In an age of digital customer interactions and shifting employee loyalties, recruiting employees starts with demonstrating technological competency and support.
By Doug Wilber
Workforce winds are changing on a dime. That’s making it harder than ever for banks to recruit and retain top talent.
Now competing with tech firms and fintechs firms, banks are no stranger to the pain of talent acquisition. In fact, attracting qualified talent was the top concern for U.S. bank executives in 2022, with 67 percent identifying it as a leading concern.
What’s more, in 2022, bank turnover at the non-officer level reached 23.4 percent, a big spike from the previous year’s 16.2 percent rate. And loan officer turnover can be as high as 80 percent for some lenders with many respondents citing lack of support.
Given continued economic uncertainty and lingering sentiments from The Great Resignation, banks benefit when they provide incentives that show potential employees why they should come—and stay.
Enter social media. Not only is social media a great way to find the best candidates (86 percent of job seekers use social media in their job search), but banks that demonstrate their social media tech chops to recruits are more likely to win the race for talent.
Here are three ways banks can use social media and digital tools to support their recruitment pitches:
1. Demonstrate your investment in your employees. To job seekers, having access to the best tools shows them that an institution is truly invested in its people and their ability to succeed if hired. That means banks benefit when they enable technologies that help employees thrive in an age of digital transformation. A great example is a platform that empowers loan officers, agents and advisors to post compliantly on their social media networks. They can use thought leadership and personalization to grow existing customer relationships and create new ones, all while driving real business results. This is known as social selling.
2. Allow producers to streamline their processes and focus on selling. Loan officers, agents and advisors who have more tools at their disposal will outperform those who don’t. Without the right systems in place, these employees can get bogged down in the details. Especially when creating a social media presence or a social selling program, guidance and the right tools are critical. Loan officers and financial advisors are not usually trained to be social media influencers, but with the right help, they can be. All while remaining focused on what they do best.
3. Leverage social selling to grow. The better a bank’s producers are at their jobs, the stronger the institution itself will be. Having access to technology and social media increases overall likelihood of success for organizations. This is particularly true for tools that enable social selling: Social sellers are 51 percent more likely to hit quota, have 65 percent larger volume of new customers, and are 78 percent more likely to outsell peers compared to those not engaging on social media. What leaders put into their employees will come back to them.
In an age of digital customer interactions and shifting employee loyalties, recruiting employees starts with demonstrating technological competency and support. With the right tools, recruits can see value in working for an institution that has the means to make them successful every step of the way.
Doug Wilber is the CEO of Denim Social, a leading social media management software provider for financial institutions.
