Bonnie Van Epps:
Welcome to the First Business Bank podcast. I'm Bonnie Van Epps, your host for today's episode on hiring and retaining employees in today's talent market. Today, I'm joined by Lindsay Meyer and Matt P. Krutza, both have made job changes in the past three months and have personal insights to share from the employee perspective of making a job change today. Would each of you introduce yourself to our listeners, please? Lindsay, I'll start with you.
Lindsay Meyer:
Thanks Bonnie. Hi, I'm Lindsay Meyer. I'm an Assistant Vice President in Treasury Management. I have 15 years of banking experience with the last 10 years in Treasury Management. Great, thanks. Matt, how about for you?
Matt P. Krutza:
Yeah. Thanks Bonnie. Matt P. Krutza, I'm the Director of Private Wealth here at First Business Bank, recently made a change have roughly about 13 years of experience in the Private Wealth space and just really excited to be here and be part of this podcast, very relevant.
Bonnie Van Epps:
Well, so great to sit down and talk with both of you today. A couple of questions, just so we can pull out your own personal experiences of what you've gone through over the past couple of months. My first question, Matt, I'll direct it to you. What are the ways that you are seeing companies and recruiters were getting in touch with you? What are they saying and offering to engage you in conversation and really, how often did you find you were hearing from them?
Matt P. Krutza:
Yeah, it's a great question, Bonnie. For me personally, I would say LinkedIn has primarily been that main one area where recruits have reached out. In the past, what I've noticed is that it's always been, they'll shoot me a quick note asking kind of where I'm at. And those were easy to just deflect and sometimes not even acknowledge. In my personal experience, what I've noticed is recruiters actually get more aggressive in actually picking up the phone. And that certainly was the case with myself, where a recruiter had reached out.
Matt P. Krutza:
I accidentally picked up the phone thinking it was a client and this recruiter had reached out to me a couple of different times and so we've had some rapport and so he had me on the phone and he really positioned it in a way that, "Hey Matt, I know you're happy probably with where you're at," the institution that I was at might have been there for just over 12 years, but he said, "you're probably happy with where you're at, but just let me fill you in with the position I'm looking to fill." and then really opened up saying, "you might be okay but maybe you know somebody within your network that might be interested in this role." And so it was a unique tactic to get me talking and long story short, obviously one thing led to another and we continued the dialogue from that initial conversation. But yeah, from my experience, Bonnie, LinkedIn has certainly been the way that I've seen recruiters reach out in the past.
Bonnie Van Epps:
Lindsay, what was your experience?
Lindsay Meyer:
Thanks Bonnie. Very similar to Matt in that LinkedIn was a huge place that recruiters would try to reach out and send my messages and connect as well as the phone. And then just from my personal experience, advice I was given a few years ago was to keep those connections and relationships active just in case you become unhappy or there is a change in your working relationship. And so I tried to answer, maybe not all of them, but at least have a few, have a few good relationships and connections just in case I ever needed it. And so I think that is a healthy balance even if you are very happy with where you're at, you just never know and you never know what opportunities might spark your interests or just be willing to make a change so that was something that was ingrained in me and I think important as I was open to a new career.
Bonnie Van Epps:
So what did a recruiter say, Lindsay, that made it attractive for you to take that call or to engage in conversation?
Lindsay Meyer:
Sure. I was in a little bit of a different situation with this recent career change in that, the financial institution that I had been working for was going through a merger and everything was changing. We were being acquired, my job was going to look different, my coworkers looked different, my direct supervision looked different and the CEO looked different. And so for me, it was the opportunity of just everything was changing and this was probably a good time to start listening to what other opportunities might be out there that might be a good fit for the future of my career.
Bonnie Van Epps:
So, it sounds like timing played a big role in your willingness to listen and see what else was out there.
Lindsay Meyer:
Absolutely, absolutely. I was very happy with where I was prior to the announcements of the acquisition. And so it was a great time for me to start picking up some of those phone calls at this time.
Bonnie Van Epps:
Sure, sure. So Matt, for companies out there who are trying to hire talent in a market, that's really tough as many of us are experiencing. As people are reaching out, what made it attractive for you to take a call or at least listen to what a company or recruiter maybe had to say?
