Cultivating the Talent Within

Having trouble finding quality managers that fit your organization’s culture? Maybe it’s time you make them yourself. Bank of Marin, a $1.4-billion asset community bank headquartered in Novato, California, is doing just that.  By applying a similar training concept to those sometimes employed by much larger institutions, Bank of Marin  is wagering that even for a community bank, the long-term benefits of an early investment in employees will be well worth the initial cost.  Bank of Marin CEO Russell Colombo recently spoke with Bank Director about the program.

Why did you start an employee training program? 

We really looked at both our growth and our total employee base. As we’ve been growing, we felt it was important to start building a culture from the bottom up by training people to learn the organization. That way we knew what we were getting.Whereas, when you hire from the outside, there’s a little bit of risk. You can interview all you want, but you don’t necessarily know what you are getting.

The program also sends a very good message to our employees that there are opportunities here for growth.

Can you give us an overview of how the program works?

It’s a nine month program. Each trainee is assigned a mentor who meets with them regularly either at branch locations or at headquarters depending on where they are assigned. These mentors, usually branch managers, provide the trainees with guidance and assistance. 

After they graduate, the mentor who was assigned to them still remains in contact and works with them as they are taking on their full responsibilities in the branches. They help them make that transition. So, it’s a nine month program with three months of additional mentoring. The trainees become pretty close to their mentors.  They can call them anytime for assistance, direction and guidance even after those last three months.

What are some of the qualities you are looking for from trainees?

There are a few things. For educational background, we are looking for a bachelor’s degree or better. We are looking for [people with] leadership qualities: Those that are not afraid to speak up and are open to learning. We are looking for those that can be outgoing and have a sales aptitude. We also want someone who isn’t afraid to ask for business and who can build client relationships with existing customers.

How have you been gauging the success of the program?

It is early yet since we just completed the first year, but we had our first graduation and each [graduate] got up and gave a speech. They felt good about their own careers because the bank had confidence in them and we were willing to spend money to train them for success within the bank.

I think this [program] creates a strong sense of loyalty. These days you have people coming out of college with degrees in business and accounting who are taking jobs as tellers. We pulled our [trainees] out of these ranks because they clearly have the capability and the capacity to do more.  We are giving them their opportunity.

People see this and they say, “If so-and-so can have that opportunity and succeed, I could too,” and maybe they will raise their hand the next time or be chosen the next time. That has a real positive impact on a culture.

Do any of your area competitors have similar programs?

I haven’t seen any others in the area doing this. This is what the big banks used to do. They all had training programs. When I started in banking, every bank had a significant training program where they hired a number of people and put them through a class. You spent a year or two training and learning about the bank before being placed in a job.

With community banks it’s tougher because it’s a matter of cost. Everybody is looking hard at the efficiency ratios. We are adding people who do not have a function other than learning, but I Iook at it from this perspective—even though there is that initial cost, in the long run this is going to be really efficient for us because we don’t have to go through the retraining when we hire people. We are creating a pipeline of people who can take over, who can really be a succession plan for our branch managers. We don’t want it to be a fire drill and have to go out and look for the right person every time a spot opens up.  You want to be able to say, “OK, this person is ready now to take that roll on.” That’s certainly the best way to do it.

What lessons have you learned from the program?

I think one of the things we learned is we have to do a really good job in training our employees who are managing people on the employment laws and regulations in this state. There are a myriad of regulations they need to know about employment issues that go beyond just basic management skills. We don’t want them to either risk their own careers or the bank because they made mistakes regarding the law. It’s not as simple as it used to be. Believe me. 

What advice would you give to CEOs considering a similar training program?

I would say to any other community bank—if you can afford to do something like this, it is well worth it. It’s a great way to build upon the culture that your particular organization has. This program is creating branch managers who will ultimately be doing things the Bank of Marin way. So, there is not a culture clash between the new hires and existing employees. We don’t have people saying, “Oh, we did it like this at x,y,z bank.” No.This is the way we do it, and I think there is a lot of benefit to that.

I look back on my banking career, and I had the opportunity to go through a [training program]. It was terrific because your job was to learn. You have people that are learning the right way to do it. That’s invaluable. It  will save you money in the long run, and it will build a more positive environment and culture for the bank.