Molly Schissler

By Molly Schissler, VP, Human Resources

North Shore Bank has been regularly surveying and monitoring its employee engagement levels for many years. For the past four years, we have been fortunate to earn the honor of being named a “Top Workplace” by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and we have been recognized among the “Best Banks to Work For” by American Banker for the past two years. We continue to work with employees to achieve the recognition we believe we deserve as a great place to work.

I’d like to update you on what we have gleaned over these past few years through your participation in these important surveys. It’s not just about the score or numbers for us — we read through every comment that you share, because that’s where the value is. Your comments tell us what we need to focus on or continue to do.

For example, here is just a small sampling of the comments from last year’s Top Workplace survey:

“My workplace is a supportive place. My manager and coworkers support each other in work and life in a way that I doubt I could duplicate somewhere else.”

“They take a conservative approach in determining policy, leaving the bank less vulnerable to the various twists and turns in the economy.”

Of course, we hope everyone has positive things to say, like the above statements. We realize, however, that there are ways for us to improve — that is why these surveys are important.

In response to the survey question “How could North Shore Bank better encourage new ideas?” we received the following suggestions:

“Ability to share documents (Google docs); dual monitor capabilities; WebEx for conducting webinars.”

I hope you will be happy to know that we have a solution similar to Google Docs called Citrix ShareFile, and that WebEx is coming soon. (The Training department is really looking forward to that!) If you need ShareFile, let your manager know, and they will contact IT for installation. We also currently have file-sharing capability in our current intranet, and will have this as well in our new intranet; contact Dana Scherff, VP–Information Systems, to discuss any needs you have for file sharing. For dual monitors, please check with your manager and the IT department to put in a request; we are able to accommodate the request in many cases.

“[Have an] electronic drop box for suggestions.”

While most employees are already aware of our EmployeeVoice process, this is a good opportunity to promote it again. EmployeeVoice is found on the External Links section of the home page of our intranet. EmployeeVoice is the best way to share your ideas and suggestions! We do read these, and we have implemented a number of ideas over the past few years based on employee suggestions. We don’t have a standing committee to review the ideas, but we usually bring in the key decision-makers depending on the type of suggestion or the affected areas of the bank. Please share!

In response to the question “What concerns you about your future at North Shore Bank?” some commenters expressed concern over our movement toward video teller capabilities — concern about losing face-to-face customer interaction and moving away from “us” to “video tellers.”

Certainly, the banking industry as a whole needs to find ways to optimize customer interactions, and North Shore Bank has always valued our high-touch service to our customers. We feel the addition of video capabilities meets the needs of an increasingly tech-savvy customer base while also continuing to provide face-to-face interaction. Our customers still see and talk with a real person, who is able to provide them with many of the traditional services they seek from a teller. Centralization of teller operations enables us to be more available to customers: With 70 hours and seven days per week of video teller service, we are open 30 percent more than our typical branches. And the reaction from customers is overwhelmingly positive. (Video teller survey satisfaction scores are as high or higher than those pertaining to the tellers in our branches.)

Branches with video teller capabilities are evolving, too, with more reliance on universal and personal bankers, who continue to provide excellent, high-touch service to customers who need more-involved assistance that a video teller is not able to provide. With this change, those who want to move up to a universal banker or video teller role will have that opportunity. While this all involves change, it is not a movement away from “us,” the people who make North Shore Bank great; it is a movement toward added value for the customer, branch employees, and the bank.

Regarding employee benefits, particularly our medical plans, comments are usually split in terms of satisfaction:

“Our health insurance package is with a very good insurance company, and we have wonderful coverage. I like that as a part-time employee, I can get this coverage.”

“Better coverage for medical events and dental insurance with a higher cap. Most dental procedures wipe out the $1,000 max very quickly.”

We strive to continue to offer medical and dental plans that are both cost-effective and comprehensive. As you know, we have worked to keep employee premiums at the same level for four consecutive years. This is highly unusual and is possible partly due to benefit structure changes (such as the need to increase deductible amounts), as well as some years of more moderate claims. North Shore Bank is self-funded for both medical and dental. This means that the bank pays directly for the cost of all medical care, plus its share of premiums toward a stop-loss insurance plan. (Stop-loss insurance pays once specific and total claims exceed a certain dollar threshold.) Unfortunately, being self-funded can mean that when there are higher claims years, those costs need to be shared among employees and the bank. While we’ve had moderate claims for a few years, those costs do continue to increase. We are continually monitoring these expenses and make plans around August each year to determine potential plan changes for the upcoming calendar year.

For dental insurance, it is very unusual to see maximum coverage higher than about $1,500. While our maximum is $1,000, there is also a benefit accumulation feature (which can add up to $2,000). You can read more about that in the benefit booklet on the Employee Benefits section on the intranet. This may be a way to plan for certain procedures to take better advantage of the benefit.

We also survey other banks and businesses in our area to compare how we are doing. Just as we change our plan structure or are affected by claims, so too is this the case with other banks. Some banks or businesses offer fully insured plans — they pay a premium directly to an insurance company, which oftentimes results in much higher employee premiums. It’s a bit of an art to do comparisons, and there will be times when our benefits track pretty much in line with what others are covering and paying, and times when we pay bit more than others. But one thing is quite clear: We are one of a very few banks or businesses that offer comprehensive benefits to part-time employees. With this we do set ourselves apart.

Again, we thank you very much for participating in these confidential surveys. You bring so much value to the bank by sharing your comments with us. If you want to reach out to any of the Leadership Engagement team members, please feel free to do that at any time. This team is responsible for reviewing the surveys and developing ways to address the concerns raised, and ensuring that we continue to do those things that you recognize as working well. We typically meet every other month and often address other issues that come up during the year, aside from the surveys. The team currently consists of Milene Below, Chris Boland, Margaret Capper, Nicole Daniels, Sue Doyle, Jude Lengell, Laurie Maduscha, Molly Schissler, Dana Scherff, Kevin Wilderman, and Craig Witz.