Jessica Cranley
You’d need a GPS to track Jessica Cranley’s 25 years at North Shore Bank. She started in 1989 as a part-time teller in Racine’s North Side office; moved to Regency as a full-time teller; spent time at Westgate as a teller and personal banker; headed for the downtown office to work in Mortgage Servicing; went back to Regency; and then returned to Westgate in 2006 as a supervisor, followed by resuming there what she calls “my most rewarding job — a teller.”
Some people are attracted to banking because they like working with numbers. For Jessica, the attraction is people. “I really like having contact with my customers. Most of them are more like family. We cry together, we laugh together. I have been to weddings, baby showers and funerals. I think that’s why I really enjoy being a teller — the face-to-face contact and relationships with my customers.”
It’s not that Jessica hasn’t had chances for supervisory positions; it’s that she is perfectly content where she is. She does fill in as backup supervisor, and she is a sponsor, training and guiding new hires. “It’s so exciting to help new people who are starting where I did so may years ago,” she says. “I feel I have grown up at North Shore Bank.”
Jessica credits Donna Brietchaft for being a “dear friend” who has provided endless support. “Lauri Lunde also has been a great influence on my career, pushing me when I needed a little extra confidence in myself.”
Longevity spawns new skills, engenders loyalty
One attribute Jessica is proud of having taken to a new level is her ability to tune in to what her customers are really saying. “I’ve become a better listener,” she says. “I pick up subtle cues from people. I pay attention to details, and I am better at reading their overall mood.”
Her cheery countenance and the sincere attention she pays to her customers is rewarded with trust. It’s not unusual to see a line of loyalists form at her teller station. She’s spot-on in her assessment: “When I help people solve a problem or get them on the right path, I feel they will remember that.”
Technology evolves, ready or not
“It is almost overwhelming to think of how things have changed since I started,” Jessica says, citing checking account balance rates of 6 percent and CDs earning in the 10–15 percent range, for example.
She welcomes the opportunity to learn something new every day, but she admits, “I wish I had known when I started how automated things would become. I would have done a better job of keeping up on technology.”
In general, she appreciates each improvement. “It might take me a little time to get on board. Eventually, I know it’s for the better,” she concedes. She expects to witness even greater automation and wouldn’t be surprised to see seven-day-a-week banking in the not-too-distant future.
Jessica met her husband, Mike, at Westgate when they worked next to each other. He moved on from the bank a dozen years ago. They have a blended family of a son, Kyle, who is 20, and a 7-year-old daughter, Toni.
Had Jessica not accepted that part-time teller position 25 years ago, she might have opted to work in day care or to be a stay-at-home-mom. “I love working with kids!” she says.
But then, whom would her customers stand in line to see?