PORTFOLIO Retaining high performers through a mix of benefits and " soft " perks may keep them climbing your bank's corporate ladder. Compensation strategies that last Management Gone are the days of defining compensation as salary and bonus. Today's star employees-whether existing or prospective-are demanding ever-more innovative employment packages. By Colleen Morrison hen it comes to staffing and compensation, community banks display their competitive instincts. Almost 20% of banks off er base salaries more than 10% above market levels-a fi gure that has more than doubled in the past decade, according to the 2019 Crowe Bank Compensation and Benefi ts Survey. While some of these increases can be chalked up to an increasingly competitive job market 16 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q September 2020 W over the years, they also speak to community banks' desire to reward hard work. " You can't pay your best people too much, " says Mark Heinemann, president and chief fi nancial offi cer of $169 million-asset Farmers State Bank of Hartland in Albert Lea, Minn. " The best people perform even better when you pay them a higher salary. They are internally motivated and feel like they need to justify their worth to the organization and to themselves. " That sentiment applies to all levels within an institution, and many community banks are stepping up to ensure they off er pay that attracts strong talent. In fact, the Crowe survey reported increases in compensation for key branch Photo by MaaHoo Studio/Stocksy