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Four Corners of the Main Office – Part 2 | Detail-minded

For a bank or credit union, the decision to relocate and build a new main office is not taken lightly. While in most situations, the combined wisdom of the C-Suite can be counted upon, the chances anyone on the team has been a part of this process previously is unlikely. And it’s not as if a masterclass on the subject is offered on Lynda.com. (Although we may add these Four Corners’ lessons to the curriculum soon.)

The previous article in our Main Office series, The Big Picture addressed the first corner, Begin With The End In Mind. This is about the vision needed by the C-Suite to plan for things like the site for the project, future expansion, contingencies, and other big picture items.

In this article, we’ll speak to more of the detail sides of the move: Space Planning, Environment, and Costs. The other three corners.

Corner 2: Space Planning

When we think of the ideal place for employees to work, it’s easy to be caught up in emotional or technology aspects. But, the functional needs of the workplace must be addressed, first (just like the branch). The best way to approach space planning is to break them down into three components: job function, department needs and organization needs. While not as fun as choosing wall graphics, color combinations, furniture or lighting solutions, it’s the dirty work that must be done.

By breaking down space planning to individual job functions, space needs for each job can be established. For example, what does new space mean for someone in the call center? What does it look like for collections, marketing, and sales? Each job function then can be amassed into department needs. So, in addition to each job requirement, the needs of the department are also included. For example, is there a need to foster collaboration? Furthermore, what about storage and conference rooms? As department needs are quantified and measured then they can stack together like Legos or Tetris (for all you Gen X’ers) to fit the needs of the organization.

Using smaller units, building into departments, and then amassing organizational components too, allows the space planning to be methodical, definitive and, well, ruthless. Ruthless in that the space planners are fanatical about sticking to the needs of the business as guiding principles for amassing space for the short-term, mid-term and long-term needs of the organization.

Corner 3: Environment

Now, onto the fun stuff. If the space plan solidifies the functional components of planning (call it the “left brain”), then the environment is the emotional piece (or “right brain.”).

Of course, few things in life (or main office planning) are simply functional or entirely emotional. When we speak of emotion, we want to address how each departmental environment (materials, selections, furniture and essential branded elements) serves the business. For example, what does the building and space say about the business’s brand? Said differently, what is the message needed to communicate to the community, the employees and the consumers of services through the building and space?

For many, the environment will also address the culture of the business. Is the space somewhere people want to work, spend time and promote the business? Will it help retain staff? And, can it be a key difference in attracting talent that will grow the business?

The aesthetic of the building (inside and out) does matter and matters a great deal. Any in many ways, the aesthetic is what brings the physical space to life. It activates the space and sets the tone for many desired outcomes for the individual worker, collaboration between teams, large meetings, and privacy to get stuff done.

Corner 4: Costs

No plan is complete without a firm grasp of costs. Two key axioms to remember:

Axiom 1: Everything is possible, it only takes money.

Axiom 2: Everything is on the table until budget sits down

But that’s the reality, right? At this point in the process, the selection of the correct partner to plan and implement the facility is crucial. Hopefully that partner doesn’t play games and actually listens. There are two key “Project Delivery Methods” in a partner selection. (We’ll help you debunk those choice in the next article. If you want to get a head start check out this Fox Article. )

The key centers of gravity for the cost of any building are three-fold:

  1. The Roof
  2. The Paving
  3. The Walls

All the other concerns in scoping a main office are secondary to these inputs. This is why the aforementioned ruthless space plan is a key driver to arrive at an accurate square footage. What’s more, stacking the floors efficiently will determine building configuration and materials. Material selections flow from aesthetic choices and will impact the cost of the interiors, work spaces and technology.

In total, the cost estimate cannot sink the titanic and should be based on:

  1. National Cost Databases – What does the industry tell us?
  2. Historical Cost Data – What does history tell us?
  3. Market Pricing – What is the local market telling us?

In Summary

These first 2 posts in our Four Corners of the Main Office series walk a bank or credit union through the planning for the facility. In the construction world, these are all pre-construction activities. A key element of a strong pre-construction team is gathering cost input from the local market to infuse predictability in the project. Pre-construction is where the business case for the project is won or lost. The entire process is about determining what the bank or credit union is willing to spend, and then aligning it with the design and supply chain. Once the plan is in place, it’s time to implement.

Now that you are better armed with the pre-construction process. The next article in this series will debunk “How to Procure” the Design and Construction Services you’ll need.

