Leaders Bank: Creating a Great Place to Work

Abstract

This case is suitable for courses in entrepreneurship and growing enterprises and management communication. It follows the step by step process of growing a business built on a strong culture that fosters high employee engagement and loyalty. The result for Leaders was low employee turnover, long-term relationships based on communication and trust, and being a finalist on the Wall Street Journal's 2008 Top Small Workplaces list.

Excerpt

UVA-ENT-0128

Rev. Aug. 20, 2010

LEADERS BANK: CREATING A GREAT PLACE TO WORK

Leaders Bank (Leaders), headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, provided commercial, industrial, and real-estate lending, as well as treasury-management and retail-banking services for privately held businesses and their owners. The bank was founded in 2000 by five industry veterans—Patrick Kelly, James Lynch, Steven Schuster, Laura McGrath, and Gordon Fitzsimmons—whose vision was to create a personalized banking experience for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

In an industry fraught with mergers and acquisitions and the resulting depersonalization of service, Leaders offered a refreshing alternative. As its name implied, the bank treated its customers and employees as leaders, focusing on their strengths and professional competencies and on developing long-term relationships based on communication and trust. The bank's officers were given the authority to take risks and make autonomous decisions, which resulted in the customized solutions and fast responses that business owners valued.

In addition, because of a workplace culture centered around respect, Leaders kept its employee turnover rate close to zero; consequently, its clients were able to work with the same banking professionals, who understood their businesses and goals. Therefore, it was not surprisingly that in a 2005 independent customer survey, Leaders received an overall satisfaction rating of 94%—no small feat considering that few financial institutions could claim a client satisfaction rating above the 75% industry average, reported by the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

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Keywords: Personalized banking, employee engagement, culture of respect