, President of InterAction Training (Humble, TX). “Demonstrating a genuine interest in others, giving employees the responsibility and power to get their jobs done, and giving them respect all go a long way to elevating employee satisfaction.”

 To boost employee satisfaction, Shelton recommends these five strategies:

 1.          Respect boundaries, stay real. 

 When you schedule meetings, give thought to the impact your request has on others. Employees have their own plan for the day in full swing and are often thrown into a frenzy to accommodate a meeting request at the last minute.

Likewise, stay real about the flexibility that will be needed for employees with home and family obligations.

 2.          Filter kindness throughout the culture. 

 Employees tend to treat clients the same way they’re treated at work. So kindness has numerous payoffs. Be kind. It sounds so simple and it is; kindness is often overlooked in our busy working world.  Kindness means showing interest in others.

3.          Provide training for your front-line supervisors. 

 When employees think about who they work for, they don’t think about the CEO or the Board of Directors. They think about their supervisor. And nothing sours a job faster than a bad boss.

 A well-trained, well-suited supervisor can create an environment that makes a difference. A good front-line supervisor can motivate employees to do a great job; a bad one can cause employees to just show up to work every day and go through the motions.

 4.          Tell employees where they stand. 

 Are they meeting expectations? Exceeding expectations or falling short? Are your employees exceptional? From the corner office to the custodian, employees want to know where they stand.

 If they’re not making the cut or are falling behind in accomplishing objectives or meeting sales quotas, let them know. Respect means delivering employees the bad news. And be sure and tell them early enough so they can try to turn the situation around.

 5.          End boredom, offer challenges. 

 Nothing beats boredom faster than a company culture that fosters innovation. Companies that offer a challenging work environment tend to attract better employees. That means asking employees what they think and empowering them to get their jobs done. 

Stay on top of your game by subscribing to educational and inspirational sources.  Keep learning by attending one of my upcoming workshops.

Still learning,

Honey

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InterAction Training

20826 Sweet Violet Court

Humble, TX 77346

281-812-0211

www.interaction-training.com