If you still haven’t read Part 1, then now is the time:

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Four Corners of the Main Office – Part 1 | Big Picture

Opening a new Main Office is once in a generation

Amazon sent shock waves throughout America with a 2017 announcement they’d be opening a second headquarters outside their home base of Seattle. City after city took part in the pitch to incentivize the company to choose their town. The fanfare involved in the search was such that Saturday Night Live spoofed it. Plenty impressive.

While banks and credit unions may not cause a similar hullabaloo when announcing plans for a new main office, it is a very big deal in its own right. The opening of a new main office may happen only once in a generation. In fact, it’s such a rare occurrence that if anyone on the bank or credit union’s team has experience in this, they are likely the exception.

Main Office vs. a Branch opening

Opening a new branch, and justifying that decision, is territory we’ve covered before here and here. The main office, however, is a journey all its own.

The time to plan and implement a facility solution tens of thousands of square feet, involving multiple floors, and technology upgrades, can be daunting. What’s more, decisions on how to optimize your workplace floor plan, to help attract new talent and efficiency can be overwhelming for a C-suite that hasn’t done this before.

That very inexperience leads many financial institutions to develop too much space, or too little. Because businesses are fueled primarily by people (and banking businesses even more so), lack of forecasting an accurate headcount can cause real headaches.

What’s your timeline?

So, what’s truly needed to help guide a team through 6-8 months of planning and 10-12 months building a new main office? Let’s walk through it together in our Main Office series, “The Four Corners of the Main Office.”

Corner 1: Begin with the End in Mind

Sound familiar: Habit #1 from Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Successful People states that private victory comes before public victory. What he means is, you must internalize what you offer before you can offer your services to others. What works for humans also works for financial institutions: planning the main office starts with thinking long-term and putting things in the right order.

Most financial institutions will end up with a solution that addresses the next 5 to 10 years, but they must plan for even longer term. What will the business need for the next 10 to 20 years? Is a crystal ball required? It sounds like a lot to ask, but break it down into a few key areas and it’s not quite so daunting.

  1. Planning for Future Growth – few financial institutions have the ability to build for 20 years, but the next wave is coming, so it must be planned for. Site considerations for expansion are key in this step. (Site Selection article.) The site must have the ability to accommodate future additions, building expansion, and flexibility when growth does occur.
  2. Planning for Flexibility – even when planning long-term, a built-in contingency plan should be considered. What if a better facility presents itself in the future? If the bank is sold, will the building be liquidated? What if the business has to move? What if the bank or credit union is acquired by someone else? Flexible, long-term solutions provide the business options for the future that maximizes the value of the investments made today.
  3. Business Case – much of the above is about future possibilities. However, the need for short-to-mid-term solutions are the likely pieces that will be implemented first. So, if first things are first, then the institution has to understand and quantify the business case for the solution. They must say to themselves, “if we grow from here to there, what do we need and how much is it going to cost?”

Now that you understand the first corner, you are probably ready for the other three. This is the first post in a four part series that will roll out over the next few weeks. As you wait, we’ve written other articles about main office in our blog, so check it out.

We also have main office videos of other banks and credit unions who have walked in your shoes.

Video Story

New Main Office in Southwest Louisiana


Headquarters Key Milestone for Credit Union

Lake Charles, Louisiana–based Southwest Louisiana Credit Union broke ground this week on its new main office. The new facility represents the credit union’s continued investment in the community as well as its membership and staff. The Southwest team partnered with Atlanta-based LEVEL5 on the site selection and design-build of the project.

Michael Dronet, Board Chairman for Southwest Louisiana, stated, “We are excited to see our new main office come to life. This building signifies our continued growth, and reinforces our commitment to serving members and the community.”

The location of the new building was selected based on an analysis performed by LEVEL5, which also procured the site on behalf of the credit union. The location and site provide convenience and easy access for members. Furthermore, the building is designed for expansion as Southwest Louisiana Credit Union’s corporate headcount grows.

Ronaldo Hardy, President and CEO said, “This new main office solves several challenges for our Credit Union. First, having the ability to house our entire team and enlarge the building as we grow is essential to our long-term plan. Second, the branch we have created will allow our team to provide even better service and engagement with our membership.”

The new branch within the main office joins the growing trend in banking toward technology automation and optimizing the member experience. Instead of traditional teller lines, the new facility will embrace an open retail environment. The branch’s function and experience are designed to allow staff to dive deeper into relationships with each member.