Matt P. Krutza:
Yeah, for me, for my personal example, again, I picked up the phone by accident, right. But, I think once I got into that conversation and learned a little bit more about this particular role, there were things that were outlined to me that were certainly an opportunity from a development standpoint. So, how they got me, enticed me to have that conversation or be on the phone a little bit more. It was just a casual conversation and again going back to my point earlier where they didn't, the recruiter didn't really necessarily direct it towards me, but saying, hey, I want to tap into your network and just open up the dialogue that way a little bit and then obviously as we had the conversation and it went further, it just seemed a natural fit for myself. So, just, I think making myself feel comfortable, talking about my current role and in my particular example, just the opportunity to expand what I was doing and develop, I think that was a big piece for me.
Bonnie Van Epps:
[inaudible 00:06:49] your way. Yeah, [crosstalk 00:06:50] interesting. Yeah, so interesting to hear. So let's flip over maybe to the flip side of that, because we also have a lot of companies and leaders that are probably on this podcast listening and wondering what can they be doing to make it less enticing for their employees to even consider taking those calls. And I know, again, you both have very different experiences with maybe what prompted you to consider a job change. So Matt, I'll start with you. What can companies do or focus on to make it less enticing for employees like you to consider taking those calls?
Matt P. Krutza:
I love this question. I think it's really relevant and quite frankly, I don't think, these types of things never go away, the situations I should say and I'm a big believer in employee development and being on the other side of it, where I was in just a producing role at my other firm talking about, okay, what is Matt's? What are my inspirations? What I want to do? I've been very fortunate to be in different roles throughout my career in banking and some of those were more and more producer-driven where I was just a producer, some were leading and what I found is that I've always had, I've always craved the desire to do both and so that opportunity presented itself with First Business Bank, but going back, I guess, to the core of your question, Bonnie, I think employee development is critical. How are you looking for talking to employees that, are they content in the role that they're in right now?
Matt P. Krutza:
Do they have aspirations to lead as in my example? Or do you have employees in positions that they feel completely content in and maybe they want to be in a producing role and they feel confident in that and they feel comfortable and then maybe that conversation in terms of [inaudible 00:08:40] it's more of a monetary piece to it, right and we hear about that all the time is companies and the labor shortage and there's a big part of that goes into our beginning, do employees feel valued in terms of how they're getting paid for what they're doing? And so I think all of these things come out when you have some very intentful, continuous employee development, pan engagement conversations and I think that really leads with the leaders within a company, the managers, I think that's a big part of the role and again, I don't think that, that conversation ever ends either. I think that should be part of that each employee's development as they continue to grow.
Bonnie Van Epps:
Yeah. Great insight. Lindsay, how about from your perspective, what can companies do or focus on to make it less enticing for employees like yourself to consider taking those calls?
Lindsay Meyer:
Absolutely. I would agree with everything that Matt said and maybe just add a few other items that I think involvement and having a sense of belonging is really important to people feeling like they are contributing, that there is a reason, a purpose, a why behind what they're doing. So, asking employees for input, asking for ideas, making sure that they feel like their work is valued and then trusted by their leadership team, I think is another really good point and something that we all want to feel valued and feel like we can be entrusted to make decisions, be entrusted for new ideas and just being satisfied with your work. I'm going along with that. I mean, obviously growth and development is huge and pay and benefits also, but just some of those extra things really make a difference from company A to company B, that's going to maybe offer about the same type of work, but if you feel like you have coworkers who you can trust, who you value and who value you is another piece I would add.
Bonnie Van Epps:
Yeah, those are such great insights. And I really hear you both saying how it's personal to you individually, right? Like what are you looking for out of your career and how do you feel valued? So it sounds like really talking with your employees and having those conversations on a regular basis are really key in the totality of all the other components that you mentioned too.
Matt P. Krutza:
Bonnie, one thing I would maybe add just to that too and you hear this saying all the time. It's always easier to obtain top talent than to go out and find it and then ultimately pay for it. We're seeing that right now in the environment that we are, where we have inflation that is extremely high right now and that we're seeing that. So when you go out and you find top talent, what does that look like? You have to identify it, that might be through a recruiter, but then what does it take to get that employee over here and oftentimes what we're seeing right now is it's monetarily that can be higher than what we've seen in the past. So, take care of the people that you have, I think is the core lesson with it.
Bonnie Van Epps:
Yeah. Great advice. Great advice. So my next question is, as you considered making a job change and Lindsay, I know it was a little different for you because you were more open to it. Matt, you were pretty content and weren't necessarily looking, but as you considered making those job changes, what was most important to you and Matt I'll start with you on this one.
