The talent pipeline for commercial banks isn’t drying up. It’s gone home.

If you’ve tried to fill open positions recently, you may have noticed that you’re not only competing for the most highly qualified candidates. You’re also competing for the most innovative and flexible work arrangements for your employees.

You’re not alone.

Pandemic restrictions have forced organizations and employees to rethink work options. To maintain seamless services, banks are offering a variety of flexible work options for employees. Companies that won’t meet their employees’ needs face losing their staff or closing their doors.

Commercial Banks with Flexible Solutions Attract Top Talent

The current job market is employee-centered, and banks have learned that they must cater to employee needs. To attract and retain top talent, you must:

• Conduct thorough interviews
• Hire quickly
• Offer flexible work schedules
• Allow for remote work options
• Provide aggressive compensation packages.

Offer anything less, and your offers are declined, your competitors willing to do these things take YOUR talent, and open positions will go unfilled.

If you’ve accumulated vast experience in banking, you might not agree with some of the new initiatives, but for now, they’re here to stay.

Remote work has attracted more candidates to the banking industry. Small firms can look beyond geographic proximity when looking for candidates and hire from anywhere. Additionally, banks have discovered they can conduct business with 10% fewer customer-facing positions and still meet customer needs. Today one out of five employees in small banks work from home. More than a third of bank employees work remotely part-time.

There is, however, a caveat to implementing innovative work solutions. The biggest drawback to offering flexible work initiatives for small bank employees is the loss of brand identity.

Overcoming the Loss of Identity

Regional-Community, Super-Community and Community Banks recognize that their employees make up a large part of their corporate identity. Banking and money management is more than numbers; it’s relationships.

Large banking institutions and companies on Wall Street are unlikely to suffer from identity loss if they offer work-from-home solutions and other flexible work conditions. Some firms, like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, have extended their work from home policies – and it’s working. Business operations can continue, employees are getting their job done, and everyone is happy.

When you provide your employees remote work opportunities, be sure that you also offer ways to stay connected with colleagues and the customers you serve. Remote workers need to feel like they are part of your corporate culture and community.

Offering employees flexible work environments won’t solve all of your staffing challenges. Banking continues to accelerate its efforts to find outstanding candidates for key positions, but they don’t stop there.  Many institutions have turned to commercial bank and private wealth recruiters to discover top talent.