Erica Johnson

It has been 25 years since Erica Johnson began working as a teller for the Badger Savings Association office at 43rd and Oklahoma, now our Jackson Park branch. She has changed positions and changed locations, but it has never occurred to her to change her career field.

“I believe God plants seeds and you grow where He places you,” she says.

Badger Savings became Badger Bank in 1989 and merged with North Shore Bank in 1995. Erica, who freely admits, “I dislike change,” says she has learned to work with change and to appreciate the learning and growth it brings.

She learned and grew with moves to Milwaukee Capitol, Martin Luther King and Silver Spring branches. In addition to teller, she has held positions of personal banker, supervisor, branch manager, and loan processor and servicer. She earned assistant vice president designation in 2002, and in May of 2009 she moved to Corporate to become manager of checking services, overseeing a staff of nine.

Many longtime bankers have experienced the change in emphasis from simply providing efficient service to building relationships. “At Badger, our goal was to get the customer in and out the door,” Erica recalls. “As banking evolved, we’ve become more relationship-oriented, taking time to get to know our customers so we can better understand how products and services we offer can benefit them. I learned to concentrate on the customer and not be pushy, because that wasn’t me. My selling skills were based on helping customers learn about things they could really use and things I could feel good about suggesting to them.”

Erica’s current position doesn’t entail much in-person customer contact, but she has learned to embrace her new responsibilities. She recently has been helping people with a relatively new service, Overdraft Privilege, as well as other conveniences. She also assists in the careful steps of closing a checking account, ensuring that all items have cleared before any remaining funds are returned to the customer.

Given her reticence about change, Erica’s decision to move from our branch network to our corporate headquarters was not an easy one. In considering the pros and cons, she was reminded of a special mentor who shared sage advice: “Judy Van Goethem [former VP of HR] always was honest with me, guided me as I made decisions with my staff, and told me that I was the person in control of my career.”

If she had a crystal ball, Erica would expect to see North Shore Bank continue as a stable institution and employer. She is featured on the orientation video for new staff members, sharing with them, “If you give to your job, your job is going to give back to you.” She will never forget how supportive and understanding everyone was when her husband died in 2005. “There was such an outpouring of love and affection,” she says.

“Not every day is going to be wonderful, no matter where you are,” Erica says. “North Shore Bank is a great place to work. I’m not about to change.”