Sam Duckart

Samantha “Sam” Duckart remembers how it felt to be a new CSR when she started at our Green Bay office three years ago. “In the beginning, the CSR line can be overwhelming,” she says.

Sam transferred to Allouez after six months, where she was promoted to service banker in May 2011, completed sponsor training in April 2012, and became a personal banker in May 2012. Now she’s in a position to train and reassure new employees who might feel as overwhelmed as she did.

“My manager, Mickey Adams, was such a supportive mentor and role model,” Sam says. “She has taught and guided me, never making me feel that I was asking dumb questions, even though I know I asked the same things over and over.”

As a sponsor, Sam stresses, “It’s always better to ask questions — even if it’s the same question — than to do something wrong.”

Mickey encouraged Sam to consider entering the sponsor program when longtime Allouez CSR Marne Trudeau retired. Sam’s first sponsor opportunity was training Ashwaubenon CSR Rachel Jones. “She caught on quickly, which made my first time really easy,” Sam says.

Sam knows that not every new employee will learn as fast as Rachel did. “It’s up to the sponsor to find the best way to teach and explain things. Sponsor training has taught me to be patient and to remember what it was like to be that new person trying to figure things out.”

“Sam did an awesome job with Rachel,” Mickey says. “Sam is very patient, which makes the employee feel comfortable to ask questions. She is also able to adjust her training to fit the employee’s learning style, which makes it a much smoother learning process.”

Sam looks forward to training and mentoring other new staff. “As a sponsor, you don’t just teach new employees how to do their job; you are there to help them succeed — to support and guide them if they want to advance and grow.”

In turn, sponsors benefit from working with a variety of people. “I know I’ll learn to interact with many different personalities,” Sam says.