Bank Director Workshops
Are you really ready to strategically operate your bank? Take our Strategic Planning Quiz, find out whether you're an Adaptor or an Adopter, and investigate some of the Director Workshops below that Bankmark offers. Currently, we offer seminars in both Director Skill Development and Director Orientation.
A series of interactive workshops facilitated by Bankmark
Bankmark is committed to preparing its clients to best formulate and implement the strategies and actions which will ensure that the resources of the directors for existing banks are expended in the most efficient and cost effective fashion. To that end, we have developed a series of workshops which prepares the proposed Organizer/Director/Management to deal effectively with the critical issues and skills required to carry out their duties and responsibilities as representatives of their shareholders and depositors.
The series is designed to raise the participant's awareness and guide, educate and expose them to the critical skills and competencies necessary to successfully make sound decisions and lead the bank to profitability after it opens. Below is a brief description of each workshop.
The Service Imperative (Workshop #156-SI):
Designed to focus the group's attention on the specific reality of delivering quality service. So much is said about the promise of quality service, yet service does not develop in a vacuum. Through a series of group exercises, the organizers and officers look beyond mere words and labels to reach consensus regarding the specific standards and guidelines necessary to actually deliver on the service promise. The length of this session is approximately 5-6 hours.
- What does the customer what?
- What does the customer need?
- What are the barriers that must be overcome?
- What are the solutions that must be implemented?
- Reaching consensus
- Gathering and applying demographic and psychographic data
- Developing the marching orders
Strategic Focus (Workshop #145-SF):
Designed as the precursor to the development of a comprehensive strategic operating plan. This workshop takes the group through an overview of the critical components of a strategic plan. The group's regulatory application is used as a basis for formulating the level of strategic thinking necessary to move the organization from the speculative/formative stage to the implementation/realization stage. This is a focus on the "how", rather than the "what" of an effective set of marching orders. In addition, through a series of table exercises and group discussions, the group reaches consensus on the importance of the critical issues that will successfully drive the bank. The length of this session is approximately 6 hours.
- The group's core values
- The group's vision
- The Mission statement
- How to define goals and objectives
- The Board's expectations
- Management's expectations
A series of interactive workshops facilitated by Bankmark
Director 101 (Workshop #303):
Designed for the proposed director who has not previously been involved in guiding the destiny of a financial institution. This is an overview utilizing workbooks, supporting documents, and regulatory guidelines which enables the director to prepare for the duties and responsibilities they have accepted. The length of the session is approximately 4-6 hours.
- Understanding the operating environment
- Working with the regulators
- Working with and retaining quality management
- Monitoring operations
- Operational "Red Flags"
- Committee assignments
- Understanding the regulatory "Alphabet"
- Serving the community needs (CRA)
- Continuing director education
Director 102 (Workshop #305):
This module compliments Bankmark's' very popular workshop, Director 101. In Director 101, members of the newly formed board of directors are given the basics regarding their legal responsibilities of their newly acquired position. In Director 101-B, the focus is on what a director needs to know, on an on-going basis, to effectively carry out those duties and responsibilities.
The program, and its attendant inter-active table exercises, center on a "typical board packet". The "packet" represents the type of material and level of detail that a director might expect to receive a few days before a regularly scheduled board meeting. Directors are expected to review, understand and utilize the data set to them, monthly, in order to make sound business decisions while monitoring the health and progress of the bank.
Much of the material included in a typical commercial bank's "board packet" is unfamiliar to a new director in both content and format. Therefore, it is extremely helpful to be able to familiarize themselves ahead of time with examples of critical material rather than "learning on the fly" around the board table during regular sessions.
We take the group though the "XYZ National Bank's" operating statements, its loan, and new accounts reports, liquidity position, operating ratios, peer group comparisons, CRA compliance issues, capital position and many other critical data. The director will appreciate the "why" as well as the "what" of typical financial institution reporting and therefore be a more productive and active participant in the decision making process.
The session is approximately 4½ hours in length and a workbook is provided for each attendee.
Care and Feeding of Your Directors (Workshop #313):
Designed for the officers and senior staff to help them deal effectively with the organizing group both during the organizational phase as well as after the bank opens. For those who have been previously involved with a community bank board, this serves as a review. For those who have not, it is basic training for better understanding the motivations and mind-set of the type of individuals who are typically the driving force behind a new bank. This is an exercise in developing the most effective way to deal with your directors on a day-to-day basis. The length of this session is approximately 3-4 hours.
- Whose bank is this anyway?
- Two different worlds
- Is there really a common vision?
- What do they bring to the table?
- What do I bring to the table?
- Is director education good or evil?
- The whole should be greater than the sum of the parts
As part of Bankmark's Capital Acquisition Program, we have developed a series of workshops which prepares the proposed Organizer/Director/Management to deal effectively with not only the placement of stock but the critical issues and skills required to carry out their duties and responsibilities as representatives of their shareholders and depositors.
The series is designed to raise the participant's awareness and guide, educate and expose them to the critical skills and competencies necessary to not only successfully place the stock but to make sound decisions and lead the bank to profitability after it opens. Below is a brief description of each workshop.
Director Orientation: (Workshop #267-DO):
This series of five workshops are designed to prepare the Organizers and officers on how to most effectively participate in the Capital Acquisition campaign. During these sessions, we set the tone of the campaign and define the stock placement methodology. The program is designed to enable the participant to become comfortable with the tools available to them and to anticipate the prospective shareholders questions and move comfortably to close the sale. The content is designed so that the "non-salesperson" will quickly reach a level of comfort when discussing the bank's investment opportunity. The length of each session is approximately 4-6 hours and scheduled at the convenience of the client.
Session #1: The Basics
- Sponsors, criteria, profile and locations for an investment meeting
- The anatomy of a typical investment meeting
- An overview of the banking industry in the State
- Current trends in community banking
- Selected operating data of solid performing community banks
Session #2: The Nitty-Gritty
- Developing a common language
- Reaching consensus on the approach to industry and local issues
- Commonly asked questions (and the effective responses)
- Overcoming objections to the sale
Session #3: Closing Techniques (2-3 weeks into the campaign)
- Progress review and table exercises designed to share experiences and help each organizer to better present and interact with prospective shareholders and close the sale
Session #4: Make up Session
- For those who may have missed a previous workshop or for those who what a "refresher".
Session #5: The Partner Session
- A special session for the organizer's "partner", (husband, wife, or significant other). The organizer's "partner" may well be involved in hosting an investment meeting, developing lists of potential attendees, etc. For those who may not be directly involved, at the very least they will be effected somewhat by the Organizer's time commitment during the stock sale. Therefore, it helps them to have some understanding of the commitment, process and implications pf the capital campaign (attendance is optional and usually centered around a lunch). It is approximately 2 hours in length.
