HAMPDEN, Maine–The challenges facing credit unions and banks in hiring and retaining front-line staff were featured in one news report here.
The report, from MaineBiz.com, included interviews with front-line staff at both types of institution, including a former preschool teacher, a former machine operator, and a part-timer at Target who talked about why they had left their old jobs.
“Regardless of the job title, entry-level front-line employees are in high demand at Maine financial institutions engaged in a talent war with each other — and other industries — in the current tight labor market,” MaineBiz.com stated. “While that’s allowing some institutions to attract people from outside banking, many are scrambling to find crucial staff for branch jobs that can’t be done remotely.”
The banks and credit unions in the Pine Tree State are also facing new competition for talent from Chase Bank, which has opened four new branches in Southern Maine, with a fifth slated for 2023.
Observations Shared
Among some of the observations shared by those interviewed by MaineBiz.com.
- “The hiring is the tricky part,” said Danielle Daley, who oversees human resources for Machias Savings, which employs 305 people. “To find someone who is skilled and a culture fit hasn’t proved to be easy over the last 18 months.”
- “Twenty years ago, we never had tellers asking how they could become a lender,” said Kennebec Savings Bank President and CEO Andrew Silsby, an industry veteran who started as a summer teller. “Now we’re working really hard to line up those steps so that people can see how they can get to another path.”
- “Five years ago,” Silsby told MaineBiz.com, “we would regularly get anywhere from 30 to 40 applicants for an entry-level job. Now we’re probably in the four to five range.”
- Silsby further told the publication he’s been a “little horrified” at the appearance of some people at job fairs.
- “I would have put on a suit and tie, but person after person at these job fairs is showing up walking around the booths in pajamas,” he was quoted as saying. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do when somebody shows up for work in pajamas.”
Credit Union Response
- “Recruiting and retaining the talent we need is a day-to-day challenge,” said Vanessa Madore, who is president, chief operating officer and CEO-designate of Maine Savings FCU in Hampden.
- Madore told MaineBiz.com she makes it a point to thank every new hire, including four tellers who started in mid-March. “The mere fact that people show up to work is a miracle unto itself right now, so the simplest, most sincere thing you can do is to recognize them, see them and appreciate them. That’s as important on day one and day two as it is in year 30.”
- Madore, who was a psychology major who was the CU first college graduate hired as a teller, said today she looks for people with the right personality for the job rather than technical skills.
- At Town & Country FCU, which has seven openings for tellers and related positions, CEO David Libby told MaineBiz.com, “As with most employers, we have had to work even harder to recruit new staff, and have committed more resources to accomplish that.”
- During the pandemic, Libby told the publication the credit union has looked at new recruitment avenues, including highlighting openings on social media and in its newsletters. One problem is that there’s not always time to sit down with candidates to talk about the credit union’s benefits and other attributes as a workplace. “Unfortunately, we can’t always have that conversation because of how competitive it is right now,” he told MaineBiz.com.
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