Tell me about the Next Professional Advisory Board. Who serves on it? There are 12 members, selected because they are leading influencers in the community. They are under the age of 40. They are peer influencers among their group. There was a great discussion on who do we pick and who is the right fit. We reached out to several leaders in the community for referrals.
Matt Davidson just joined, from Lamar. He is a State Farm agent and understands the importance of good customer service and business development. Chuck Replogle, from Marshfield, is an attorney, and again, all his peers said he has pride it what he does, he’s passionate and he certainly is an influencer in the community.
We wanted to create a board that would challenge us to have a forward thinking approach into business development, technology, product development to be able to give us insight from their experience in the banking industry. Why do they bank where they do? What technology is out there that maybe we haven’t heard about? What can we do to make a better customer experience and associate experience? Editor’s note: The Next Professional Advisory Board also includes Brandon Brummett, Brad Erwin, Mark Foglesong, Jeff Gerken, Rob Griffith, Leah Hamilton, Nicole Kimbrough, David Ross, Bryan Simpson and Paul Sundy.How did the idea for this board come about? Brian Magers, our bank vice chairman, had the idea: What if we created an advisory board? He said, “I don’t know if anyone has done this before, but I think it would be a good fit for us.” If there is another bank out there doing it, we aren’t aware of it.
For us, this is also another way for succession planning for our current board of directors. They are learning about our culture and providing an independent eye on things we don’t see. Then, they get the opportunity to look at being on the board some day. It’s also resume-building for them and offers networking opportunities.
When was the board established? Our first official meeting was in November. Right now, we are providing some opportunities to learn about us. We have a strong culture, and we have to make sure they understand our culture and who we are so they can help us. Our focus right now is to take it each month at a time, and each member will serve two years.
What are the board’s goals? Our first is creating that excellent customer and teammate experience. We want to be better. Mark (McFatridge) feels strongly about continually raising the bar and striving for excellence. As challenges or opportunities arise, we want to face them head on. This board can provide insight into how we can be better.
A great example, in one of our first meetings, we were talking about marketing. You don’t market the same way in every community because it’s a different demographic. One of our board members from the Tri-Lakes area said, “I can’t speak for everyone else, but to me it’s not about billboards and newspapers, it’s about that handshake and hand-to-hand combat.” As simple as that sounds, it made us all take a step back and think it’s about building relationships. We hope they have a huge impact on our strategic plan.
Who is leading the board and driving these innovative ideas? I have been involved since the start of the idea. I’ve had the opportunity to reach out to people and help define what this board is and looks like. Mark appointed me director, and we are learning as we go.
When we first started the board, we had envisioned we would have a chair and vice chair. Once we started the meetings, we realized it was just about that education piece. We are working those pieces out. In April, we will visit and talk with our board. Does it make sense to have a chair? It’s their board and we want their feedback on if that’s valuable. Right now, it’s more of a group or team bouncing ideas off of each other.
Do the Next Board members work with the bank’s board of directors? We aren’t quite there yet. We are working on those education pieces to make sure they understand us. We don’t have any benchmarks to look at or other companies that have done this. They may rotate and attend a board meeting, but we are still in the development stages of that.
You mentioned resume building and potential appointment to the board of directors, what other benefits do these volunteer members get from this process? They continue to open our eyes to what we think they would get out of it and what they are actually getting out of it. Some have said, I know my financials, but I don’t know how the bank makes money. Even just reading financial reports. Many were unfamiliar with terms and what makes each number. It’s been a good learning opportunity within the industry.
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
