Independent Banker - April 2024 - 25

Next: Leverage new deposit strategies 
Marketing with recruitment
in mind also means making
bank branches themselves
more welcoming not just for
customers but also for current
and potential employees, says
Kelsey Goates, vice president of
marketing and human resources at
$570 million-asset Wellington State
Bank in Wellington, Texas.
" They know that they're in the
right bank, and that's where they're
supposed to put their money. It goes
both ways, " she says. " Whenever we
do right by our employees and have
a good employee atmosphere, the
customer sees that and says this is a
good place to be. "
Wellington State Bank is active in
its local chamber of commerce and
at college job fairs, and its employees
volunteer to teach financial literacy
at local schools. They see these
activities as a " community good, "
cementing their place in their local
communities and becoming top
of mind when someone is either
looking for a bank or a potential job.
Prospective customers or
employees " see the dedication that
we are putting forth teaching the
importance of financial education, "
Goates says. Having an active
presence on college campuses has
also led to finding great candidates
for internships-with some of
" Whenever we do right by our
employees and have a good
employee atmosphere, the
customer sees that and says this
is a good place to be. "
-KELSEY GOATES, WELLINGTON STATE BANK
those interns eventually becoming
long-term employees.
According to Utsey, community
banks should also keep tapping
into an important resource when
it comes to marketing the bank
as an employer: their employees.
To succeed in internal recruiting,
community banks should
and must maintain employee
referral programs.
" It's not traditional external
marketing, but something that
you don't want to forget as
you're thinking about your talent
acquisition strategy, " she says.
QUICK STAT
72%
The percentage of recruiting leaders
who believe employer branding
greatly affects hiring
Source: LinkedIn 2021 Employer Brand Statistics
Compelling job postings
Obviously, community banks want to
market their job openings within the
banking world, which can be done
through websites like LinkedIn and
Indeed. But they also need to make
sure these posts are effective. That's
why TCM Bank tracks click-through
rates on all its postings to see what's
working and what's not, says Nasso.
Those click-through rates can be
fed into a recruitment or applicant
tracking system, says Utsey,
which you can use to target where
candidates most frequently come
from and inform your recruitment
strategy for the following hiring cycle.
Community banks can also stand
out by marketing the benefits of
working there. Goates says that
Wellington Bank reinforces that
it's a great place to work by sharing
its robust benefits package and
how employees are encouraged to
take time to volunteer with local
organizations that are special and
matter to them.
" We want them to be out and
about in the community, which helps
promote us in a positive light too, "
she says.
Community banks should make
sure that they market themselves
as an ideal employer outside of the
community banking realm, too.
That might mean deploying an SEO
marketing strategy to " make sure
they're using the right keywords
and hashtags and other things that
creates that visibility " in the job
seeker space, Utsey says.
That also means marketing jobs to
professional societies, and not just
those related to community banking.
" If you're looking for a human
resources person, then maybe
you're tapping the local Society
for Human Resource Management
chapter, " Utsey adds. She says that
highlighting the benefits of your
bank-and community banking in
general-can help your bank stand
out as an ideal employer.
Jen A. Miller is a writer in New Jersey.
independentbanker.org // 25
http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - April 2024

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