Career Development: A Priority for Today’s Modern Workforce

lindsay-lanore-150pxBy Lindsay LaNore

In today’s hyper-connected world, transparency rules. With online platforms such as Glassdoor, current and potential hires can read anonymous employee reviews about a community bank’s office culture, management style, and salary and compensation packages. Employees expect transparency and want to know their employers’ plans for growth and how they fit in. One way to address this shift in corporate ethos is to make sure that professional development is a part of your community bank’s compensation package.

Younger generations want to know that there is an opportunity for advancement and as machine learning and artificial intelligence transcend science fiction and become reality, older generations want to make sure that their skills stay sharp.  

Investing in employee professional development and growth can be a game-changer for your institution as it looks to the future and its customers’ needs. As your bank leadership and human resources staff evaluate employee performance in 2018 and plot the course for the year ahead, consider:

  • Viewing professional development as bait for new talent and a reason for current employees to stay. Poaching talent isn’t always a viable strategy, and turnover is expensive. Training up your staff signals to them that you are invested in their career growth at the bank.
  • Developing your training program with employee input. Employees feel like their needs are being met, and banks benefit by creating more efficient and knowledgeable staff.
  • Getting the C-suite involved. Professional development programs should align with your bank’s strategic goals. When these priorities are established, make sure to communicate them to all employees so they can more readily identify opportunities to pursue career growth.

Knowledge is a differentiator that is never wasted and serves as the foundation for growth and innovation. By treating employee training as a valuable component of your compensation packages, you can create a stronger workforce that is more engaged and productive.

As you look to the year ahead and consider your bank’s strategic goals and training needs remember that ICBA’s Community Banker University® is poised to help you succeed.

Lindsay LaNore is group executive vice president of ICBA's Community Banker University.