Mr. Hardy continued, “We needed a solution that developed a new branch, accommodated our current staff level and addressed our long-term back office needs. Moreover, our new building provides the complete experience we want for our members and our staff. The groundbreaking for our new main office represents a key milestone in the growth of our company.”

Jessica LaRocca, Chief Strategy Officer added, “I completely agree with Ronaldo. We chose LEVEL5 as our partner because of the value they bring to the complete design-build process. Few firms in the country can study markets, address headcount, procure real estate, design and construct facilities like their team.”

Financial Institutions all across the country are faced with addressing the headcount growth at the main office. Interested how others are addressing this challenge?

Video Story

Peoples Trust | Main Office – Houston, TX

Peoples Trust New Main Office in Downtown Houston Positions the Credit Union for the Future

Peoples Trust Federal Credit Union is a $500 Million credit union in Houston, TX. The Credit Union’s beginnings are with Shell Oil. However, they expanded their charter to the City of Houston over a decade ago. As the oil and gas industry continues to change, and the Credit Union continued to flourish its lease was coming due. With the proposed rate increases and need for more space, the Credit Union faced large operating cost increases well above their current costs. The Credit Union’s headcount growth, and the rate increases required they seek the best long-term solution for the Credit Union. Ultimately, the Credit Union chose to relocate their main office to a new site in Downtown Houston.

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The selected site for the freestanding building is in an underserved area of the city, and required environmental site work to make it suitable for the building requirement. The LEVEL5 team worked through the permitting and containment of those materials to develop the new main office. The move to this facility not only gives the Credit Union a giant billboard, but also allows the Credit Union to substantially lower cost from rising rental rates and provide better community access. Furthermore, through our proven design-build process we were able to shorten the construction duration by over a month from the contract date!

The facility focuses on efficiency and embracing the Credit Union’s legacy to its membership and community. But, there is so much more to this design-build story, so listen to what their team had to say how this new facility took shape!

Southern Bank | New Main Office

Southern Bank Looks to the Future in its New Main Office

Only 15 years ago, Southern Bank was a small community bank with less than $150 million in assets. Today, the Poplar Bluff, MO bank is approaching $1.5 billion via 35 branches across two states. Growth puts pressure on the main office, as discussed in previous articles. And that pressure calls for leadership to decide how they will position the Bank as it moves into the future.

For Southern Bank, it became clear that they were outgrowing their current main office operations. Additional space was needed that not only met their needs today, but also tomorrow. Our team has partnered with the Bank for nearly seven years on the design-build of freestanding branches, micro branches and renovations, so when the opportunity arose to develop the Bank’s new 40,000 square foot main office, the team was already in place.

A team that understood and resonated with the Bank’s brand message and skew toward technology and relationship building. A team that understood the Bank’s bias toward cost and schedule. The design-build of a main office is not a frequent event for most financial institutions, so having our LEVEL5 experts partnering with the Bank throughout the process truly resonated with the management team.

The video story below tells the entire journey from the lips of the two bankers driving the process – Greg Steffens (President and CEO) and Kim Capps (COO).

Interest Rates, Loans & Earnings Oh My…My Headcount is Growing!


Headcount increase on the horizon for growing banks and credit unions

Over the last 18 months both the FDIC and NCUA are reporting that loan growth for banks and credit unions are at levels only known before the great recession. Furthermore, thanks to the recent moves by the Federal Reserve, interest rates are increasing for the first time in nearly a decade. Naturally the next shoe to drop is an increase in net income. In fact, the FDIC reported earnings for the nation’s 6,000 banks soared in 2016 – 13% higher than in the previous year.

It would appear that banking is once again growing in favor across America. Pent up demand, a stabilizing economy, interest rate increases and expense moderation are paying great dividends for the stakeholders of banks and credit unions. As written in previous articles, this growth creates 7 Ripples through a Bank or Credit Union’s Main Office. Growth puts pressure on headcount and many financial institutions (FIs) will be faced with expanding their operation’s footprint. Expansion at this scale can be costly, and if not done correctly, will hamstring the organization’s ability to grow, serve their consumers and develop their employees.

Planning the Main Office to a Predictable Outcome

When it comes to planning a Main Office, many FIs jump right over the science to design aesthetic, color pallets, furniture selections and branding. These components of art are certainly important to resonate with the community and your most valuable asset, your people. But before the first pen is lifted to draw or design, a comprehensive personnel forecast is critical…if the goal is a predictable outcome.

