Ozarks Profile: Matt Snyder

Tell us about your company.

Great Southern Bank is the wholly owned subsidiary of Great Southern Bancorp Inc. Great Southern Savings and Loan Association was founded in 1923 with a $5,000 investment, four employees and 936 customers. Today, Great Southern Bank operates as a Missouri chartered trust company (commercial bank) with more than $1.3 billion in assets, approximately 525 employees and nearly 82,000 customers. Great Southern has its headquarters in Springfield and operates 29 bank branch locations in 15 counties throughout southwest Missouri including 11 in Springfield. Great Southern subsidiaries also offer our customers nontraditional banking services such as corporate and leisure travel, personal and commercial insurance, and registered broker/dealer investment services.

I joined Great Southern in February 1989 as a staff accountant after working with another area savings and loan. I was given the opportunity to enter the human resource area in 1995 and hope to continue working in this dynamic field for many years to come.

What is your job?

With the help of my human resource team, I manage and oversee all aspects of Great Southern's most important asset its people. My team is responsible for payroll, including gathering and auditing all payroll-related data, computing pay, and preparing all internal and external reports; employee benefits, including administration, compliance and recommendation of changes and additions; staffing, including recruitment, hiring and retention of quality associates for all areas of the corporation; federal, state and local employment law compliance; workman's compensation administration and employee safety; employee/employer relations;and supervisory support and coaching.

What prepared you for your career?

The work ethic instilled in me by my parents; the quality education received while completing my degree at Southwest Missouri State University; and my eagerness and willingness to learn and try new things.

What are some of the biggest challenges?

Knowing that each new situation will involve individuals who have differing (and sometimes conflicting) view points, expectations and personalities. I know that I am not always in a position to be the good guy or be able to tell an individual what they want to hear, so I must work hard to ensure that all individuals are treated with dignity, have had an opportunity to communicate their concerns, and have been provided enough information to develop an understanding as to why a particular decision was made.

Another challenge is to recruit and keep the best and brightest individuals working for Great Southern. To accomplish this, I must work with management to create an atmosphere that encourages career growth and projects an attitude of appreciation and support for all employees. I believe that if an individual is convinced that Great Southern is the best place to spend their career, they will develop self-motivation to always do their absolute best.

Tell us about your family.

I have a wonderful, loving and supportive wife of 13 years, Kim, and two beautiful daughters, Emily, 9, and Mallory, 6. Kim and I are native Springfieldians who met through mutual friends and attended SMSU together. Kim is a very dedicated kindergarten teacher at Ozark North Elementary who loves spending the summer with "her girls."

What do you enjoy most in your spare time?

Spending time with my wife and daughters especially at the lake and pool. My other interests involve my love of the outdoors including bicycling, hiking and gardening.