Human Resources

I can’t recall a time when our leaders said we have no problems acquiring the talent necessary to deliver our brand promises. Rather, good people are always hard to find, and on-going changes in generational preferences and talent development make it even harder. One solution which might seem expensive but really isn’t is proactive hiring. Spending resources on narrowing down what type of a person is the candidate you’re looking for, in addition to their…

Today’s employment market is extremely tight.  Most of us are looking for concessions and other inducements to encourage prospective employees to join our teams.  And yet, we can’t afford not to be choosy about the folks we hire.  The cost of turnover, even if you welcome the departure of the employee, is too high in terms of dollars (typically at least $20,000) and opportunity cost of adjustment time to compromise in our hiring. The first…

Incentive compensation plans are now being used in all walks of banking life.  From the internal audit department to various sales forces, incentive compensation is a primary motivational and behavior guidance tool.  The problem is not that it doesn’t work, but rather that it often works in unintended ways which do not align team member activities with shareholders’ interests and bottom line results. For example:  one retail incentive compensation program I’ve seen is designed to…