Matt P. Krutza:
Another great question, Bonnie. I love it. For me it's kind of twofold. Number one, I would say is culture. Culture for me was critical. Getting a chance to learn about First Business Bank from senior management all the way down was really important. I was very fortunate throughout my interview process. I got a chance to meet, I think it was almost 12 people. It might have been even a little bit more than that. And Brendan Freeman, my direct manager, him and I joke a little bit but it was such a great experience for me to go through because I got to number one, learn about the culture through the lens of so many different individuals in different roles within the bank. And it was so apparent to me about how we all work together, who we are as a bank, the ideal client who we're going after and it was very obvious to me speaking with all those individuals, that culture was, it was a great fit for me personally.
Matt P. Krutza:
So it was a great interview process. It was lengthy for sure, but it was one that I'm very, very appreciative going through that. And then number two, for me, it was the opportunity to expand the role that I was in at my previous employer. And so, I was in a producing role only. I had some aspirations to lead and when I got that opportunity to speak with that recruiter, sometimes it's, you don't know what you don't know and I had not really been thinking about it because I was really content with what I was doing, but the recruiter got out of me that, in the back of my mind, I've always been thinking about the opportunity to lead.
Matt P. Krutza:
And so when we talked about what this role was at First Business Bank and the chance to do really both of the things that I love to do in the most and do it for an organization that I really feel comfortable from a culture standpoint and the leadership, top down. When the offer came through the decision, it is pretty easy for me to make. So I would say those are the two biggest things for me, Bonnie.
Bonnie Van Epps:
Yeah. Great, great insights for us. Lindsay, what did that look like for you?
Lindsay Meyer:
Thanks Bonnie. Very similar answer again. I would agree with culture. I think boiling down what culture means, maybe three words come to mind for me; it's integrity, integrity of the leadership and the coworkers that I'm going to be working with. Passion, do I see passion in the leadership management executives of First Business Bank? And I very much did. I see passion in the company and where we're going as a whole. And then humility, I think you can just tell when you meet certain individuals, if they're humble or not and so those three were very important to me as I was sort of interviewing the team as well as they were interviewing me. I was interviewing the leadership team and the team that I would be working with. So, that was really important to me. Then the second would be growth; growth opportunities, learning and growing in my field.
Lindsay Meyer:
And the fact that First Business Bank has a huge Treasury Management team, lots of resources, lots of people to learn from and grow with was really exciting for me coming from a smaller organization where there was a just a smaller team and then also work life balance that just comes into play. I'm a mom to younger kids and so would this work with my family life? So that's really important to me as well.
Lindsay Meyer:
Those three things were very important and I agree that the interview process was lengthy, but I appreciated it so much because as I spoke with every individual, I got to see, they spoke about the culture of First Business Bank, almost the same, a little bit different here and there, maybe on what they emphasized or what was important to them, but a very consistent message so that I knew I wasn't just being told something that it was in fact, the true culture of the bank and six weeks into my, the company, I would agree that is the case that nothing was oversold to me, that everyone embraced the culture and explained it and that's what I'm experiencing now.
Bonnie Van Epps:
Yeah. Well, that's obviously so great to hear and you both bring up such interesting points around how, I mean, through the interview process, you were really interviewing the companies just as much as they were interviewing you. So I think that's so helpful for our business owners to be considering in terms of how are they really showing that consistency and message around the experience that you'll have as an employee and really glad to see that, that's something that's carried through and that you've experienced to be true for you as you've come on board here. So I'm curious to hear a little bit more of we went on this journey of what got you to take the call and through the interview process, what was really important to you, I'm curious once you made the decision and were making that job change, what was hard about making that change and then we'll flip it to also what was really exciting about making that job change. Lindsay, can we start with you?
Lindsay Meyer:
Absolutely. Thank you really great questions. What was, I think most difficult for me making the change was leaving my coworkers and just that network of individuals that you had worked so closely with, you spend a lot of time day in and day out with these people and they become very close to you. And so that was a challenge. It actually hit me harder than I thought it would, even in my situation where the organization had just changed. We had been acquired and it was about two weeks after that I left and so my manager had already changed and the leadership had already changed, but there was still a good core group of coworkers that had come over. And I put my notice in, on a Friday and emotionally all weekend, I felt like, it was a different emotion and a different kind of experience than I expected.
