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A financial institution’s growth starts with its employees. If they’re unmotivated, they’ll be less likely to add value or bring in new business. That’s why so many banks and credit unions have implemented employee incentive programs to keep team members motivated and satisfaction high.

There’s a lot that goes into creating a comprehensive incentive program, and it’s important to regularly assess if yours is working effectively. When you’re reviewing your program, consider these three keys to success:

When it comes to talent management, it’s important that banks and credit unions focus not only on attracting and hiring top employees, but also on retaining them. High staff retention helps ensure consistent business operations, low overhead costs, and a positive company culture.

It’s no secret that happy employees are more likely to stay, so what does it look like to make employee satisfaction a top priority at a bank or credit union? Below are three tips for improving employee satisfaction across your organization to realize higher retention rates overall.

Photo credit: The Sparta Independent

Management gurus tout the value of building successful companies with an eye towards truly knowing not just what they do and how they do it, but why they do it. Lakeland Bank, based in northern New Jersey, already knew the “why” behind their brand: to make banking simple. Each customer transaction is an opportunity to show customers that banking doesn’t have to be a chore. “We connect our customers to all the possibilities in their financial profile, and we make it as simple as possible,” says Ellen Lalwani, Lakeland Bank’s executive vice president and chief retail officer. Through this commitment to connection and simplicity, the bank has built a loyal customer following. In the words of one business banking customer, “…Lakeland is there to do things I really don’t think any other bank would do.” But there was a challenge: Lakeland’s internal business processes were hardly simple — or connected.

By 2025, Millennials will account for 75% of the global workforce. And, at some companies, like Accenture and Ernst & Young, they already account for 2/3 of the entire employee base. Is your financial institution a place where Millennials want to work?

Strong company culture is essential to attracting and retaining Millennial employees — especially in sales positions, where turnover is high and burnout happens all too regularly. A supportive and engaging work culture, empowered by an effective goals and incentive plan, should form the foundation of a sustainable, growth-driven sales strategy.

Here are the top three ways you can build a company culture that will attract and retain Millennial talent at your financial institution.

An effective goal and incentive plan is essential to the success of any financial institution’s overall sales strategy. In a survey of US bankers, 84% of respondents who currently have an employee incentive plan in place said their incentive plan has increased sales within their organization and increased employee engagement by encouraging better profiling, cross-selling, and referrals to other lines of business. 

With more and more banks realizing the value of incentive plans, you might be wondering how to get started with tracking results and driving change within your own organization. Here are four key steps toward adopting and implementing an effective incentive system.