2023 Community Bank Case Study Competition Journal

2023 COMMUNITY BANK CASE STUDY COMPETITION

Figure 3: Senior Executive Positions Succession Chart for PSB

President/CEO, (KH)

Chief Financial O cer, (RS)

Director of Operations, (BG)

VP of Retail, (DW)

Loans, (PO)

Operations Development Manager, (JH)

VP of Ag/Commercial Lending, (WR)

Director of Operations, (BG)

Chief Financial O cer, (RS)

Accounting Assistant, (MG)

Branch Manager Supervisor, (MJ)

succession planning as a runway; with enough planning, an organization should successfully be able to take off without a hitch. PSB currently has succession planning on its mind as Halterman is planning on retiring in the next seven years. Their seven-year runway focuses on intentionally training their current workforce to fill the needs and vacancies of the future. Halterman describes the practice as building bench strength, relying on those not necessarily in leadership roles at the moment to rise to the occasion. The senior management succession chart (Figure 3) illustrates a one person deep succession plan for the executive positions of President, Chief Financial Officer, Director of Operations, Vice President of Retail, and Chief Credit Officer. They also have an emergency succession plan in case something happens to Halterman. The most challenging portion of the succession planning process is finding the correct people to take the top spots within the organization. While PSB has identified a short list of internal candidates for the next President, they have other managerial positions to fill. Halterman

sees the loan department as their weakest link. Because Halterman currently serves as the Chief Credit Officer, the bank is looking for a smooth transition when he retires. One program the bank utilizes for current and potential supervisors is Des Moines Area Community College’s supervisory classes. The courses are geared towards helping individuals grow their leadership skills to become more proactive managers. When it comes to identifying potential leaders within their organization, Weber stated they focus on personality fits, leadership skills, and willingness to learn. The bank recently started utilizing the 9 Box System, which is a managerial tool to identify an employee’s performance in the present and how they are expected to perform in the future. As mentioned before, PSB works with employees to identify their career goals and create a path for them to accomplish those goals. The process aids the bank in knowing where each employee wishes to be in the future and how they will fit in the organization.

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