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Times Are Changing
Perhaps Bob Dylan wasn’t thinking about human resource management when he wrote the lyrics to “The Times They Are A-Changin.’” His parents’ generation complained about the hippies, and now the baby boomers and Generation X complain about the next generation. You’ve heard the stories. Younger employees need a star when they’ve done their job. It’s hard to get young people to take on new projects — they want to know if they’ll be paid more for the extra work.
A generation of senior managers taught that “your paycheck is your thank you” are confronting a generation who won’t accept that answer.
But instead of complaining about it, how about adapting? Many bank leaders are addressing the inevitable — generations change, and bank leaders need to change with them. S&T Bancorp, a $9.7 billion banking company in Indiana, Pennsylvania, has an emerging leader program where everyone has an individualized development plan. Plus, 100 senior leaders are mentoring 100 employees inside the bank, said Susan Nicholson, chief human resources officer.
Nicholson and others spoke at Bank Director’s Bank C-Suite Summit in Nashville, Tennessee, recently and offered a counter to the usual complaints about the next generation. Heather Ames, chief people officer at Santa Barbara, California-based Montecito Bank & Trust, says the $2.1 billion subsidiary of Montecito Bancorp decided to embrace younger staff ideas about how to change the bank. She’s impressed by how younger workers embrace change and want to use technology to accelerate processes. “Their passion for community is deeply rooted,” Ames says. The bank offers cash bonuses or gift cards when employees complete extra projects. There’s an informal mentoring program. As a senior executive, Ames is ready to listen to the younger generation.
“This is where we’re all going,” she says. “We’re the ones who have to adapt.”
• Naomi Snyder, editor-in-chief at Bank Director
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