Lindsay Meyer:
It was much harder and I just was working through it and almost grieving the end of the process, at the end of a job, the end of that career for me and it took me a few days to recover which was surprising to me, but the exciting part of starting with First Business Bank has been that my skills and my talents matter here and will make a positive impact on the organization. So that was really exciting to jump into an organization that really needed the skills and the talents that I bring to the table looking at continuing along that growth and development, really excited to continue to learn and grow and I have just begun and First Business Bank has a wide variety of resources that I can really take advantage of. So I'm very excited to just be getting started here.
Bonnie Van Epps:
Excellent. Well, obviously we're really excited too. And I think you raised such a great point too, around sort of the challenge that comes with that transition. That's maybe, maybe people underestimate a little bit and I love how you describe it as a little bit of a grieving process, of sort of what your career had been there and the people you were with. So it was such a unique and interesting way to describe that and probably a component that employees and even companies as they're recruiting individuals, they may underestimate that part of the process and maybe really helping support a perspective employee through all of that too could be really important. So thank you for sharing that perspective. Matt, how about for you?
Matt P. Krutza:
Boy, very similar an answer for myself as Lindsay kind of outlined. For me, I think about what we do day in and day out and we're in the people business and we talk about that all the time with clients and it could be more true internally as well. So, when I think about, I thought about this diligently throughout the processes, what would be the one thing I miss and what would be the hardest part and it's the people. Lindsay, you hit it right on the head. I mean, the people you work with day in and day out, those are people that you build some incredible friendships even outside of work. And so for me that was, what does that look like when you're going to a new organization? Right. I think of it as a new opportunity to expand your network.
Matt P. Krutza:
That was the exciting piece of it. But, I thought about that. I had at my previous employer, I spent just over 12 years and I was very fortunate to kind of, as I progressed in my career, expand and work through in multiple business lines. And so I really felt comfortable navigating the organization where if I had a question about this, where can I go, outside of my lane. And I had my Rolodex I guess if you want to call it the internal Rolodex, where I felt very comfortable with how to navigate things. And I knew making a change, I'd have to kind of rebuild that Rolodex. But quite frankly, that was really one of the exciting pieces of it to making the change.
Matt P. Krutza:
On top of that, the other thing I think about First Business Bank and Corey, our CEO talks about this all the time, right? We're a growth company and depending on where you come from, that could be different. When you come over to First Business Bank that focus a growth focus draws, I think a different type of talent and I think that's very evident when you see the talent pool here at First Business Bank and that was very evident to me when I started the interview process of the phrasing that we always say is, "everybody's in marketing and you feel that."
Matt P. Krutza:
And I thought that's really different than where I came from. So I was excited about that growth opportunity. And then on a personal level as I kind of mentioned before the opportunity for me personally to expand my role, I was in a producer role and the opportunity to lead a team was very appealing to me and then again, I can't point too much home, but the people right. People that I met throughout the interview process the culture, again that was my number one. If I had a list that was my number one list that I had to check off and so the people was the final thing, Bonnie, I would say.
Bonnie Van Epps:
Really great insights. I appreciate that so much. So I'm curious to hear from both of you, if there's anything that a new employer can do to ease that transition process, is there anything that you found worked really well or something that maybe you wish you had a little bit more support in as you made that transition? Matt, why don't we start with you?
Matt P. Krutza:
Yeah, great question. I love this and going through this process right now, I think that it's twofold. Number one, it's what leads up to day one and then once it's day one what does it look like after that and so I know Lindsay and I are kind of in that same phase right now, we're in our first 90 days leading up to it again, kind of touched on it earlier is the interview process that was unique. I think I don't have a lot of experience in terms of the interview process compared to where what I went through different from where I was at, for sure when I started, 12 years ago, but that insight and the ability to meet with so many different people and really Bonnie, as you mentioned earlier, the chance for us to really, it's a two way street for me to really interview First Business Bank and the individuals too, that was extremely important to me to really just get down to the nitty gritty and say, okay, this is what we are, this is what we do, and really give me a comfort level that way.
Matt P. Krutza:
So I would say, for me it was the interview process that was phenomenal and then the second part is since I've joined the team now, is the onboarding. My immediate manager, Brendan has been extremely helpful. He's been really hands on and hey, Matt, what you need and just guiding through the onboarding process with me. I've had some 30-day check-in's, 60-day check-ins, we'll do a 90-day check-in as well. So there's kind of a format that we can follow to be more formal. But I would say those are the two big things is the process going, leading up to that hire and then once you're here is what's that onboarding look like and I think really the organizations that do really well with both of those, I mean, just provides for a really good experience and again, my experience has been phenomenal and I'm just really excited to be here and feel very fortunate as well.