Personnel forecast is a look into the future. A personnel forecast is the end result of analyzing the FI’s operational back office. The analysis calibrates and benchmarks the FIs growth to understand the needs of the company. A well-developed personnel forecast, based on peer group analysis and seasoned experience, will help the FI plan for the next 10 to 15 years. This process often includes staff interviews, online surveys and data requests to shine up the crystal ball to gaze into the future.

 

Do your homework, before you design. Without this work, designers are making guesses on the needs of your business, which can lead to insufficient space or too much. However, with an expert analysis, designers can start allocating space to each job function with a holistic view in mind.

 

Job functions, adjacencies and business practice. The continuation of the design team’s work, then groups job functions by department and establishes adjacencies based on how the bank or credit union communicates and manages its team. The facility is stacked or layered based on the interdepartmental communications to create the mass needed to optimize land and establish the right presence in the community.

 

 

Science, Art and Cost. Planning a main office is a dance between science and art during the Preconstruction phase of the project. Preconstruction begins with programming, and that effort starts with the marriage between the science of studying the organization, establishing headcount, and weaving in the art to the designed outcome.

One big question we haven’t touched on yet is Cost…and Cost is King. If cost isn’t a stated priority of the project, then it is implied as import…kinda like oxygen. However, many don’t understand that cost is won or lost in the Preconstruction process – not when the project is bid. But that’s another story…

Until then, here’s a short clip of one FI’s experience driving their main office to a predictable outcome. Planning, corporate vision and process certainly made their project seamless…and predictable.

The Changing World of Call Centers

“One-And-Done” is the new expectation.

Re-thinking everything. In today’s multichannel, no omni-channel world, the call center is in the midst of a transformation.  The transformation is comprehensive and involves rethinking performance metrics, staffing issues, and work space. In the area of performance metrics, financial institutions (FIs) are recalibrating to better align in a omni-channel world.  No longer can institutions look at just average talk time, abandonment rates, and after-call processing.  The call center agent is now responding to customers through several channels – telephone, social media, instant messaging, and live Web chats…to name a few.

Agents are now the FI’s ambassador, information officer, and mediator.  A key performance metric that has evolved in call centers is “one and done” as described by Jennifer Fox, SVP Customer Care & Operation Manager for Associated Bank in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  This philosophy empowers the agent to resolve a customer’s issue in one call.  This philosophy lends itself well to the new instant-gratification generation of customers who are reaching out to the FI as part of their busy schedule.

Higher expectations. As this example illustrates, the traditional metrics for the call center must be revisited. Customer expectations in our omni-channel world have changed.  Further, the call center employee must be “smarter” than ever.  Their knowledge base and training must allow them to meet the customer’s expectations of a “one and done” experience.

The emergence of ITMs. Organizationally, call centers are being transformed by the introduction of Interactive Teller Machines (ITMs) as a service distribution channel.  ITMs bring the dynamics of retail transactions, once isolated to retail branches, into the call center.  The ITM requires both visual and audio communication with the customer, amplifying the emphasis on personal service.  This dynamic requires financial institutions to rethink the hiring, training, and staffing models for the call center.

They’re not just agents. They’re your new brand ambassadors. Today’s agent needs to be comfortable conducting video sessions, and maintaining eye contact with the customer.   For FIs with geographically diverse networks, agents must be able to relate to the various needs of their customers. This includes the diversity of products that may be associated with various regions and demographies.  In most cases, agents need to be empowered to resolve the customer’s issues in keeping with “one and done”. Beyond the staffing issues, the physical environment also needs to be addressed.  Agents for the ITMs need to be isolated within the call center space to eliminate background noise, including visual background activity.

Design should be people-first. Because ITMs often operate during non-traditional hours, the space needs to include access to the restrooms, break rooms, and points of ingress/egress without violating other security zones in the facility (like the branch).  The non-traditional hours also require safety considerations regarding ingress/egress into the facility.   These are important steps when designing a new facility to house a call center and doubly important when retrofitting a call center in an existing space.

An investment that can pay off. Great results can be achieved by providing ITM agents with the resources and space required to meet customer needs and serve their clients while keeping with the “one and done” attitude.  One Southeast FI embraced the omni-channel approach and weaved it’s online banking, ITMs, and call center into a cohesive strategy. Over a three-year period, its revised approach generated 1,400 new accounts and $140 million in new deposits.

