Independent Banker - February 2020 - 71

Trailblazer
Kennebec Savings Bank's
recruitment tool
Back in the mid-1990s, the community bank
in Augusta, Maine, started recruiting interns
during the summer when its primary source
of loans-homebuyers-was busy. The
program is now a significant recruiting tool
that's responsible for attracting one in every
10 of its employees. By William Atkinson
or more than two decades, Kennebec Savings
Bank in Augusta, Maine, has mentored
young adults during the summer season through
its well-known internship program. Andrew E.
Silsby, president and CEO of the $1.1 billion-asset
community bank, says there are three big
reasons the internship
program makes sense for
the bank.
First, he says, " June,
July and August are
absolutely beautiful
months in Maine. The
weather is spectacular,
so most of our employees
F
Name: Kennebec
Savings Bank
Assets: $1.1 billion
Location: Augusta,
Maine
want to take their vacations during these months.
" They can't all leave at the same time, of
course, " he adds, " but having extra help, especially
in the [entry] positions, eases this burden. "
The second reason is that employee vacations
often collide with mortgage season in Maine,
leading to a squeeze on the bank's staffing. Mortgage
lending is the keystone of Kennebec Savings
Bank's business, and local homebuyers tend to
buy in the summer months. " No one wants to
back up a moving van on icy front steps in January, "
Silsby says.
Finally, bank leaders want to be sure that Kennebec
Savings Bank has young employees rising
through the organization who can take over as
their older colleagues retire. It's working: About
Quick stat
10%
of Kennebec
Savings
Bank's current
employees have
come through
its internship
program
one in 10 of the community bank's 135 employees
have come through the internship program.
The program's reach extends to the C-suite.
Craig Garofalo, executive vice president and chief
operating officer, started out as an intern.
" I had worked a few jobs that used more brawn
than brain while growing up, so it was exciting
to do something with the knowledge I learned
during my first year in college, " Garofalo says. " I
knew about the [internship] program because my
parents were customers of the bank. I was accepted
into the program after my freshman year. "
In demand
Kennebec Savings Bank generally hires enough
students to represent 10% of its workforce, and
it rarely has difficulty filling the slots. " We have
been doing the program for so long, and we have
such a good reputation in the community, that
most young people already know about our program, "
Silsby says.
Most of the interns are in college, but occasionally
a high school senior will participate in
the program. The community bank is able to fill
about half of its slots by the beginning of January,
and it fills the rest in subsequent months.
" We poll all of our department managers just
before Christmas each year so we can plan for the
following summer, " Silsby says. " We then conduct
our interviews with the students when they
are home for [winter] break. "
The community bank also has formal relationships
with local colleges, including some that provide
academic credit to students who complete
the internship. Kennebec Savings Bank can also
rely on some applicants coming from the families
of customers-like Garofalo.
While each internship only lasts for a summer,
the community bank doesn't view the students as
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