Bonnie Van Epps:
Yeah. Thanks for such a great answer and such good advice too, to realize that just because you got somebody in the door, the job's not done yet, right. And how important that onboarding is and really making sure somebody's got a great experience as they get started too. So great. Great to hear all those things. Lindsay, how about for you, your perspective on what an employer can do to ease that transition process?
Lindsay Meyer:
Absolutely. Thanks Bonnie. I think the interview process was key. As we both mentioned, it was a lengthy process, which can, maybe be a negative to some people, but I really took it as a positive. I got to meet a lot of different individuals and really understand what I was stepping into. I mean, I had spent 10 years at my last organization and it's really challenging to think, how do you start over at a different organization? And so I think just that the time and the kind of breadth of the interview process was really key in starting. I thought it was really kind of First Business Bank to send a little welcome gift right before we started. That was just a fun, little surprise that we got in the mail, a water bottle and just that little thing really did make me feel like, okay, I've made a good choice. This is going to be a good start to the career and then onboarding as well.
Lindsay Meyer:
Just making sure we have all the technology needs that we have, making sure we have business cards, making sure that we know who it is to call, right? Because as Matt mentioned earlier, we all had our Rolodex 10 years into an organization. If I needed this done outside of my lane, this is who I call. And so just kind of introducing and sitting down with a number of different people from different departments that Treasury Management works with pretty regularly was really helpful for me. And just that continued process of really getting your feet wet and starting, because we all want to start at a high level, right? We were high producers at our last place and want to hit the ground running and taking the time to take a step back, give myself grace as I realized, like, hey, I can't start where I ended.
Lindsay Meyer:
I need to learn some of this stuff before I get there, walk before you run and so that was really good for me to have some of that time and be given that opportunity to meet and grow in that way as well. I think something I forgot to mention is employee feedback. It's been very apparent that First Business Bank really cares about employee feedback, how First Business Bank can do better on the onboarding process and throughout the day-to-day.
Lindsay Meyer:
And so that's been really helpful for me to know that I can speak up and I have a voice and I'm not afraid to speak up. I think gaining that trust is really important with your employees in order to retain them. And so just being open to feedback, constantly asking for it probably more than you even want to, because it is hard for an employee, especially a new employee to maybe speak up and say maybe something that the employee sees as a negative. It's not how you as an employee want to present yourself, especially in the first 90 days, but if you're constantly asking for feedback in something maybe didn't go perfect, it's a great opportunity for the employee to be able to speak up and just share maybe that there would've been a better way or this maybe didn't go as well as it could have.
Bonnie Van Epps:
Yeah. That's really great and good for again, a company to know how important it is to ask for that feedback, because it's the way for us as a company to get better too. Matt, anything else that you would add?
Matt P. Krutza:
I was thinking about this with what was exciting about making the job change. And I think for me was to be part of strategy. So within Private Wealth being part of it where we can continue to build out what we've already established, you know, we obviously started with as a business bank and have naturally expanded our offerings in Private Wealth. We started in 2001, we've made some tremendous strides and just having a voice in order to be able to impact some change in what that could look like. I'll give a quick example of what was exciting.
Matt P. Krutza:
Day two on the job, I was in Madison for a two-day strategy meeting with Dave Seiler and the rest of senior leadership on the private well side, just talking about, okay, where we're at, what are things that we want to kind of see changed within the next year and so we had some actionable items come out of that meeting and that was really, when I look at, in comparison to where I was at, I would never have ever been part of those meetings to be at the table to have a voice and be part of strategy. And so I knew that going in that I'd be part of that and I have a voice at the table. And so that was, I would say Bonnie, in addition to what I outlined earlier, that would be probably one other thing that was exciting for me about making the change over to First Business Bank.
Bonnie Van Epps:
Yeah. And some good themes there, just about having a voice as you're making that change and realizing that even early on, if you're still taking the time to ramp up and really learn the company and the people that your voice and your feedback still matter and have and impact. I want to thank our guests for participating in this really important discussion and thank our audience members for listening today. Be sure to visit us at firstbusiness.bank to check out other resources we offer for business owners and leaders. We invite you to experience the advantage with First Business Bank. If there's a way we can help, please reach out to us.