ICBA Connect is a virtual experience that is designed to energize, inspire and bring community banking teams together—quite literally connecting our industry from coast to coast, community to community. And to magnify that energy, our goal has been to engage community bankers at every level, by offering a “Bank Registration” option for this year’s ICBA Connect conference.
This is a way for every community bank to enrich the knowledge and experience of all team members to help them elevate their skillset and passion for what they do as they face both challenges and opportunities in the year ahead.
Each bank registration allows for up to 30 connections—which can be streamed safely from common areas or assigned for individual logins. ICBA Connect programming will also broadcast live on the event website and via a mobile app so even bankers that don’t have their own login will have a personal experience and be able to interact with other registered attendees.
Creating a Teambuilding Environment
Here are a few tips to help your community bank make the most of the ICBA Connect experience.
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Provide event tools and materials early. Every bank registration includes attendee materials appropriate for sharing. Employees should download the ICBA Connect handout and guide to capture key takeaways and spark dialogue among your team before, during and after the event.Send the guide by email, utilize your bank’s internal chat feature, or elect a team leader at each location to start the conversation.
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Promote active participation. Leverage this opportunity for team building and encourage staff to be “engaged” as much as possible. This could be a perfect opportunity to bring everyone together to talk about the bank mission or strategic plan and how the concepts explored from ICBA Connect can support the bank’s priorities for the coming year.
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Make ICBA Connect Unique to Your Team. Create a contest for employees. Lean into the concepts shared during ICBA Connect and encourage employees to submit their ideas for bank growth and success. It could be a new product, a modified procedure, or a new approach to a routine task.
Keeping with the concept of human connections at our conference. Challenge employees to send an email during a break to another employee thanking them for their help or collaboration. A small act of kindness can go a long way with your team’s performance.
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Keep the energy flowing. Everyone’s hungry, right? This one’s easy. Order lunch for your team. It’s an awesome way to stay local and support one of your favorite eateries while fueling your team up for an entertaining and inspiring day. I’ve even heard of some banks ordering T-shirts for team members to wear during the event.
Either way, use the event as yet another opportunity to showcase your team’s commitment to learning and teambuilding by sharing the story and photos on social media with the hashtag #ICBAConnect. Remember to keep the lines of communication open post-ICBA Connect as well.
Use the conference as a launchpad for other teambuilding events. Even in a virtual setting, we can continue to encourage a culture of lifetime learning and teamwork.
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Save the Dates: With the bank registration, your entire bank team will be able to access 10+ hours of bonus events including:
- ICBA ThinkTECH Innovation Showcase (March 16)
- Future of Payments Panel (March 23)
- Lunch & Learn Education Series (March 11-April 14)
- Peer Connections: Small Group Virtual Conversations (March 24-April 22)
- Solutions Showcase (May 12-13)
ICBA is looking forward to connecting with you and your community banking team next month. If you aren’t already signed up for this new and exciting event, we encourage you to save your seats and register today.
Lindsay LaNore is ICBA group executive vice president, chief learning and experience officer.
ICBA Connect
Come ready to be inspired and get the tools you need to make the most of the challenges and opportunities of today.
