Attracting and retaining key personnel is a regular topic at strategic planning sessions. It fits neatly into the big strategy of making sure the bank has appropriate management succession at all levels. When discussing attracting and retaining key personnel, we always ask the board, and particularly the CEO, whether the CEO believes that he or she has the tools to attract and retain personnel in the future. Note, this is not only getting the right person on board but keeping them from leaving.
Getting them on board can result from providing opportunities they do not have at their current employment and retaining them can not only be a culture issue, but also a golden handcuff consideration (i.e., it penalizes them or hurts them financially to leave).
Over the last several months, we have had the opportunity to conduct studies for several community banks with respect to issues regarding whether they have the tools to attract and retain key personnel. This generally involves some type of compensation and benefit study and recommendations with an eye toward making sure the bank can remain independent moving forward with appropriate personnel.
Being both a consulting firm and a law firm, we have the unusual ability to conduct the study, identify the alternatives, and then help the bank implement the alternatives as it relates to compensation and benefits.
Gerrish Smith Tuck, Consultants and Attorneys, is a national leader in assisting community banking entities and industry participants of all kinds in a wide variety of matters. For more information visit Gerrish.com.