Three Legged Milking Stool

The stool of success. So in pulling all this together, the three-legged stool of the Call Center in an omni-channel world includes:

  1. Smarter Support: Agents must have at their fingertips a knowledge base that provides them the ability to deal with the majority of customer requests.  This knowledge base consists of product information, empowerment guidelines to resolve customer issues, and a decision tree for dispute resolution beyond their authority.  All of this geared to the “one and done” philosophy.
  2. Personalized Service: This concept connects the knowledge base with the agent’s ability to customize services or products to fit the customer’s request. Agents must be able to interact with the customer to determine his/her true needs elevating the agent’s role beyond that of an order-taker.
  3. Faster Connect and Up Time: This addresses the infrastructure of the call center.  The goal is to ensure the center is able to operate even if there are power outages or systems issues.   Continuous system monitoring insures the center can absorb a sudden spike in activity.  The worst thing for a customer is the inability to reach the contact center in a timely manner.

A call center’s ability to attain these three legs will enhance its effectiveness, and better equip agents to serve customers through its channels, leveraging the “one and done” concept, which has become the customer’s expectation!

The call center isn’t just another channel in your strategy. It can be a true differentiator. For good or bad!

This is the 2nd post in a multi-week series addressing the main office  and it’s transformation. We started our quest with How Loan Growth Ripples Through the Main Office.


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Loan Growth | 7 Ripples Through Your Main Office

Growth means we have to plan for today and position for tomorrow.

Riding the Loan Growth Wave. Earlier this week, the FDIC reported that banks had a blockbuster second quarter. The nation’s 6,058 FDIC banks earned $43.6 billion in the second quarter, up from $39 billion in the first – a 1.4% rise in net income. These earnings were fueled by over $182 billion new loans, compared to $100 billion in the first quarter.

Furthermore, Callahan & Associates is reporting loan growth for credit unions is also on a run. In fact, credit unions are riding an 8 quarter wave – resulting in double-digit annual loan growth the last two years.  For banks and credit unions, this is great news, allowing many to thrive.

Today and Tomorrow. However, with growth comes challenges. Challenges for today and tomorrow. For today, FIs are challenged with servicing and processing this business. For tomorrow, they have to position for future growth, as well as outpace and out-position the competition all while serving an ever-evolving customer base.

Main Office Transformation

This post is the first of a multi-week series on Main Office Transformation. This series will address how Banks and Credit Unions can deal with all the components of transforming their main office to thrive today…and tomorrow. To begin, let’s consider the ripple effect of loan growth on the institution.  These ripples touch on the areas where loan growth exerts pressure, creating the need for a strategy to deal with the pressure. For each component below, the FI must address:

  • Scalability – How do we provision for the future?
  • Flexibility – How do we build-in the ability to change?
  • Proximity – How does the Bank or Credit Union engrain its culture across the departments?

Ripples, Pressure and Waves – Oh My!

  1. Lending Department – This is the most obvious and intuitive area where loan growth exerts pressure. After all, it’s their fault we have all these loans!! On a serious note, increasing loan volume puts increasing pressure on the department.  The entire sequence of activity – originating, underwriting, processing, closing, packaging and selling – must scale with loan volume.  A variety of organizational structures and processes define how a new loan moves through the institution.  All along the way, the people and technologies that touch the loan must be accommodated.
  2. Loan Servicing – Once the loan is closed, then servicing activity begins. While this is a “given,” it is also an activity distinct from the loan originating/underwriting function. Loan servicing can be greatly impacted by technology, promoting efficiency, it is also subject to the cyclical fluctuations in the lending market.  Hence, scalability and flexibility become important features in planning.  Depending on the company’s operating philosophy, locating it in close proximity to the Lending Department may also be desirable.  Proximity can help build and sustain a cohesive lending culture and can provide a form of feedback to originators and underwriters.
  3. Collections – The “inconvenient truth” about lending is that sometimes loans don’t perform as planned. The Collections Department must step in and manage the process of getting the loan back on track, or recovering the collateral.  As with the upstream lending functions, requirements for collectors rise and fall with the economic cycle.  Further, their requirements for staff and space are influenced by the company’s underwriting philosophy.  Some FIs chose looser underwriting standards to accommodate higher rates for higher risk, and understand that higher delinquencies are a natural consequence of that decision.  More conservative FIs choose higher underwriting standards, and argue that lower loan yields are mitigated by the decreased costs of collections (staff and space).
  4. Contact Center – The Contact Center may be tied to the Servicing function mentioned above, or may operate independently. In either case, increasing loan volume will boost the requirement for customer communication.  Intuitively, this is manifest in cases of customers calling/emailing/texting/chatting with the FI to address routine or unusual questions about their loans.  A second aspect to the Contact Center is outbound sales. (We’ll talk more about this next week.)  As part of the onboarding process, particularly with indirect loans, this may mean periodic calls/emails/texts to the customer to make them aware of additional products and services that would benefit their financial lives.  Scalability is an ingrained factor here, assuming that the Contact Center also fields customer inquiries on a broad range of topics, not just lending.  Privacy is often a concern in planning for this function as undue background noise can distract from the conversation, diminishing the FI’s professionalism and tarnishing the brand.
  5. Compliance – Increasing loan volume increases the burden for Compliance. However, strong policies and procedures that are consistently followed can reduce the need for greatly expanded staffs to handle these chores.
  6. Marketing – Success breeds success, new loans create the opportunity for add-on sales and subsequent customer development. Marketing is directly involved in this activity, although the impact of increased lending is usually not linear in terms of pressure on staff and space.
  7. Accounting – Of course, someone has to keep track of all the dollars and cents flowing through the organization. And, hopefully, the new loans are generating plenty of dollars and cents. As with Marketing, Accounting is an area where the increased volume has a minimal impact on staff requirements.

