Augur Inc

Small Bank Thrives In Today's Market

Despite an environment of increasing bank mergers among the few and mighty large banks, the independently owned National Bank of Middlebury in Vermont is more than holding its own. Based in a small college town in Addison County , the $150 million (asset-size) community bank has two branches in Middlebury and one branch in Bristol --approximately 15 miles apart. National Bank of Middlebury also services customers through eight ATM's throughout the county and via on-line banking. Currently employing 65 individuals, National Bank of Middlebury faces competition from three large bank branches, one very large community bank and a credit union.

"With bank mergers ever present, it is imperative that we remain competitive," says vice president Laura Adams. "To do so, we need to attract and retain qualified and diverse personnel that embrace this bank's culture. We provide competitive rates and products, however our shining star will always be our commitment to outstanding customer service."

Adams adds, "This organization must grow and change quickly to reflect the needs of our marketplace. We need to employ technologically savvy individuals who can embrace both the rapid advances in our industry's technology and fit in with our people-oriented culture. The Predictive Index^® (PI^®) helps us do this well."

Maintaining a Competitive Edge

The organization has been actively using the PI tool for more than six years towards these goals. President Ken Perine was introduced to the PI at a time when the National Bank of Middlebury was proactively seeking an additional tool for making hiring and promotion decisions. "In assessing our management team, we quickly found that the scales may have tipped toward the conservative side of the spectrum and we knew we wanted to look hard to round out the team," says Adams . "We had plenty of high D's (detail-oriented, formal employees) and few risk takers. In such a competitive environment, risk-takers were critical."

According to Adams all applicants now complete the tool as part of the application process. She cautions, however, that in an interview the PI should be employed to "ask more job specific or person specific questions rather than be relied upon as a sole assessment. It is best used to supplement thoughtful interview questions." Adams further illustrates, "I had one supervisor who looked at an applicant's PI and saw a low D. She was reluctant to consider this applicant because in this case the job was one requiring attention to detail, rather than a risk taker. In the interview process, we were able to focus on the issue of attention to details. The value of the PI is in pinpointing issues like these for us, so that we can directly address them. We found that while it was not this particular candidate's natural inclination to be concerned with details, through previous career experiences he learned the importance and value of attention to detail. He taught himself to be very careful and attentive, devising systems that keep him alert to those tasks that require every "I dotted and t crossed. While it is always a conscious effort, the details are tended to readily.

Hiring and Promoting the Best

"As we create new jobs, we use the tool to determine job-specific patterns," adds Adams . "If we find ourselves facing challenges with a department or a specific employee, we look at the PI and reassess our strategies based on the behavioral types. We use the PI in helping to make decisions on promotions or reassignments.

"We did not encounter any difficulties when we introduced the PI concepts to our employees," explains Adams . "We assured everyone that it was a tool to help us understand various behavioral types and to better supervise to those individuals rather than expecting everyone to fit into a particular mold. We use the PI to educate supervisors on the best way to praise, motivate, and get someone back on track."

"Most individuals were intrigued by the accuracy of the tool in pinpointing their behavioral type through a non-threatening 'quiz.' Supervisors were pleased to understand more about their charges. They began to understand each person a little more completely and to better adjust their approaches to those individuals."

Since PI implementation, Adams believes the management team is "more diverse and well rounded. Our staff is well suited for their positions and our commitment to outstanding customer service is clear throughout the organization. National Bank regularly uses this 'diagnostic' tool in a variety of ways and has been extremely pleased with its usefulness and value." Per Adams, "The PI is a tool to be used time and time again...not just in making hiring decisions--but for promotions, reassignments and a more productive working environment overall."

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