Small Banks Need to Retain Top Talent
The banking industry is hungry for top talent. The big banks used to have sophisticated training programs, and they would run large numbers of fresh talent through them every year. Once these talented people were trained they either worked up the career ladder or moved to smaller community banks. Now the trend has reversed. The big banks are looking in smaller community banks to poach top talent. They use stock options and larger salaries to entice this talent away from smaller, privately held banks.
The solution is to offer a benefit plan to retain your top talent. Tie it to bank performance and growth. Put a longer vesting schedule on the plan design to keep your top people for the long haul. Most executive benefit plans can be customized for each person’s and bank’s needs.
For example:
Executive 1 is 55 and this is his third and last banking position. He wants a benefit package that will catch him up to his peer group for retirement. He would like a known benefit stream that he can count on without the worries of market risk. He would also like a long term care program for him and his spouse.
Executive 2 is 41 and she plans on staying in the community and with the bank for her entire career. She wants some additional life insurance coverage and help with college education for her two children. She would also like to have some additional disability coverage to fill in the gaps of the bank’s group insurance plan.
Executive 3 is 33 and only wants additional money set aside in the stock market on a pre-tax basis to accumulate on top of his maxed out 401k program. He doesn’t want life insurance but would like some additional coverage for disability gaps.
All of these executives can have a customized plan designed for them with the help of an experienced planning team that specializes in executive benefit planning. The proper communication up front in the plan design process will eliminate unnecessary expense for the bank and put glue to the benefit.
A good design team should have experience with HR, accounting, and legal issues surrounding any plan. The upfront communication with the executive will uncover what is important to them. This in turn will save the bank time and wasted dollars.
Many executive benefit firms today are only conduits to product placement and have no expertise or ability to manage a plan in house. A great firm can design, implement, and service a program in house. This leads to quicker response time when questions arise from the participants or examiners.
Contact EBN for further information today!