surfer girls in action, surfing waves and struggling in the sea water

Plan to ride the waves

The planning process to address the effects of growth is straightforward in concept, although there are some details that are critically important.  At a high-level the process goes something like this (as mentioned earlier we’ll dive deeper in these categories in the coming weeks.):

  1. Forecasting – Using the FI’s best crystal ball, the organization needs to forecast and project where it will be over a 5 to 10-year horizon in terms of loan growth. This usually leads to a healthy discussion of portfolio mix, products that should be added, products that should be deleted, participations, commercial/consumer mix, etc.  Sober thinking is required.  The temptation to “aim for the moon” will result in overestimating requirements, if the results are not achieved.  Conversely, sandbagging makes achieving desired results easier, but tends to understate future space requirements.  As a result, the FI may find itself on a treadmill, constantly trying to add resources, and space – losing efficiency and profit as a result.
  2. Calibrate – Most of the functions mentioned above can be calibrated. The exercise at this point is to establish benchmarks, and calibrate each function based on the loan growth projection.  Questions naturally arising during this activity include insourcing/outsourcing functions, changes in technology, and changes in organization or operational processes.  The end result of this effort should be a staffing model forecasted in conjunction with the loan projection.
  3. Allocate – Once the staffing model is in place space can be allocated for each function, based on the calibrated personnel forecast. In this phase, the common functions also have to be considered – file rooms, conference rooms, break rooms, etc.  Combined with the staffing model, the space allocation yields the planning requirements for the functions impacted by growth.
  4. Program and Plan – In concert with design-build professionals, the company’s representatives will develop the program i.e. the instructions to the design-build team that ultimately defines the facility that will support the staff.

Connecting the Ripples. Most FIs welcome the ripple effects of loan growth on their main office because it allows the company to continue providing its value proposition to the community, customers, and stakeholders. However, addressing the growth takes a steady hand, and a team to get it right. In the coming weeks we will address this process to help you along your way.

Addressing the pressure of loan growth on the main office positions a Bank or Credit Union for success today and tomorrow.

Much of this change is in the call center. What does today call center do that yesterday’s did not? Read more below.





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Southern Bank Topping Off Celebration

LEVEL5 recently joined Southern Bank’s board, executive team, staff, local dignitaries, friends and family to celebrate the topping off of the Bank’s new 40,000 square foot 3-story Main Office in Poplar Bluff, MO.  LEVEL5 is designing, building and branding this new facility.

1328- View from West - 07-03-2014

The celebration included brief remarks by Greg Steffens, president and CEO of Southern Bank, acknowledging the Bank’s 128 year history of growth in the region and the Bank’s strong ties to the Poplar Bluff community.  Other festivities included the signing of one of the building’s last steel beams by all of the attendees, the placing of flags on top of the buildings steel structure, and finally, the hoisting and bolting of the signed beam into place on top of the structure.

Mr. Steffens said, “The Bank chose LEVEL5 to design-build and brand our new headquarters because of their excellent performance on several previous Bank projects and their depth of knowledge and experience in banking facilities.”

The facility will not only be the Bank’s state-of-the-art headquarters, but will also include a full service branch complete with universal bankers and NCR’s Interactive Teller Machines in the drive through facility.  This design-build main officeproject will be complete in the first quarter of 2016.

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